René O'Deay gBlog

"Want us to sell your books? Then you'd better let us print them, says Amazon. And oh, by the way, this is not an ultimatum."

Amazon pulls a Microsoft | Computerworld Blogs: "According to a Wall Street Journal story today, Amazon is demanding that any publisher that uses on-demand printing in publishing its books use Amazon's BookSurge print-on-demand services if they want their books sold on the top-ranked book e-tailer's Web site."

Some POD publishers have already had their "Buy Button" pulled on Amazon.

Authors and small press publishers are in shock. A veritable firestorm is brewing on the web as threats of boycotting Amazon spring up on blogs and websites of publishers and authors. Some of the sites blogging or posting about this include several Yahoo groups: SelfPublishing, Pod publishers, with a response from Amazon's CEO , on WritersWeekly , which has a growing list of other online posts, such as "Amazon Deletes Competition", "Use BookSurge or Die!"

PublishAmerica is first to feel the shock as many of their "Buy Buttons" have been replaced by "See All Buying Options" button.

Check results on Amazon by publisher, author or book title at Aaron Shepherd's amazing tool: SalesRankExpress.

What is dismaying is how poor BookSurge and CreateSpace sales rankings are on Amazon. Researching a POD or small-press publisher, use the SalesRankExpress tool for fast results.

What is amazing is some of the authors who do show up now using BookSurge or CreateSpace. Mostly for their Long tails/backlists.

All this clarifies what POD publisher to use for my first books. CreateSpace has little or no novels on their list yet. Maybe I'll be the trailbreaker.

René O'Deay

How did I ever miss this?
Amazon has gone beyond BookSurge to help authors publish and sell on their site!

CreateSpace, an Amazon Business, Launches Books on Demand Self-Publishing Service for Authors
–Also announces free online setup for books, CDs and DVDs–

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. – August 8, 2007 – CreateSpace, part of the Amazon.com, Inc. group of companies (NASDAQ: AMZN), today announced the launch of a new online Books on Demand service. Also announced today, the company is no longer charging setup fees for books, audio CDs and DVDs. Authors, filmmakers and musicians can now offer their works to millions of customers on Amazon.com, CreateSpace.com and via their own free customizable eStore without any inventory, setup fees or minimum orders.

"The new CreateSpace Books on Demand service removes substantial economic barriers and makes it really easy for authors who want to self-publish their books and distribute them on Amazon.com," said Jeff Wilke, senior vice president, North American Retail, Amazon.com. "The service will also give millions of Amazon customers access to an even greater selection of books, just as CreateSpace's DVD and CD on Demand services are adding significant selection to our movie and music catalogs."

Books on Demand works the same way as CreateSpace's DVD and CD on Demand offerings. CreateSpace books sold on Amazon.com are printed on demand, display "in stock" availability on Amazon.com and can be shipped within 24 hours from when they are ordered. The books are automatically eligible for Search Inside!™, Amazon Prime™, Super Saver Shipping™ and other Amazon.com programs as well.

"I've been using the CreateSpace DVD on Demand service since the company was founded in 2002. I am now selling 15 DVDs on Amazon.com published on demand and I've been looking for a similar print-on-demand option to self-publish my book, Radiant Source," said Jeremy Corbell. "Books on Demand is just as easy to use as the other CreateSpace services – I just uploaded my files, purchased my proof copy, and within days I was selling my book, along with my DVDs, on Amazon.com."

There are no setup fees or minimum orders for the CreateSpace on-demand service. Members are required to purchase and approve a proof copy of their book, CD, and/or DVD before titles can be produced on demand. Books published via the CreateSpace Books on Demand service are printed with high-quality, full-color paperback covers. Black-and-white or color interiors in multiple trim sizes can be selected as options. Members can also order high-quality copies of their book, DVD or CD at competitive wholesale prices.

For more information on CreateSpace, please visit www.createspace.com. For more information on the CreateSpace Books on Demand service, please go to www.createspace.com/BooksOnDemand.
CreateSpace - On-Demand Self Publishing, DVD on Demand, CD on Demand, Books on Demand, DVD Duplication and DVD Replication

Have any of you heard about this? Or any have used this CreateSpace? Mostly they have been doing musical CDs and video DVDs.

