Oh No She Did-ent!

Oh yes I did! I pay a monthly fee for Adobe's Indesign and I'm learning it inside and out while creating my own E-pubs complete with illustrations and Drop Caps and autographs. And now I've found a way to digitally deliver these E-pubs myself!!! I know, right? I can now supply my readers with an ebook and I DON'T EVER, EVER, EVER have to deal with Amazon KDP. How utterly cool is that??? VERY COOL! 

I actually didn't think it was possible for a publisher to operate this way since no publisher has, at least none that I knew of. Turns out that it's quite possible. And these E-pubs are readable on ALL e-pub readers. Nooks, Ibooks, Calibre etc . . Also I can create books specifically in the archaic Mobi format that Amazon KDP uses even though I have NO desire to do this. 

Bottom line, I did it and can deliver my e-books at the best price around. Actually, the only price around because why would I PAY a distributor or allow Amazon KDP to take over publishing rights when I can do it all myself?

So visit my store at www.authorsuedent.com and check out the free downloadable samples and then purchase a copy if you like what you read. 

Sue Dent, Facebook and Target Audience Magazine.

Woke up to a nice surprise. My article is on page four! 


Happy 2013 and enjoy.

Wow! That's impressive!

A couple of days ago I saw a multitude of copies of Forever Richard through my now defunct second publisher, (books that I no longer make any money off of and neither does the publisher) for sale on Ebay by numerous book sellers. And quite a few books at that. 

Nothing like seeing hordes of books out there that you make no proceeds from when you're attempting to market the "new" edition. All of these books were coming from the UK too which was odd to me. Upon investigating I learned that Gazelle Books, Bookmaster's UK distributor had a number of copies left from the big sell-off that Bookmasters initiated when my publisher was utilizing their services and had held on to the books past the ten month grace period when they could "return them for free" (but of course my publisher would be hit with new charges.)

Upon learning this Gazelle Books actually contacted me and said that they were sorry and they would deal with these books the same way the dealt with the inventory of the same book in February. I assume this meant they'd destroy them since they couldn't send them back to Atlas without losing money. Needless to say, they are folks of their word. The sellers for this particular edition of Forever Richard, from my defunct second publisher, has been pared down to two from about ten. Wow!

Do know that if you plan on purchasing Forever Richard, the new edition has some changes that the old one doesn't have. So not only do I not make anything from your purchasing it, you most likely just spent more money than you would for the new edition which has new material. 

My current publisher Black Bed Sheet Books has some fantastic prices and the BEST prices on all my stories. 

Just in time for Christmas!!!!

Atlas Books - Aw, that's okay. You can be rude to me.

Just a quick word to say that BookMasters in fact does not have any more stock of Forever Richard, ISBN  1934284033, in stock. And the copies that are for sale now are leftovers from when BookMasters "oversold" copies of that book for a "commission." Of course, this move would normally be a good move for a publisher except for that dratted "return policy" set up by the few established publishers back in the depression which negates any possible benefits. Because of that policy, booksellers don't have to pay a dime to return books. 

But somebody has to pay.

Guess who? 

That's right. The publisher. And BookMaster's charges handling fees and other fees on top of that.

So my second small publisher folded because they had to pay straight away for the books that came back (even though the number that came back was less than the ones still out there) before they received money for the books that "might" sell. Booksellers don't have to pay for books for 90 days and most send the books back if they still have them before that time is up.

With that being said, I learned that the copies of my out-of-print book (ISBN 1934284033) Forever Richard that I found for sale on EBAY by various booksellers were actually provided (ultimately) by Gazelle Books who purchase books from BookMaster's Atlas Books. Atlas Books sends out a notice when an account is closed to let their buyers know that they have 10 months to return books before Atlas will no longer accept returns. Apparently the books Gazelle had were left from that "oversell" by BookMasters. 

My second publisher was too small to deal with this financial punch in the gut and certainly didn't see it coming. Who would expect a distributor to rush out and oversell something for a commission knowing that the publisher was going to have to pay for returns and fees on top of that. And it doesn't even take that many returns to put a small publisher under the ground. Good grief.

