Troy

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

Hmmm, at the quantum level perhaps, but the the macro level--the stuff we can actually see, I doubt this is true. It sounds all new agey stuff, but I think this is one of those instances of people trying to shoe horn quantum physics into some form of spirituality.

Hi @Faith U, first please share your website's URL. Here are a few things to consider (this is not directed solely to you Faith): Website Traffic It is very hard for anyone to get traffic to a website--especially today. For many people their internet experience is limited to a handful of corporate websites, and those websites do everything in their power to keep it that way. I spend as much time working on getting traffic as I do creating content. The Biggest Myth of Self-publishing While it is true that anyone can produce a book (with or without Amazon), one of the greatest myths that indie authors have been sold, is every manuscript is worth publishing and that any book will sell easily as long as it gets into the market place. Company's like Amazon, and vanity presses before them, take advantage of this myth. Amazon v.s. Traditional Publishing One of the most common arguments I've read in favor of Amazon is that Amazon has made it possible for people to get published who could not get published otherwise. This reasoning makes no sense for a number of reasons but I'll list two Mainstream publishers PAY YOU to publish a book. They are investing in your manuscript because they believe they can profit from your book. They lose more times than they win but publishers can take chances if they score a few big wins. More mission driven publishers, typically the independents, will also consider how important you work is and will publish you because you work "needs" be to read. In any case you are not paying to be published. In the Amazon dominated world publisher have to be more risk averse. This, of courser, usually means less chances are taken on Black authors. In the Amazon scenario, as long as you have money they will publish your book. Amazon gets paid no matter what happens and the author assumes all of the risk. Even though there are more published books than ever before readers actually have less choice because they are not selecting from the universe of all self published books--just the ones they discover. Amazon is the only place to buy rare, used, or hard to find books. This books were always available--even online directly from the bookseller's website. Today the customer has been trained to only look for books on Amazon. As a result booksellers feel compelled to sell through Amazon to reach a consumer. Obviously Amazon does not serve as a middle man for free. The net result is that the book costs more than it would if purchased directly from the bookseller or the bookseller eats the Amazon transaction cost--or both. In any event, the price of these book are increased. eBooks Amazon is a monopoly.they control the price and discoverability of this product. Increasingly with the KDP Select program Amazon obtains exclusivity. Here is an interesting website that answer the question, Why Boycott Amazon?

You are probably right @Mel Hopkins, thanks for the advice. Over 150 people have completed the questionnaire so far I'm going to work with the first 100 affirmative responses and see how far I can get with building a coalition.

I can see that as I collect information a build a team of supporters that I'll need to also help readers and self-published authors understand the options that they have available to them. Many fell not only that Amazon is their best options for obtaining or publishing books, but they feel it is their ONLY option. At this point 2/3 of the survey's respondents would support a boycott.

I realized as soon as the family on the beach in Brazil came up that I'd seen the documentary before. But I did like the approach of putting the issue of poverty in a global context. The documentary is a decade old and things have gotten worse. The interesting thing about 45 dissing the widow was the fact that America was carrying out operations in Niger. Wait, what what the heck are we doing in Niger? All due respect to the widow, but 45's flubbing of the condolence was both expected and pales in comparison to what American is doing in with our money, and in our name, on the continent of Africa. There are many who feel we are growing our colonizing ways, raping Africa of their resources, and impoverishing the people. But as long as we have cell phones (Africa is rich in the metals needed to make these devices), we don't care. But how can we care? We don't have a media with the resources to help us understand what is happening and why it matters.

I could see why you may feel like a "bitter Black woman lacking compassion," but I don't see it that way. If you were totally devoid of compassion you would not have bothered sharing your thoughts. Rather I think that you are a mature human being telling her truth. I'd be willing to bet that most people don't care about the things you mentioned. We are bombarded with so much it is hard to care about any--at least not until it effects you and then it is usually too late... I trust that at some point we will put our focus more on what people your age have to say @Cyniquerather than the twenty-somethings, and dysfunctional older people, who get all the media's attention. Maybe in that world people your age would feel more invested in what happens after they are gone and everyone else would benefit as a result. While most of the people who read what you write will not acknowledge it, you do have an audience who benefits from your thoughts. Hopefully you won't become too bitter to sharing them here.

I hear you both, but we can simply live are lives. If you engage with the world--they are constantly assaulted us in a myriad of ways. And when I say "they" I don;t mean all white folks or even a majority of them. I'm talking about the plutocracy, who treat poor an middle class white folks like crap too. The dot com bubble, the real estate meltdown, hyperincareation, drugs, affect them too. Sure Black folks are adversely impacted disproportionately, but making this an issue of race is why these problems can't be fixed. Racism is an invention of the ultra-rich to keep us fighting with each other rather than dealing with our real enemy.

