Troy

@Cynique, Regarding the Baby Boomers ABSOLUTELY. @Antonio Ingram, don't sleep on the White organization. Every job on Wall Street that I ever got was because of white folks. I know it is a different industry, but I'm sure it is not much different. One day when you are in a position of power perhaps you'll change that. If you do you will be making a much needed change.

Hmmm... @Cynique, if I get a chance I really need to find what Hawking actually said, in context. If you have a source please share it. I skimmed the article and did not see anything but I may have missed it. People have suggested that LHC could create a Black hole, but every physicist I've heard when presented with the question said it was preposterous. @Delano, what does "New Age: mean to you? When I wrote "New Agey" I was not being technical as was using more of les as a catch all for all the spiritual pursuits that emerged in the last 100 years and are outside traditional religions--you know from crystal gazers to tree huggers

As someone who has paid many writers over the years. I've never asked a writer to write something for free. If they offer that is another thing--even then I provide some form reciprocity. It is just how we do in my community. Now having a piece in the Atlantic is a big deal for a writer, but seriously, The Atlantic should be ashamed of themselves for saying they can't pay--sure they can pay they just chose not to pay that writer. You see when publications get big, and writers get desperate, they will write for free (exposure). The Huffington Post famously took advantage of this imbalance by not paying their bloggers as part of there business model. Of course Ariana began fantastically rich and the writers got left with a HuffPo byline. When writers write for large publications for free they actually make it harder for all writers to earn a living, because they reduce the value of their work in the market place. I wrote an article the same year as The Atlantic article above “5 Things Writers Must Do To Survive Online.” One of the 5 things was don't write for wealthy sites for free. It also depresses wages for all writers by making it impossible for smaller publication to survive, because that can not compete against the likes of The Atlantic who can get writers to write for free. I know publishers of several magazine --all defunct--who complained that writers would reject the paltry sums their magazines offered to pay, meanwhile these same writers fought to write for Ariana for free. All that said, if I were a writer looking to make a name for myself today, I'd have to take the offer of writing for The Atlantic for free--at least once. You can't change the world by yourself. But I would absolute retain the copyright for ANYTHING I gave someone for free. That where i draw the line. @Antonio Ingram, I would network and get to know other writers and those in related professions. Get to know people many if not most opportunities in any career emerge because of who you know. Join a scriptwriter organization (surely there is one). Consider unpaid internship, volunteer if no opportunity exists and work a 2nd job to pay the bills. If you don't have a Blog start one. If you are going to write for someone for free, let it be yourself. Even though it is harder than ever to attract readers their is not better way to make you work available to others. Besides, if you are able to generate some traffic you can earn a living with a Blog. On my list of the top 50 Black owned websites several are blogs--all of them should generate enough revenue for someone to live on and some do far better. Earning a living writing is HARD. But if it is what you love and you have some talent you can make it work.

“If I am so much of a slut, why don’t you keep your husband out of my bed?” —Delores E. Jordan That quote is from Michael Jordan's sister (yes the basketball great). You can read the rest of the except here. Now this is from a Jordan's memoir that was published in 2001, but I never knew that Jordan's father, who was subsequently murdered (presumably in an unrelated incident), took the virginity of his own daughter and continued to abuse her for years! I have no idea how I missed that story! I was just adding information to the site about Jordan's mother who is an accomplished children's book author whose books have been illustrated by several great illustrators and stumbled across this tragic tale.

@Wendy Jones thanks for making that correction. While Amazon may bot be engaging in straight up chattel slavery (that we know of), they don't provide the greatest conditions for the factory workers. Have you read this research report on Amazon?

@Pioneer1, I'm not denying that racism is a problem. In fact, I agree with some of what you've described, but where we diverge is on the underlying motivation for the racism. I believe racism is a tool of the plutocracy to enrich themselves. I believe religion has been used for this reason, indeed our education system and culture is designed to create consumers who enrich their masters. Whether is is the tobacco industry selling us cancer sticks, big pharma making opioids freely available, Wall Street bringing the world's economy to the brink of collapse, Facebook manipulating our election and brainwashing people, or 45 fueling racism, it is all about power and money. Racism is one of many tools these folks use against us. You can destroy racism tomorrow and the greats masses of the world's people will still be poor. We live in a world where someone like Amazon's Jeff Bezos can accumulate a net worth north of $90B on the backs of factory workers grinding away making slave wages and he is celebrated. As Bezos builds a monopoly some people even vigorously defend it?! Man, racism is a problem but again it is a symptom. Racism was created to justify slavery. Educated white folks knew what Black folks accomplished great things in Africa--hell they used this knowledge and then took credit for creating it. Of course the great masses of people--even black ones don't know this, but we know all the celebrity gossip. Sure, we have to fight racism because it is kicking your butts, but the real problem are the plutocrats pulling the levers--impoverishing us all.

Yes I find all of that stuff interesting too. I forgot all about the Chariots of the Gods. I've been told you open your mind and that is went the devil walks in. Helluva thing to tell a kid huh? I've heard a number of people in the field say that they wish the phrase "God Particle" was not used. Again, it just confused people. The religious right gets riled up to the point they are fighting to eliminate scientific research. CNN does the public a disservice when they say things like, "Scientists confirm 'God Particle' Exists." Scientist have done no such thing, nor have they said such a thing. This is sloppy reporting and even the description they provided for the Higgs Boson was pretty weak too.

I'm just using this as another way to collect data. I'm MUCH happier when people subscribe directly, and they can read the newsletter on any device.

