Amazon is closer to Big Brother than the federal government. They know you prefer
unsalted cashews in bulk, pink t-shirts that celebrate life after breast cancer,
music from the โ70s, like Cat Stevens and Carly Simons, and are on auto buy for all
of Bella Andreโs books (and her alter ego Lucy Kevin).
On a good note, they can send you sales announcements for exactly what you want and
not waste your email storage with advertisements for auto parts, because only your
mechanic cares about the parts and components in your SUV. On the other hand, it can
be really creepy to receive an email that says, โFiona, so glad you enjoyed the My
Butt Hurts hemorrhoid cream. We loved the five star review you posted. We can also
help with your yeast infection. If we donโt hear from you in four days, weโll send an
automated note to your doctor to make sure youโre receiving treatment.โ
For authors, Amazon is one of the best places to sell a book. The more successful you
are, the more Amazon promotes your brand to the people most likely to want the
information. How do they know who wants the latest J.D. Robb story? They use their
customersโ buying history and a computer algorithm so complex that NASA is sending
their scientists there to study how to capture information on which Congressmen favor
space travel.
Now Amazon have taken their omniscience to another level. They will pay authors in
the Kindle Unlimited program royalties based upon pages actually read. My first
reaction was a cross eyed kind of look on my face. How do they know how many pages
each person reads? And what if someone is skimming the pages, as I often do when
reading a twenty page in-depth description of the whaling industry. Does that count
or does Kindle know that I skimmed it and the author receives nothing for those
twenty pages?
Again, Amazon has a complicated algorithm to figure this all out. And it must work,
because Iโm seeing results. In the month Iโve watched the program play out on my own
books, Iโve become aware of one thing. People are reading my books. Not buying and
throwing them in a TBR pile, but actually reading them. And theyโre reading them all
the way through. How do I know this? Because the page numbers read tend to be a
multiple of the number of pages in the books sold.
So at this point, Iโm not complaining. My royalties are up, and my ego is happy. Now
if theyโd only figure out how to autoship a large Toblerone when Iโm in need of a
chocolate fixโฆ Iโll mention that to the NASA scientists on their next outing to
Amazon HQ.
Veronica Forand is an attorney and an award-winning writer of romantic
suspense. She's lived in Boston, London, Paris, Geneva, and Washington, DC and
currently resides near Philadelphia. An avid traveler, she loves to roam across
continents with her husband and kids in pursuit of skiing, scuba diving, and finding
the perfect piece of chocolate.
Her novel Untrue Colors, a romantic thriller based in the art world, was a finalist
for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.
Website |
Facebook |
Twitter |
Google+
Sheโs on the runโฆ
Brilliant art appraiser Alex Northropโs ex used stolen art to fund his nefarious
activities. Now he wants her dead. But it isnโt just herself sheโs worried about โ if
he discovers who she really is, heโll kill her family.
Professor Henry Chilton is shocked to find a beautiful stranger passed out in his
bed, and even more so when she reveals a priceless painting is a forgery โ the
painting heโd planned to use to fund a womanโs shelter. Sheโs mysterious and
frightened, and he is determined to discover why.
Alexโs knowledge of art is undeniableโjust as Henryโs attraction to her is
irresistible. But in order to help him recover the real painting, Alex isnโt just
risking exposureโฆsheโs risking her life.
I have to take issue with your TBR comment. Amazon is a wonderful outlet to purchase books on, and I have purchased my share on there. However, there are other outlets to get books on as well. When someone says that they're putting a book on a TBR list, that doesn't mean they're necessarily NOT going to read you, because you don't have a sale on Amazon. They could have purchased the book somewhere else. They also might have other books ahead of yours, which I am extremely guilty of, and don't have time to jump on every book that comes down the pike, because I DO have a life!! I also do volunteer to teach a knitting class, and have a home life. My Husband and I are Managers of the apartments where we live, and are always on call. My Father also passed away suddenly last year, and I'm STILL trying to get everything straightened out there, but he lived over 2 hours away, and it's hard for me to get back there. So when I say I would love to read your book, and have put it on my TBR list, it's not just a line. I will get to it when I can. My life is just a bit involved at the moment.
(Peggy Roberson 10:41am August 12, 2015)
You do a nice job of explaining the pros and cons of Amazon. There's a balance to using Amazon and you walk it well. Thanks for sharing your ideas.
(Kate Forest 11:21am August 12, 2015)
And not all of us read exclusively or at all on a Kindle. It's just one source. I know many readers who prefer to read on a non-amazon product. I hear it at book club all the time.
(Sara Reyes 5:52pm August 12, 2015)
But I do love your opening line... makes me smile as I'm surrounded by all these shows based on covert spying and such
(Sara Reyes 5:55pm August 12, 2015)
© 2003-2026