At any rate, thank-you Gazelle Books for being sooooo on top of things and professional. As for BookMasters . . . let's just say that things haven't improved. They are just as mean and rude as they've always been which is one main reason why I've made my books short-run and non-returnable. If I "never" have to deal with Book Masters again--that will be TOO soon!

And don't forget, you get the best price for any of my books at Black Bed Sheet Books because they can offer the biggest discount. DUH! And I for sure see the money coming to me. ;)

Third Installment in Sue Dent's Thirsting for Blood Series Coming Soon

Yes, the editing process has begun and I'm wrapping things up on my third installment and hopefully in time for Christmas. Do be advised though, I've asked my publisher to make this book short-run through Lightning Source. This means third-party sites like Amazon and GoodReads won't be able to post about the book or sell it. Others will be able to sell copies on Amazon or other third party sites but not the sites themselves meaning my publisher will have full control over the information concerning this title. 

The main reason I'm doing this is because sites like Amazon and GoodReads allow folks to leave reviews and what not on books they can legally list but they do not monitor or control the content in any shape, way form or fashion. I've therefore decided to take that power away from sites like Amazon and GoodReads. 

If you want to purchase the third installment of my book, you'll have to go straight to the publisher to pre-order or buy it. 

Because my publisher uses Lightning Source, the books will still be available for a reasonable rate wherever LSI is set up to print books. Therefore the decision to make my book short-run doesn't affect the limited distribution POD books have at all!!!! 

Just means I can sue the daylights out of Amazon or any other third party site if they attempt to sell the third installment themselves. Oh what fun!

Do keep in mind that I'm an independently published author who writes stories for folks to enjoy. The only distribution available to me is through POD printers. I've only had one publisher who came close to getting on with Ingram and they went under. The third installment in my Thirsting for Blood Series won't be any "less available" than it is now EXCEPT that you won't be able to go into a Barnes & Noble or other large bookstore to order it. But guess what, I don't make any sales that way anyhow. So there ya go! 

A blog post you WON'T find on GoodReads!

After learning that in spite of my efforts to have all of my books removed from GoodReads, where they were listed without my publishers consent or mine, I FINALLY have some closure--so to speak.

You see, sites like GoodReads and Amazon and Shelfari think they're doing authors a favor by listing their books once they're "published/printed" (btw anyone, qualified or not, can publish these days and yes, there should be qualifications for something that is considered a profession duh!) It gives them content. They encourage folks to leave their thoughts or reviews on the content but do so very little to monitor said reviews or comments nor do they do anything to protect publishers or authors from personal attacks or from folks who just think it's fun to post ludicrous reviews and hateful words just because they can.

I've met so many authors and publishers who were targeted and not protected that it isn't even funny or worth the time to use GoodReads, Amazon or any of these third-party sites as a source of publicity. I deleted my account on GoodReads only to find they were still posting my blog post from my personal blog as if I cared to show up at ALL on this site. Having a friend and fellow author remind me that this was a copyright issue, I set out to fix this problem by presenting GoodReads with this question:

question:
After participating on Goodreads and being subjected to an atrocious lack of monitoring, I opted out of participating. I attempted to pull my books but was told in a ninny-ninny-poo-poo sort of way that this couldn't happen because my books were available everywhere. I solved this problem by making all of my books short-run so sites like GoodReads can't post my books. ;)

However, it seems that as of late, GoodReads is posting feeds from my personal author blog as if I authorized this. I may have at one time but deleted my account. Please do whatever it takes to stop my blog feeds from showing up on GoodReads. I don't support this site or sites like it. Also syndicating a blog without permission is copyright infringement. If you had my permission once, you most certainly do not have it now. Thank you in advance for "unsyndicating" my blog from GoodReads.