Yes I guess it is a matter of how we use specific words like "know." Some religious people say they know things to be true, as if they are indistinguishable from fact, when it can be proven not to be true. When presented with the information it is considered heresy and punishable by death (depending upon the place and time). The only "proof" required, is faith. As I said trying to convince these people otherwise is a waste of time. One of the best selling books on the list I'm working on now is, Adam! Where Are You?: Why Most Black Men Don't Go to Church. I believe that is one reason why (my opinion I have not read the book) brother don;t go to church. Now this is not to say there is no God. I science can never prove the existence of God despite what people believe. Merriam-Webster define "know" as the following: Definition of know knew play \ˈnü also ˈnyü\; known play \ˈnōn\; knowing transitive verb 1a (1) :to perceive directly :have direct cognition of (2) :to have understanding of importance of knowing oneself (3) :to recognize the nature of :discern b (1) :to recognize as being the same as something previously known (2) :to be acquainted or familiar with (3) :to have experience of It seems my use of the word "Know" was not exactly correct based upon the definition of the word. There is no implication that what one knows has to be factual or true. You can know things that can't be proven, or that are even patently false. So some people can know God exists, other can know God does not exist, and many of have probably never really thought very deeply on the subject... One's beliefs are what they know. Mine are always open to change as I acquire more information. Too often I assume other people are open to change in the same way--most are not... In fact they will take science and twist it for their own purposes. Some Christians believe that climate change and the extreme weather events it creates, the raise of 45, and the strife in the Middle East are signs that the End Times are upon us.... hmm maybe they are onto something.

Anyone can do it. All blogging platforms provide an RSS feed, which was a simple but brilliant tool to help people, on the web, create their own news feed for consuming content over the web. Sadly we have given that responsibility over to social media... Again you can setup your blog up to do this too. But I did this so long ago I'd have to research up I set it up. Oh and Amazon have so many list for ranks that they are all together meaningless, but as with the reviews people are still swayed by them.

My blog is available a bazillion different ways and one of the is the Kindle. In advance of the of Amazon boycott--which is many months out, would you all rate or provide a review of the Kindle version of my Blog: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FCX4VA/ref=nosim?tag=aalbccom-20 It will be interesting to see what impact it has if any. Of course I'll report any impact I observe.

OK I'll concede the point; for I have no way of proving your fridge is in your kitchen if you are not looking at it, for the very act of making the observation is what places it there... At any rate, the are those who play fast and lose with science to delude people for the purposes of taking their money from their money. I'm not saying Neale is one of these people--I never heard of him. But this is really the foundation of my point..

I'm not so sure quantum mechanics is popular Mel. Sure I saw Particle Fever---in the theater, but is was not highly watched, earning less than $900K at the box office in limited release. Outside of this forum I don't talk to anyone else about it. Though whenever I teach young people I usually bring it up. Because the subject is a 100+ years old and I was never introduced to it in school I did subsequently read the report there was nothing it to substantiate Neale's statement. @Mel Hopkins you nailed the difference between scientists and what I called new agey folk. New Agey folk are perfectly comfortable relating what they know. Scientist relate what they can prove. Obviously there is a big difference. When a scientist believes something that is later proven wrong, they will dispense with the discredited idea and move on with the new one. For example, a scientist would not embrace astrology as scientific fact, because it has not been proven (it may have even been disproven), but an astrologer will believe in it because it is what they "know," scientific proof is irrelevant. Christian fundamentalist refuse to believe in evolution or the age of the universe, despite their world view being proven wrong.. Again facts don't matter. Again the problem I have with new agey folks is their misappropriation of science to further their means--especially the ones who do this to enrich themselves at the expense of others. I'm trying to learn not to waste time arguing with people about what they think they know (believe) once I tell them what has been proven. Now if people want to speculate about things that are unknowable (impossible to prove), like what was before the creation of our universe then I'm game Now I could very easily see a 45 supporter using Neale's statement to support "alternative facts." Science tells us that we all see a "different truth," and of course some truths (facts) are better than others.

I did not look at the article but based upon your description I'm familiar with the effect. Indeed I described a variation of this with the double slit experiment I described above. I described it as "famed," but I guess it really is not that well known because I doubt most people have much interest or knowledge of quantum physics. But again electrons are quantum particles and the objects that we can see do not behave the same way--at least no one has proven this. Of course this does not stop the new agey folks from suggest this to be true... We know for example that electrons can be in two places at the same time. Some even believe there other universes for this reason! But this is not something we can observe.

