A note about supporting authors
Avoiding Amazon
For every author that isn't Stephen King or JK Rowling, we find ourselves stuck in the conundrum of reaching an audience without the inclusion of the 800lb gorilla that is Amazon.
I use a printing house called Book Baby for publishing. They are one of a few printing options that affords an author a reasonable royalty for their work without the author also having to handle fulfillment, shipping, inventory for their books.
For anybody interested in purchasing a copy of any book I write, you can contact me directly and I'll send out a signed copy. I enjoy doing that, writing an inscription and giving a personal touch to it. But you can also purchase a copy direct from Book Baby. Many authors simply do not have the time or capacity to also keep a personal supply, so using a printing house is a great option. The links on the pages will take you directly to Book Baby's bookshop where copies can be purchased. Book Baby prints/ships and takes their cut. The author gets their royalty. It's a perfect relationship.
But how would you know about Book Baby, if not for this site? That's the problem. Authors feel obligated to be available on Amazon. Or worse - they now use Amazon for their actual printing. Problem is that Amazon guts the author for a ridiculous portion of the profit, leaving the author with a minimal royalty. Amazon also has exclusive rights to the printing and the quality is subpar on the actual books. But that's the power they have.
Yes, you can find my books on Amazon. And I'd be hypocritical to say, "don't shop Amazon." I do. I use it for many things. But if I can help a small company, shop direct, support small and local artists, I will certainly go that route. By that rationale, I do not list links to the book via Amazon because Book Baby is already doing the printing. Why add money to Amazon's pockets and take it from the author?
That's my Ted Talk for today. Thank you for the support.
-Scott