BUMP — STEPHEN WON AMAZON!
We faithful members of the Colbert Nation know that a few weeks ago, Stephen Colbert declared all-out war on Amazon after the powerful mega-store demanded better financial terms from the publisher Hachette. When the publisher refused, Amazon threw a tantrum and retaliated by removing all the “buy” and “presale” buttons from Hachette’s books. Unfortunately for them, Hachette (or, rather, Grand Central, which is part of Hachette) is Stephen’s publisher. Jon Stewart’s, too, by the way. That meant Stephen’s books couldn’t be purchased. And that made Stephen raging MAD.
So he had author Sherman Alexie select a Hachette title to turn into a bestseller—one by a new author whose book might otherwise have been, at best, a modest success: Edan Lipucki’s California, which just came out today. (If you haven’t purchased it yet, what are you waiting for? Mine is being delivered even as I write.) And, no surprise to those of us familiar with Stephen’s singular brand of magic, he and Alexie succeeded not only in generating sales but also reams of publicity for the startled author.
In a really fun article on the whole affair, the New York Times explains how California “won the literary lotto” and how a stunned Lipucki learned all about it.
Nobody expected much from Edan Lepucki’s debut novel. Her publisher planned a tiny first printing of 12,000 copies. She was assigned to an editor with almost no experience. Was there a marketing budget? How cute of her to ask.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Ms. Lepucki, 33, won the literary Lotto.
As someone who has worked in publishing most of my life, I cannot begin to capture how much joy this brings me. I cheered loudly at the TV set when it happened. Even though the publishing company I work for is owned by a competing bookstore that is (ahem) not an indie, I can honestly say that it has never engaged in bullying like Amazon. Amazon has simply been bleeding money from the prices it charges — but it’s willing to do so in order to become a monopoly. Presumably then prices would go up. It’s detrimental to authors. And this is not the first time Amazon has removed buttons from books.
So enjoy the article, then read the book. (It sounds great.) And thank you, Stephen, from the bottom of my heart!
For more on Amazon’s tricks, here’s another article from Wallowa.com on how they’re spreading a little sugar on Portland (where Powell’s bookstore, the shop Stephen singled out) is located. “The timing is interesting, indeed.” HA!
The Power of the Colbert Bump
BUMP — STEPHEN WON AMAZON!
We faithful members of the Colbert Nation know that a few weeks ago, Stephen Colbert declared all-out war on Amazon after the powerful mega-store demanded better financial terms from the publisher Hachette. When the publisher refused, Amazon threw a tantrum and retaliated by removing all the “buy” and “presale” buttons from Hachette’s books. Unfortunately for them, Hachette (or, rather, Grand Central, which is part of Hachette) is Stephen’s publisher. Jon Stewart’s, too, by the way. That meant Stephen’s books couldn’t be purchased. And that made Stephen raging MAD.
So he had author Sherman Alexie select a Hachette title to turn into a bestseller—one by a new author whose book might otherwise have been, at best, a modest success: Edan Lipucki’s California, which just came out today. (If you haven’t purchased it yet, what are you waiting for? Mine is being delivered even as I write.) And, no surprise to those of us familiar with Stephen’s singular brand of magic, he and Alexie succeeded not only in generating sales but also reams of publicity for the startled author.
In a really fun article on the whole affair, the New York Times explains how California “won the literary lotto” and how a stunned Lipucki learned all about it.
As someone who has worked in publishing most of my life, I cannot begin to capture how much joy this brings me. I cheered loudly at the TV set when it happened. Even though the publishing company I work for is owned by a competing bookstore that is (ahem) not an indie, I can honestly say that it has never engaged in bullying like Amazon. Amazon has simply been bleeding money from the prices it charges — but it’s willing to do so in order to become a monopoly. Presumably then prices would go up. It’s detrimental to authors. And this is not the first time Amazon has removed buttons from books.
So enjoy the article, then read the book. (It sounds great.) And thank you, Stephen, from the bottom of my heart!
For more on Amazon’s tricks, here’s another article from Wallowa.com on how they’re spreading a little sugar on Portland (where Powell’s bookstore, the shop Stephen singled out) is located. “The timing is interesting, indeed.” HA!