I dunno about the Amazon reviews Mel. I have published a few reviews on Amazon myself, but these are excerpts from the full reviews here on AALBC.com. I do it if the author request but not as a matter of course, because Amazon does not allow hyperlinks to external websites. So I can vouch for my reviews--but as far as the rest of ones on Amazon I take them with a grain of salt. Unless it is a trusted entity I do not trust random reviews written by unknown people on any site--not just Amazon. We know people pay for favorable reviews. We know people get fiends to write them. We also know that people even write negative reviews just to hurt another authors. Even the verified purchase reviews are gamed by slick marketers. The notion that we can get valuable information provided for free, like a professional written review of a book, is something that corporations take advantage of. But whenever there is a free, or low cost way, to influence public option on a large platform, that platform is prime territory to be exploited this includes Amazon, Wikipedia, Facebook, and even Google's search results. Amazon and Facebook do very little to clean this up because reviews even bogus ones drive traffic. I completely ignore reviews on Amazon for this reason. I read reviews written by professionals, unfortunately for Black books this means I'm not reading too many reviews of our books. But I completely understand than many people do read the review--which again is why they are gamed. There is a mechanism on this site informal reader reviews of every book on the website site. Here is the one of you books @Mel Hopkins: https://aalbc.com/books/home.php?isbn13=9781411673144#comment The is a link prompting reader to leave commesnt, but I get less than a handful of these a day. When I see on I like I sometimes shre them on social media. I have decided to focus on more formal process for identifying good books professional reviews, word of mouth from industry pros, and information I find on these discussion forums. You probably noticed the book review requests that are posted here. I look at each one but the benefit is that it is now a permanent part of the website, and other people will see it. @Faith U, yeah book clubs can certainly help word of mouth I have over 700 book clubs in my database: https://aalbc.com/bookclubs/ I could simply publish a list but I'm trying to reduce the number of authors that just blast the email addresses with unsolicited pitches to read their book. Most book clubs do not select their books in this fashion anyway--unless that author has a track record.

The following was shared by @Wendy Jones on the the page where I posted the results of the survey of the question; would you stop buying book from Amazon's bookstore to save the book industry? Where to begin. Well, first I'll answer the question Troy posed to me then I will attempt to answer some of the points made by the people who don't think it's a good idea to boycott Amazon. How did I decide to write a letter to the CEO resigning from being an Amazon purchaser? Here is one of the articles I read. This one deals with inhuman treatment of workers: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/amazon-devastating-expose-accuses-internet-retailer-of-oppressive-and-callous-attitude-to-staff-10458159.html I also read an expose in Mother Jones by an undercover investigative reporter. Here it is: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-free-online-shipping-warehouses-labor/ There is a third article, which I will continue looking for, in which British people came to the US to work for Amazon and were worked without pay, that is enslaved. As much as possible, I avoid supporting enslavement or sweatshop working conditions, though I know I am not completely successful. For instance, Goodreads, which I am on as a reader and a writer is owned by Amazon, but--I am told-- not yet managed by them. Now, about the book business. I am a writer and the owner of a small press. New to the book business, but not new in hearing about certain aspects of it, I do research and talk to my fellow writers and the people who worked on the book Ida Bell Publishing, LLC just published. I will do my best to deal with the objections to a boycott. 1) Low Cost Books: As someone who reads about a book a week, I can understand that very few avid readers can afford full price books. That is why I have been a lifelong user of the public library system. Maybe my experience in New Jersey is unique, but I can get any book or movie that I want through my local library. My local library just joined a consortium--a group of libraries in the area that share books-- that nearly eliminates the need for interlibrary loan. Books have shown up in a few days, so far always less than a week. Some books are must haves either for yourself or for friends. For discount books, I have used Alibris.com successfully. The Strand.com is no longer that useful. There are others, which I am sure you know and listed in your comments. The Amazon pattern is an old one. Look up the history of Standard Oil. Same tune, different lyrics. Venture capitalists invest in Amazon so they can afford to take a loss and put their profits into buying up Whole Foods and building brick and mortar bookstores--which they had previously said were outdated. They will probably go employee-free in both instances and put in scanners and robots. Once every competitor in a particular industry has gone bankrupt, they will then raise the prices to whatever level they want. Since they will be the only game in town, you will pay their price or do without. If we don't do something to stop this now, we will only have ourselves to blame. 2) Self-Published Authors This argument I have heard from the folks at Independent Book Publishers Association. I am sure I am not understanding the whole picture, so would my fellow writer please explain it to me? I used "The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing" by Sue Collier and Marilyn Ross as my main reference and branched off from there. I saw that there were now many different avenues to getting past the gatekeeper agents and publishers. I looked at the subsidy publishers, but to me they were still middle people that I wanted to avoid, but I know other writers who have used them. I know CreateSpace is owned by Amazon, but I don't think Lightening Spark or Hudson Press (I know a writer who had a terrible experience there) or any of the others are. Also there was the Print On Demand option (which seemed too expensive to me). Anyway, let's say you used one of the non-Amazon subsidy publishers, why would you have to place your book on the Amazon platform? Couldn't you have a website and look for the readers of your particular kind of book in their specialty groups? The food lovers who read the cooking blogs and the mystery readers in their various clubs online and off. My point is this, even if Amazon wasn't (a good deal today is not going to be a good deal tomorrow) Take a look at this article: http://articles.ibpa-online.org/article/breaking-up-with-amazon/ cheating writers an d publishers, the place is too crowded. If I am selling on Times Square along with the other 5,000 vendors how will I stand out? But if I go in search of the people who are especially interested in my handcrafted, wooden toys and set up on a side street, I'll have more success. So, assuming you are not using CreateSpace (you could always use another subsidy publisher) why do you need Amazon? Please tell me what I'm missing? The only choice left to me was to set up my own version of Hogarth Press (now owned by one of the Big Five traditional publishers), the press set up by Virgina and Leonard Woolf to publish their friends in the Bloomsbury group. Did I want to start another business, a publishing business at that? No, but it was the only way I could get past agents and publishers asking me why I was writing a book in my mother's voice (they wanted it in mine) about a black woman who wasn't famous (what she achieved in her life despite obstacles would help other people in her situation) and why did it have all this African American history in it (an African American woman born in 1920 who becomes the first black woman in management at a Fortune 500 company as well as a Harlem activist needs to be shown in a historical context) ? So yes, fellow writer, I understand about the gatekeepers. I would never knowingly do anything to harm a fellow writer's chances. Oh, and I understand that readers will have to be in the front of this fight. If we writers start talking about Amazon, no one will give us the time to talk about our books. This is the fine advice I received from my former publicist. I'll wait for your reply, but won't be responding tonight.

