The Amazon/Hachette negotiations have reached critical mass, it seems. Lots of folks are talking about it now—which is good, in my opinion. Since (and even before) my Monday post about the Amazon /Hachette contract negotiation, I’ve had many interesting discussions about the situation, as I’m certain Chip MacGregor did after his posts. He’s now published another article, “Why I love Amazon,” to clarify.

I’m not going to go that far. 🙂 Let’s call it the it’s-the-economy-stupid phenomenon: my personal opinions are motivated by my personal economy. My livelihood is directly tied to publishers, and while I have done some work for HarperCollins and a very little bit for Simon & Schuster, most of the work I do is for unaffiliated mid-size publishers. I would like to continue to get that work. My concern is that as Hachette (and HarperCollins and so on) goes, so goes Abingdon or Graywolf or Steerforth Press, for example. I don’t see this as solely a battle between two giants, even if some do.

Still, there are lots of good articles out there, and many interesting insights. Editor Beth Jusino had some smart things to say in her article “Don’t Believe the Hype: What the Amazon/Hachette Tiff Really Means (or Doesn’t) for … Authors.” Time magazine’s Joel Stein has a humor piece called “99¢ Loyalty.” Publishing expert Mike Shatzkin was out weeks ago with his thoughts, which I always want to hear. Many take a two-sides-to-every-story stance. My friend (and industry veteran) Wayne Zeitner had an interesting scenario:

Hachette doesn’t re-sign any deal with Amazon. This will test the Free Market for both parties—which is premised on transactions between a willing buyer and a willing seller. If one party isn’t willing, it isn’t free. Amazon could still decide to offer select Hachette titles, which they would presumably purchase via 3rd party distributors. Hachette would find other online and brick/mortar retailers HAPPY to pick up the slack. Before too long one or the other party will recognize either that they’re better off without the other, or that they actually NEED the other … resulting either in a return to the status quo or a dramatic change signal to the entire market.

Frankly, it’s not as if the publisher-piggies haven’t brought this Amazon-wolf to their own door. It’s been obvious that technology is creating a disruption in many industries, including publishing. And the publishing industry has dragged its heels about calming that disruption.

But it’s not too late.

When exploring new opportunities, many publishers retreat from potentially lucrative new channels in fear of upsetting Amazon. But in so doing, they make themselves even more dependent on Amazon and vulnerable in negotiations.

The most interesting article I’ve read so far is this one (quoted above) from Digital Book World: “Four Ways Publishers Can Diversify Sales Channels, Become Less Reliant on Amazon.” Doesn’t solve Amazon/Hachette … but it’s well thought out and a way to go forward into our brave new world. I hope someone somewhere in publishing listens.

Have a great weekend, y’all. I’ll be back on Saturday with something interesting.

Tweet: The Amazon/Hachette negotiations have reached critical mass; an update.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”