René O'Deay

How did I ever miss this?
Amazon has gone beyond BookSurge to help authors publish and sell on their site!

CreateSpace, an Amazon Business, Launches Books on Demand Self-Publishing Service for Authors
–Also announces free online setup for books, CDs and DVDs–

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. – August 8, 2007 – CreateSpace, part of the Amazon.com, Inc. group of companies (NASDAQ: AMZN), today announced the launch of a new online Books on Demand service. Also announced today, the company is no longer charging setup fees for books, audio CDs and DVDs. Authors, filmmakers and musicians can now offer their works to millions of customers on Amazon.com, CreateSpace.com and via their own free customizable eStore without any inventory, setup fees or minimum orders.

"The new CreateSpace Books on Demand service removes substantial economic barriers and makes it really easy for authors who want to self-publish their books and distribute them on Amazon.com," said Jeff Wilke, senior vice president, North American Retail, Amazon.com. "The service will also give millions of Amazon customers access to an even greater selection of books, just as CreateSpace's DVD and CD on Demand services are adding significant selection to our movie and music catalogs."

Books on Demand works the same way as CreateSpace's DVD and CD on Demand offerings. CreateSpace books sold on Amazon.com are printed on demand, display "in stock" availability on Amazon.com and can be shipped within 24 hours from when they are ordered. The books are automatically eligible for Search Inside!™, Amazon Prime™, Super Saver Shipping™ and other Amazon.com programs as well.

"I've been using the CreateSpace DVD on Demand service since the company was founded in 2002. I am now selling 15 DVDs on Amazon.com published on demand and I've been looking for a similar print-on-demand option to self-publish my book, Radiant Source," said Jeremy Corbell. "Books on Demand is just as easy to use as the other CreateSpace services – I just uploaded my files, purchased my proof copy, and within days I was selling my book, along with my DVDs, on Amazon.com."

There are no setup fees or minimum orders for the CreateSpace on-demand service. Members are required to purchase and approve a proof copy of their book, CD, and/or DVD before titles can be produced on demand. Books published via the CreateSpace Books on Demand service are printed with high-quality, full-color paperback covers. Black-and-white or color interiors in multiple trim sizes can be selected as options. Members can also order high-quality copies of their book, DVD or CD at competitive wholesale prices.

For more information on CreateSpace, please visit www.createspace.com. For more information on the CreateSpace Books on Demand service, please go to www.createspace.com/BooksOnDemand.
CreateSpace - On-Demand Self Publishing, DVD on Demand, CD on Demand, Books on Demand, DVD Duplication and DVD Replication

Have any of you heard about this? Or any have used this CreateSpace? Mostly they have been doing musical CDs and video DVDs.

Query Tracker - Free Literary Agent Query Tracking Tool:

Welcome to the grand opening of Query Tracker
A Free service which allows authors to find agents and track the status of their query submissions.

Patrick McDonald has just introduced a fabulous new online tool for authors in search of an agent! And it's free!

I just found it last night, joined, and started a search for agents to query about my novel, Sun Child, Prince of Egypt. I am so impressed with its versatility that I had to stop and share it with all my friends and visitors.

If you are an author in search of an agent, this is "Business at the Speed of Thought!"

Besides helping you find an agent who deals in your genre, there are links to their websites, tracking of your queries, more.

And as Patrick himself says in his intro:

Then the real power of this website hit me. With all this information, and with enough users on the site and contributing, we could take a lot of the guess work out of query writing. What if you could see samples of the last ten queries which a given agent had read and liked? What if every user posted his or her query letters, then linked them to the agent where they were sent and indicated what response, if any, the letter received? With this information it would be possible to see the types of queries the agent liked, and either modify your letter accordingly, or move on to a different agent who has shown interest in work like yours. Now, I felt I was on to something. I hadn’t been this excited since the first time I wrote, “The End.”

So, the more users the better for everyone. Information shared can help skyrocket the success of authors' queries.
Personally I'm thrilled. I was not looking forward to searching for an agent, but this tool will take much of the pain out of the effort.

Check it out, boys and girls, I think you will be as thrilled as I am.

René