Exactly! That is another important point Mel. Amazon authors always gloss over the fact that they are making less money per book that they would if the sold via virtually any other platform--including their own. Booksellers who sell through Amazon make less money too. I get paid based upon the sale price of the book I sold a lot of sub-$2 books this period. Commissions of a $0.99 book are negligible--even if I sell a lot of them. Also 1/3 of my sales for the last two months were reduced priced books sold by third parties on Amazon--I'm sure the authors don't see royalties on any these sales since many of the books second hand and of course my commission are much less. Since my per book sales are much less, I actually make less money selling books despite record traffic. My only recourse would be to sell directly or through other channels, but that brings us back to the same problem--people are conditioned to only buy from Amazon. Now if all authors sold their own books or made their books available someplace other than Amazon I could direct readers to those alternative places. Sorry to read that Amazon may have stiffed you on those commissions. @Mel Hopkins If you buy your own on Amazon do you earn a commission and royalty for that sale?

And another thing.... "I Sell More Books Through Amazon than Any Other Platform" Many authors are wrestling with the decision to give Amazon exclusivity for their eBooks. Many others have already done it. Some of the strongest criticism I've encountered regarding my proposed boycott of Amazon's bookstore is from authors who have given Amazon exclusivity for their ebooks. The are complaining that a boycott would eliminate all of their revenue. Now image any other retailer demanding exclusively on a product they did not create themselves. Why would anyone limit their product to one store? And how does one store wield so much power that author do it? The answer is simple Amazon is a monopoly for ebooks. Authors who commit to Amazon are happy to say they they sell more ebooks on Amazon than Apple, B&N, Kobo and Smashwords combined. Of course they do, but again that is because Amazon owns the ebook space. Of course none of these authors appreciate that if eBooks format was universal and could be viewed on any platform and could be purchased at any store--they would be able to sell more books and would not be beholden to a single company. But again this will not happen because Amazon controls the software, hardware, and distribution platforms for ebooks. They set the terms and either you deal with Amazon or you don't sell very many ebooks--if any.

You are so right about "acceptance." This explains why some authors are so pro-Amazon. They say things like, "Amazon published my book when mainstream publishers rejected me." Amazon publishes ANYBODY. They think being on Amazon is a big deal. Now when Amazon first started I could see thinking that way, but in 2017...gimme a break. I too was keen on Amazon initially. I was also keen on Google and Facebook too, but once these guys started abusing their power and have grown into damn near become monopolies I have to push back. Fortunately, there are enough folks who are interested in helping to organize a boycott of the bookstore--indeed many are already engaged in a personal boycott. I'm not sure what a boycott will look like at this point, but I plan to reach out to folks today. I'm going to shut down the questionnaire today.