I'm going to watch this too. "We aren't inching towards the haves and have nots... we are there - slaves and slave masters..." Exactly. But this we will not change because too many people don't realize this or care. The most astonishing reaction to my proposed boycott of Amazon, for example, is that some, a minority for sure, but a sizeable one, sees absolutely nothing wrong with Amazon being a monopoly. Here is a conversation I had with someone (who I don't know) on Facebook over a period of less than 24 hours. The conversation went nowhere. I don't see how I could possible help someone like this understand why Amazon's growing dominance is bad for all concerned (save Amazon's investors). Troy Johnson María, 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 María Cristina Silva López Amazon is not the only place independent authors can use to publish. There's tons more. But they require extra work and advertising, which many are not willing/able to put in. Hardly Amazon's fault. As for independent booksellers, there's Amazon marketplace, as well as many other alternatives. Nowadays if a person wants to run a business and be profitable they can't just expect one source of revenue income. That's why Amazon is so profitable, they get it. It's not just books, it's clothes, it's appliances, it's groceries, it's dash buttons, it's own products, it's percentages of other business' sales. It's a great business model that anyone could replicate in smaller scale. Bitching and moaning about the big bad Amazon is not gonna get these people sales, but it's a heck of a lot easier that working your arse off to get them. Consumers are turning to alternatives from traditional publishing because they're not getting what they want. Amazon is just one of the ways they can access that. 30 years ago it would have been impossible for me to discover a self-published teen author from Australia. Today that teen can get my money and a new fan, and I can help spread their name around. Remove 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 her...See More Manage María Cristina Silva López Yeah I read it. I agree with a lot of it, the way they do some things is far from great. Doesn't contradict at all what I'm saying though. Assuming I didn't because I don't suddenly agree with you it's insulting towards me and extremely arrogant. They ...See More Remove 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. Manage Valerie Drew 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 Sarah Hindmarsh Then 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. Remove 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 Hindmarsh 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 Hindmarsh 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. At this point i gave up. Some people have to had the last word, and I was clearly not getting anywhere. But it gives you a sense of how Amazon has become an issue of religious proportions. I doubt even a documentary like the one above will make a dent in people like the person I was debating above.

Here are the preliminary survey results. Over 100 people have commented so far.

Yes I understand we all want it to be seamless as well as transparent. This will take some time to develop. Send your thank you page when it has been created and I'll follow up shortly. Dealing with the monopoly Amazon has become, will be driven by authors folks like you who chose to take control of their products rather than completely handing it over to Amazon. If people want your book they will have to buy it from you. You will make more money simply by keeping Amazon out of you pockets and readers will get the books for less money. One very fundamental thing that readers are missing is that Amazon is a monopoly they can only sell books at 40% off and ship them to you for free because they can afford to take a loss on that sale. Sure, the reader "benefits" in the short term with cheap book but the longer-term adverse impacts are incurable. The loss of Black indie book sellers on line and off is just one aspect.

@Mel Hopkins, I'm so glad you explained, in more detail, how marketing and sales work in publishing. Others (especially indie authors) will appreciate the effort it actually takes to get books into the hands of readers. They really do believe Amazon sells books for them and gets them in from of readers and there are no other options. I just updated your link to reflect the AALBC.com button you sent (it will work the same way). Now just to be clear when someone purchases the book are they send back to a thank you page on your site or is the PayPal confirm the last stop? . If you create a customized thank you page I can show you how to use Google Tag Manager to determine where those customers, who actually purchased your book came from. If fact, once you set up Tag manager you can give me limited access to your Tag Manager account and I can set this up for you. I'm currently working with others to do this, but I'd be at you to the list. Just peeping the responses to my survey has been eye opening! While the results don't surprise, as it is consistent with the behavior I've observed, the reasoning is a little surprising. The subject has clearly hit a cord; in less that 24 hours, over a hundred people have filled out the form.... more on that later.

Hi @Mel Hopkins, I asked about the customized thank you page for your PayPal transactions, not because of customer service, but because it give me a place where I can have you drop some code to actually track the source of a transaction, alternatively you can use Google's Tag Manager on your website. Please send me the URL of your thank you page. My goal is to allow both the bookseller and the publisher/author to know when a sale takes place--unlike Amazon where you have to trust what they tell you. Mel I can handle your printing needs. The sweet spot would be about 200 books in terms of bang for your buck, but I do fewer at a very competitive price plus you get a finished book to review before your job is started, so the results are guaranteed--no production snags: https://aalbcprintsbooks.com/ Me That may be because you are not that type of book buyer. For example, I'm not a "shopper." I never go to the mall and look around to see if something strikes my fancy. When I go to the mall I do so because I need something, and when I find it I'm out. Some readers are this way. Others may go to the store with just a general idea or not idea at all. I've purchased many books because they were sold to me by a book seller. I in turn have sold that same book to many others. I'd bet money Penguin had salespeople who pitched books to distributors to sell to stores. I discover more books through Ingram than I do through publicists.

@Mel Hopkins, I currently have code on the site which allows me to link directly to authors site for buying a book, as I have for your new book: So You Want to Be a Flight Attendant: A Memoir. I'm going to update the code so that all other options to buy the book are removed so that only the author's link is an option Ultimately I'm going to reach out to you and anyone else I do this for to create an affiliate programs so that I (or any other bookseller) can be paid for the sale. Right now I'm think about keeping it easy and cheap, say a $1 a sale. What do you think about that? It is FAR less than what Amazon takes, and can be scaled across all other websites. I'm working with an author I know to work out the process, so that the work on the author's end is trivial--otherwise no one will do it. Mel, when someone buys your book they are sent to PayPal, have you created a customized thank you page? I'm thinking about showing others how they can track where sales come from. Basically you'd just pay AALBC.com (or anyone who sells you book) a $1 for each tracked sale. I can set it up so that we both see this in real time. Let me know if this is something you are interested in doing? Also what is your wholesale discount? If indie authors and publishers boycott Amazon by themselves without the support of readers, I'm afraid readers will just buy other books. Only the indie author/publisher will be hurt and Amazon will be un effected. Reader really have to be part of the effort. I know at least 50 people have filled out the questionnaire from this afternoon, but I have not looked the results yet. Those results will determine if I move forward with this effort.

New York submitted several locations to Amazon. No one thinks these things through. I considered trying to boycott all of Amazon but figured no one would be willing to sacrifice that. I thought by just boycotting the bookstore everyone who is affected by this might consider at least doing that. I heard the NAACP was motivated to this action because some celebrity was booted from first class...SMH I'm sure American Airlines won't be affected in the least bit. They'll offer the obligatory empty apology-- if they haven't already so and promise to put in procedures to avoid any recurrences in the future...yawn.