Karen Quinones-MIller, one of the first bestselling authors on AALBC.com. Shared my "Would you Stop Buying Book from Amazon to Save the Book Industry" questionnaire with a group on Facebook. In fact, it was her very first post to the group. I'm not a member of the group, but Karen tagged me on a few replies so a read them and decided to reply. It was the first time I've engaged on Facebook in substantive way in a very long time. This exchange demonstrates how filter bubbles are work and are created, which is one of of the reasons I'm posting the entire exchange ere. I engaged with two people who disagreed with me. After I'd stopped commenting, one of them wrote that they were going to report my comments to the group's admin in an effort to have me banned from the group. The guy wants me banned because he said I called him "ignorant and stupid." I did describe his comments (not him) as ignorant, because they revealed a lack of knowledge of the subject. I never called him stupid, though he probably is. If I were still participating I would call him a woose. I have never encountered a man who would handle a disagreement online by calling the administrator to have someone they disagreed with banned. I was tempted to express this sentiment to him, but I'd already given Facebook too much of my time. If you care to read through the exchange what you see how a filter bubble are created when one disagrees with the narrative held by the group. People will; Immediately reject the opposing opinion without actually examining it Manufacture a position that was never asserted and argue against it (attacking a strawman) They will make statements that are factually inaccurate to support their arguments When reason fails, and the fallacy of their argument is made plain, they will claim to be insulted--taking the critique of their statement personally Finally, when all else fails they will remove you from the group Now obviously I could care less about being booted from a Facebook group; The main takeaway from this exchange for me is that as @Mel Hopkins said I should devote my time working with people who get it rather than trying to convince people who don't get it. You don't need an MBA to understand that monopolies are bad. My two antagonists below won't even concede that point and reject the notion that Amazon is approaching or exercising monopolistic power. I simply found it fascinating to see, first hand, how a filter bubble are maintained. If you decide to read through this exchange you'll find that I'm was no more "insulting" that I am here I also removed the images and last names of everyone involved except Karen and myself. Karen E. Quinones Miller shared her first post. New Member · October 26 at 8:36pm AALBC.com (The African American Literature Book Club) October 26 at 6:49pm Would You Stop Buying Books from Amazon.com to Save the Book Industry? Let us know what you think by filling out this very short questionnaire: https://aalbc.com/…/2017/10/25/stop-buying-books-amazon-com/ Would You Stop Buying Books from Amazon.com to Save the Book Industry? Would you consider helping to organize, or joining an effort, to a boycott the buying of books from Amazon to reverse their control of the book industry so… AALBC.COM 33 Comments SabrinaI never buy electronic books. I have a kindle and never use it. Nothing can replace the feel and smell of a book.ve DanielleI 100% agree! I was so excited when I got my Kindle, but it's just not the same. . . Susan Thats what I say . I never use my kindle . Carol Kindle all the time for me, read so many new authors since I got mine Valerie My friend has been rejected so many times from publishing houses as they are extremely restrictive so she has now published three of her series of sixteen books and they are so popular. No I won't boycott Amazon in favour of publishers and a more restricted choice of authors. Plus digital books don't waste trees. I love old books but don't want to kill more trees for a book.move Helen I buy what I can afford and that certainly doesn't include places like water stones whose prices are extortionate x Kerry I love the smell and touch of new books but environmentally, for me, it has to be the kindle.Remove Gabby I buy real books through amazon. I do admit I also have some ebooks of hard to find books. DianaNope never...I love my kindle and my library...as long as Amazon offers books I'll buy them Bill I can get a book that store doesnt have for cheaper on amazon and delivered to my door the next day.e Amethyst The only way I read now is digital. I used to read about a book a week pre kids, now I can't remember the last paper back I read. But I got a Kindle and use Amazon and the OverDrive app through my library and I've read more books this year then I have in the past 4move Crissy I can only read digital books because of my rheumatoid arthritis. if I read a hard copy book I am limited to reading for short periods of time. Sarah I hope people wouldn't, it's where I sell my books primarily. Sarah I hope people wouldn't, it's where I sell my books primarily. [below is where Karen shared this comment with me--otherwise i would have been oblivious to it] Remove Karen E. Quinones Miller Troy Johnson · Reply · October 27 at 8:23pm Remove Troy Johnson Hi Sarah, this is a comment sentiment shared by self-published authors. But you sell your books primarily with Amazon because they are a monopoly, the lack of options is always a bad thing If you are not old enough to remember Ma Bell, think about your local cable company. Today Amazon sells books at a loss, tomorrow this will not be the case. Indeed they have already started gouging third party vendors simply because consumers are treating Amazon as if that is the only place to buy anything on line. Please tell us the how much Amazon takes from the sale of your books and if you believe this is fair?anage Sarah Amazon takes 30% from the sale of my books which I believe is totally fair as it is far less than any other outlet would take. Boycotting amazon is completely irresponsible as it removes a livelihood from hundreds of self published authors. Frankly I hope this initiative falls so dead that it has the exact opposite to the desired effect. Why anyone would wish to see self published authors struggling even more is beyond me. I am honestly disgusted. Troy Johnson I have just posted the preliminary results with tons of comments from people pro-amazon, anot-amazon and those who are unsure: https://aalbc.com/would_you_boycott_amazon.php Survey Results: “Would You Stop Buying Books from Amazon.com?” replace description AALBC.COM · October 28 at 6:35am Manage Troy Johnson María, Valerie, Roxanne It is interesting that some have made this an issue of Amazon versus mainstream publishing. Sure Amazon is manhandling the "Big 5" publishers, but my motivation for this action is to help independent authors, publishers, and booksellers. Manage Troy Johnson I'm not sure if you've read my article. In it I reference a report: Amazon’s Stranglehold: How the Company’s Tightening Grip Is Stifling Competition, Eroding Jobs, and Threatening Communities (Institute for Local Self-Reliance), you may download it here: https://aalbc.com/pdf/ILSR_AmazonReport_final.pdf Your explanation of Amazon's business model and the reason for the profits might change after reading more about how the company operates. Manage Troy Johnson María, being insulted is your choice. I simply did not think you read my article or any of the related information because of what you wrote. In many areas Amazon is, or approaching, becoming a monopoly. Surely you must realize a monopoly represents is a complete failure of capitalism. Now if you think Amazon is a reflection of capitalism working well; then we will have to disagree--no insult intended. [Maria must have deleted the comment I responded to because it is no longer in the thread] Manage Valerie I purchase books from Amazon, Kobo, local bookshops, charity shops and mainstream sellers. I support local bookshops as I love them and don't want to lose them. So no this isn't just about Amazon. Remove SarahThen stop being a prat and kill this before it starts. You are going to HURT independently published authors beyond belief. Your actions are completely irresponsible and you clearly have not properly considered the consequences for the people who depend on ebook sales through Amazon to make a living. Troy Johnson Sarah, my sole motivation for considering this action is to benefit independent authors, publishers, and booksellers. I would be willing to bet that I've made more money from Amazon that you have, since I've been an affiliate for them since 2002. If I were to boycott them I'd be cutting off a revenue stream--fortunately my livelihood is not dependent upon a single corporation. But again the very fact that you believe that I would "HURT independently published authors beyond belief" is precisely the problem I'm trying to solve. No author should be dependent upon one company. Again this is the situation monopolies create. Manage Sarah You obviously fail to see the point completely Troy Johnson. I have a very successful tuition business and rely on amazon precisely zero for the roof over my head. Others are not so fortunate. Attempting to make them destitute to further your own political cause in this way is frankly despicable. Remove Troy Johnson Being hyperbolic and accusing me of wanting to make others destitute is absurdly hyperbolic and/or disingenuous. But thanks for your comments. Manage Sarah That may not actually be your aim, but if this poorly thought out action were to succeed that would be precisely the result. I know you think you are doing a good thing here but your grasp of the potential consequences is atrocious. Jess Sorry, I absolutely agree with Sarah. I have several friends who are self-published because they were refused over and over by the big publishing houses who are nothing but pleased with their experience publishing through Amazon. My sister-in-law used several different avenues to publish and Amazon has consistently been the best for revenue and getting her book out to the most people. · October 29 at 5:38pm · Edited Remove Hide 16 Replies Troy Johnson HI Jess so you too agree that a Monopoly is good for the public? Here is another anecdote for you. I have been paid consistently by Amazon as an affiliate since 2002. But I'd be willing to boycott because writers, publishers and even readers are bei...See More Manage Jess Troy Johnson its interesting that several people who are publishing digitally via Amazon I've discussed your comments with have the same general opinion of your boycott "I don't want to cut off my nose to spite my face. Compared to what I made before, which is zero, I'm not selling at a loss on Amazon." Remove Jess Several also are of the opinion that you are trying to squash the livelihood of digital-only published authors. I'm not a writer, just a reader. But I will say you can pry my Kindle out of my cold dead hands, and my 86-year-old grandmother would probably kick you in the shins if you tried to take away the 15+ books a month she's able to read thanks to a resizable font screen and Kindle Unlimited. Remove Troy Johnson Jess I hear you, but can't you see that Amazon's monopoly on ebooks allows them to completely control the market place? Don't you see that the lack of competition actually reduces choice and raises prices? Do you think it is good that ebooks can be only read on devices controlled by one vendor's software? Suppose another vendor like B&N introduced a better eBook reader and called it the Nook, no one would buy it because of Amazon's monopoly of eBooks. This reduces innovation over the long term. October 30 at 3:06pm Manage Jess Troy Johnson, I have both a Nook and a Kindle, actually. I prefer the Kindle. Not to mention B&N was already caught-out price fixing and I got a tidy refund thanks to the lawsuit. Since then I've given my business to Amazon and dont plan to do otherwise. I pay $100 a year for Prime. Amazon is one stop shopping for me, along with streaming movies, video, music and free/low cost books. Amazon employees a lot of people in my area, and the ones I know personally are happy with the company, pay and benefits. That also means I pay sales tax on Amazon because we have a local fullfillment center the next town over, so I have no qualms from a concerned citizen perspective about dodging state tax revenue. You are twisting the argument about proprietary file types. The Nook was a closed system as well. I can download Kindle books to my phone, laptop, computer, other tablets etc. and read them with a free app provided by Amazon. That was a stretch for you at best, and makes it look like you're grasping. Amazon's monopoly? I clearly said in my original post that my sister-in-law self-published through multiple avenues, but Amazon has been the best at revenue. So, how is Amazon a true monopoly when folks can self-publish other places? I have a close friend who justsr published a series and paid extra on two of the self-publishing websites for advertising and release day promos that never happened. Their response? "That sucks. No refunds." So the issue isn't all pricing, its not being very good at business. Amazon is good at what it does. Books are a loss leader for them. Its true. But dont pretend that an author is any more entitled to big bucks than a game developer or musician. There are self-published people who have made a nice sum off an app game that's gone viral (Candy Crush anyone? And that wasnt even original, it was a knock-off of a PC game from the 90s) and millions from a song (too many examples to list) at $1 a pop. You're complaining about what? $5 each on an ebook? When they've put in just as much time developing games and music as you have writing a book - likely more. Also you fail to address that Apple colluded with Random House and several other large publishing houses to set the price of books to break Amazon and later get a bigger cut. Short memory? Finally, I find your assertion that it has the potential to hurt readers over time because its so hard on the industry amusing. That argument may have held water 20 years ago before we saw what the music and movie industries went through. But after all of the threats that bands would stop making music, film studios would stop making movies, and we'd see the end of independent labels its been the opposite to a laughable extent. Labels and studios are making less money, but I've still been to 11 concerts, 15 movies and bought several albums this year. There's been an explosion of independently created entertainment content thanks to the internet. I discover bands I would have never heard of before on Spotify and buy their music on Amazon. I can watch independent movies and shows on YouTube and various other avenues and kick them money directly via Patreon. Just like I can buy ebooks from independent writers and spread the money around. Your problem isn't with Amazon, its with progress. Look the frank answer is, be glad you get paid for your books at all thanks to Amazon. Lots of people will kick out a couple of bucks for a book, but if they had to pay $15+ for a digital copy every time you'd see an even bigger jump in book piracy. If we want to get technical I could buy all my physical books at HPB amd Thriftbooks, and get my digital on Pirate's Bay but I don't. The music companies finally learned $1 a song via ITunes and Amazon was better than nothing. Its 2017, not 1917. Remove Troy Johnson I appreciate the thoughtful reply Jess. It is fascinating that you could make statement like this, "Books are a loss leader for them. Its true. But don't pretend that an author is any more entitled to big bucks than a game developer or musician." First you gloss over the fact that Amazon is selling books below cost and completely ignoring of the ramification of that and then say that writers need not be paid well--like musicians. I just discovered a website with links to a few articles that explain these issues in more detail than I have tome to go into now. If you have time check them out, you might see thing from a different perspective: https://socialjusticebooks.org/about/why-boycott-amazon/ otherwise I'm sure their is nothing I can say to help you see a larger picture. Why Boycott Amazon? - Social Justice Books “Amazon’s business practices are… SOCIALJUSTICEBOOKS.ORG Jess Incorrect, you've already misinterpreted what I said. Musicians who make good music make good money by selling songs one at a time for $1. They develop a following, make some money off the door and merch. Developers who make good games make good money. Even a console specific game is $60, which is nothing compated to how much it costs to make (usually several million dollars). And guess what, those are proprietary as well, hmmm. Writers who write good books should make good money. They can earn it one sale at a time like everyone else. I can hear songs for free and know if I want to buy them. I can free play trials of a game and know if I want to play them. With an ebook I can read a chapter or two and decide if I want to spend money on it. If you want to sell books write well. Bad authors shouldn't be rewarded on the front end with $20 for an awful book. Yet they are when they're published with a book publisher, or if folks like you had their way. My earnings are just as important as yours. I think $5-$10 for a digital bookis fair, depensing on how well-known the author is. Remove Jess And I've followed the Amazon boycott business for a while now and have already read what you linked. It didnt change my mind then and hasnt now. My local Barnes and Noble is PACKED every time I walk in. If you dont want your books sold at a loss on Amazon get with a big publisher, let them take their cut, and sell only hard copies. Part of the problem known authors with a publishing house run in to is the double-dip on ebooks - their publisher takes a cut, Amazon takes a cut, and they get the rest. If Amazon is selling the ebook foe the publisher, shouldnt the publisher be the one giving up part of their cut? Or can they do no wrong? Hmmm... If you want me to pay the same price for a digital copy as a hard copy you're chasing unicorns. Anything more than half for a digital copy means I'll wait and buy second-hand, so you dont get any money at all. Remove Jess María yes I noticed that. The fact he keeps repeating talking points, and even linked an article in rebuttal that mostly contained things I already addressed, is pretty telling. Its like talking politics, and I know where my opinion lies. Troy Johnson I guess this is what is meant by classic "filter bubble." You two make stuff up and reinforce each other's unformed opinions. Yes, I'm a bookseller which is why I objectively know more about this subject than either of you. I'm sure in your ignorance you'll reject this notion. There is obviously nothing I can do about that. Did you read that I have sold books, and have been paid by Amazon, as an affiliate since 2002? Amazon is not my competitor. I also sell books via B&N, Indiebound, through self-published authors and publishers. I sell books directly and provide links to the local library. My goal is to get books into the hands of people any way that makes sense. My business model deals with helping connect readers with the book they'll enjoy. You are too biased so see that my actions are not about my business--it is about the entire industry. Again, Amazon's near monopolistic power is adversely impacting the process of getting the best books into the hands of readers. Your refusal to comprehend this does not change this fact. The question I proposed is; Should we boycott Amazon's bookstore in order the save the industry? Since both of you have demonstrated both very limited knowledge of the subject, and bizarre unwillingness (perhaps inability) to learn more. I'll leave you as you are. Fortunately, the majority do not share your limited view, which is encouraging. Peace. Manage Jess Troy Johnson all you seem to be interested in is slinging underhanded insults at people who disagree with you. So how about this? I would never EVER buy a book from you or anyone affiliated with you. The majority of whom? Your fellow cronies you invited to take your poll? I asked five self-published authors I know their opinion on your poll, providing them your links, and they disagree with you as well. If the "majority do not share my limited view" then why is Amazon dominating the field? Jess And obviously not the majority here, by the way. 3 likes out of an active group of almost two thousand members. Remove Karen E. Quinones Miller Jess Jess, I consider myself affiliated with Troy Johnson, and am proud to say so. I understand your ire with Troy, under the circumstances . . . but am sorry that ire extended over to little ole me, who has done no harm and whom you've never met. Remove Karen E. Quinones Miller María I am an author… Not a publisher. The reason I started a publishing company is so that I could self published my first book. As far as me just joined this group, I did not join it in order to start this thread. I thought it was a good group… And the thoughtful comments posted in this thread has reinforced that relief. If you guys feel that I should leave the group, I will. But I will consider it my loss. (Also, please note that I have "liked" everybody's comments on this thread not just Troy's. I have found all of them well thought out… And have been more fully educated on this issue by both the groups comments and Troy Johnson.) Remove Jess I've already reported this post, and hope one of the admins takes the time to review Troy's comments, in particular where he calls me ignorant and stupid. Obviously I'm smart enough to know when I've been talked down to and insulted. Which, last I checked, was not tolerated here. Quite frankly I'm not interested in having any type of relationship with internet bullies who resort to insults when met with resistance to someone being swayed to their opinion. Nor am I interested in patronizing their businesses. Remove Karen E. Quinones Miller María I understand your points, and I accept your criticism, adding an apology for disruption, though I'm sure you will understand my not apologizing for anyone else's behavior. I would like to point out, though, that I liked everyone's post as they posted them. Or as soon as I came online and saw them. And for clarification, I didn't bring Troy in to stir trouble, but only for him to see the answers to the question he queried and I posted . . . I had no idea he planned to say anything. (But I will admit I liked the back-and- forth once he did. Very educational, in my view!) I do hope I don't get blocked from this group because I think I can benefit from the interaction here. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Oh I forgot one more important thing; The Role of the BooksellerThe publishers sales staff sells to the distributors, the distributors sell books to the stores, and the bookseller sells books to the reader. Publicity departments, and the authors themselves, will pitch books to booksellers and send them advance copies (galleys) to review prior to publication. Booksellers sort through all these books sell the titles they think their readers will enjoy most. As a result you can go into Esowon's book store in Los Angeles randomly pick a novel off the shelf and you can be confident that the product is well written and there is a good change you will enjoy the book. Even here on AALBC.com my list of critically acclaimed titles goes back almost 50 years goes back almost 50 years and I defy you to find a less than excellent book in the list. Try picking a random book from the Amazon store. There is a very big difference selling books to please a reader versus selling a book to drive revenue. Today more books are published than ever before. The vast majority of these book were published outside traditional publishing. Many of these books were produced without distribution and without a marketing plan or budget. Many, if not most, of these book were not professionally edited and are just poorly written. They hit the market place with zero vetting and readers are left to sort through the morass. As a result, the vast majority of books come and go without ever finding an audience or selling very many copies--deservedly so. Since the Black Book Ecosystem has lost hundreds of booksellers both brick and mortar and web based. We have fewer resources to identify the diamonds in the rough. Fewer Black books are being reviewed and those that are reviewed are being reviewed by unpaid amateurs on platforms without an audience. Today we have very few platforms for authors to market their books. As a result, Black people do not determine which books are important. Still, many self published authors, remain angry with Indie brick and mortar bookstores for refusing to stock some of their books. But booksellers know their market and are not in the business of wasting valuable shelf space stocking poorly written books that they can;t sell. Many of these authors now sing Amazons' praises for "stocking"their books, and they are quite proud to say their book is available on Amazon. But Amazon is a website and can stock any book, because virtual shelf space is effectively free and they will make money on any book they sell. In fact, many authors will pay Amazon for the privilege of selling on Amazon, give them a percentage of sales, and promote Amazon at every turn. These same authors would never give an indie bookseller the same terms and be so happy about it. @Faith U, you don't need money to secure an agent. They work on commission. Sure there are agents that will charge you but they are unscrupulous; avoid them like the plague. Finding an agent to work with you will require effort, but that is part of the process. Printing does not have to be costly. I just started a service, working with a Black owned printer, to offer printer services for short runs. This is not as expensive as POD (where individual books are printed when ordered), or as cheap as offset where you are printing thousands of copies, but if you need 200 copies I'm your guy: https://aalbcprintsbooks.com/ I'm not familiar with Ganxy. The "how it works" link on their site was broken. How did you discover them? In fact Faith how did you discover AALBC.com

@Del, our brain works on a purely subjective manner. Even our own memories can be influenced to such an extend we can remember things that have never happened. Science forces us to be objective which is something most of us fight because, I suspect, it is against our nature. People are motivated by emotions not facts. @Cynique, I not surprised the meme was not written by a scientist. I just never heard a scientist assert such a thing. I have heard people like Deepak Chopra twist science in a similar matter. I wish he and others would not do this because it confuses people about the science which is already confusing. I took issue with this statement from the meme: "Quantum Physics tell us that nothing observed is unaffected by the observer" Again I described why this my be true at he quantum level but the statement implied that every thing is effected by the observer. I never heard scientist make this statement. I don't believe it to be true. Now your statement, which follows would be a reasonable it the above statement is true. "Its experiments have proven that your eyes integrate an image that disintegrates when the eyes look away." Now I definitely know very little about Quantum physics, which is why I asked for a source where a scientist said anything related to what you wrote or what was in the meme. But hey who knows you maybe you're right. Or perhaps you are just a fiction created by my own conscientious, no more real that a dream. Or, as some believe, the results of a science project for some 5th grader in a super-advanced alien culture.

@Cynique, I too have come to enjoy watching videos on Quantum Physics and have even read a couple of books on the subject, but I have never read anything written by a scientist that says, "...Its experiments have proven that your eyes integrate an image that disintegrates when the eyes look away." If you can share a source of this idea it would be interesting to check out. Of course I'm familiar with the famed double slit experiment which demonstrates how the location of an electron can only be determined when it is observed (it's wave function collapses). But again this is true at the quantum level. Your refrigerator however is still there whether you or anyone else is looking at it. @Del, this is completely different that the blind spot we have or the optical illusions we previously discussed; which reveal flaws in the how our eyes and brain perceive reality, not the nature of it. @Pioneer1, you give white folks too much credit. Western civilization is founded on ideas learned from Africa. The ancient Greeks did not hide this. In fact, we know Black Africans built the Pyramids, and know one is even sure how it was done--even with today's technology. So reluctant are are white people today willing to give credit to the Black people, they rather say aliens built them?! I was unaware of ancient Africa's contribution to civilization or quantum physics until I began reading books on my own; largely promoted by creating this site. Nother subject was taught to me in school. I think both subjects would have had me riveted.

@Pioneer1, I'm completely unfamiliar with the notion that large communities of poor white people want to be poor Anecdotally, one of the most common conversations I overhear, when in Florida, is white people talking about how hard they work. I was at a book fair the Ft Myers and witnessed a popcorn vendor talking to an ice cream vendor next to her, saying that this was just a part time job. She explained that she had another job and was working 7 days a week. The ice cream vendor was working three part time jobs and was looking for full time work. Neither appeared to be racist. The popcorn lady provided me with friendly service. Of course there are white racists who are poor, but I doubt either group wants to be poor. I believe being racist is a consequence of poverty due to lack of education and scapegoated promoted by manipulative plutocrats like 45. Of course there are middle class racist, but they are probably only one or two generations out of poverty and there are rich racists--who truly believe they are genetically superior, but they are just stupid. Some people understand intuitively, or through life experience, that racism is a flawed belief system. Anyone with a decent education should know this as well. Unfortunately given the state of our education system and our habit of consuming information through social media memes, both poverty and the racism it breeds will probably grow.

Pioneer and Del have found common ground... my job is done here, this house is clean