Sue Dent

I will tell you that I expected another, "we don't have to do anything you say," response but was pleased to read this. This will be my first post since the email to follow so we'll see if they stuck to their word. ;)

GoodReads response:

Hi Sue,
Thanks for alerting us. We’re so sorry for that mistaken oversight! I just removed all the remaining personal information that was added to your author profile, including that blog feed and all the former posts: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/313656.Sue_Dent
Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience!
Cheers,

Those who run this site have been nothing but rude and arrogant to me when I approached them with obvious issues that were going on with other authors as well as myself. The fact that they continue to list my books even when I've asked them not to is absolutely insane. Same with Amazon. Same with all of these third party sites. I certainly appreciate being able to use sites like this for publicity but not when they do nothing to make sure things don't get out of hand and even move into the "slander" category. Of course they don't do anything because that takes money they don't want to part with. They'd have to hire others to keep track etc . . . At least with my books NOT being listed there, they can't make what little money they make at MY EXPENSE!!

It will be interesting to see if they've corrected THEIR admitted oversight.

Make sure you understand what you're NOT getting.

The key to book sales in the publishing industry has always been distribution. Large publishers and bookstores created a system back in the day that worked well for them and actually still works well for them. Bookstores purchase a LARGE number of books, put some on the store shelves and warehouse the rest. That way publishers don't/didn't have to pay so much in overhead and bookstores got to "throw away" the overage in the trash because publishers didn't care to ever see the books again. 

Eventually, bookstores were called on their trashing of perfectly good books with the cover torn off because at one time they actually had to return the cover to show that they actually bought the book from the publisher (speculation here. Don't actually know for sure why they tore the cover off) and soon a law of sorts was put in place to keep this from happening.

The solution for bookstores was an ingenious one. Stores like Books-A-Million sprang up or rather stores that sell "new" returned-from-the-bookstore books (sorry BAM but if they're returned, they ain't new.) At any rate, distribution through large publishers is the only distribution that works. Unfortunately, Independent presses never qualify for distribution through the big distributors such as Ingram and Baker & Taylor because to be considered a publisher has to have SOLD an enormous amount of books. Gotta love that catch-22.

So Independent presses use POD publishers (and by the way so do the large established publishers as well but it doesn't hurt them because they still have the distribution that matters.) But why can't small independent presses make POD publishing work for them. Well it's quite simple. POD publishers such as Lightning Source and Create Space never, ever, ever, return the returned-from-the-bookstore book to the publisher. If a bookstore actually purchases a POD book and it doesn't sell, it is forever gone. The publisher has to return the profit to the bookstore and never sees their product again. 

Oddly enough, Lightning Source gives you an option when you sign on with them to have the book returned to you. This never happens though. I called them on this and their reply was, "we really need to change that wording." There was absolutely no fear of being sued for stating one thing and doing another. 

This is from Ingram's Lighting Source's Chain of Custody:

At Lightning Source, we have always maintained that the print on demand (POD) model offers significant environmental advantages over traditional offset manufacturing. With offset manufacturing books often go unsold and are destroyed, usually after being shipped and handled multiple times. Wasted paper, wasted energy, greenhouse emissions, pulping, and landfill overflows can result. 

LSI seems to like the word "usually." Actually the books they're referring to are "usually" resold to returned-from-the-bookstore dealers for a double profit for the bookstores not destroyed. After all, with so many returned-from-the-bookstore resellers, these books are a hot commodity making money for everyone except the publisher and author.


The environmental advantages of utilizing POD technology allow books to be printed to fill an existing demand. POD lessens the possibility of returns, reduces supply chain waste, greenhouse emissions, and conserves valuable natural resources.

There is no waste to lessen, returned-from-the-bookstore books are no longer destroyed by bookstores. I do believe LSI destroys the book though and that's fine since they say this is what happens to the returned books. Yet I'm looking for a POD who will actually do what they say and that is to give me the option to have the book returned to the publisher to lessen the loss of product once they're returned. LSI's interpretation of the misguided wording in the their Mode of Operations manual: you don't get the actual returned book back. They print you a new one for free--and charge a fee for shipping. In case anyone is wondering. The fee for shipping equals the print cost of the book. Interesting to say the least.

Bottom line is, if a publisher uses a POD, they essentially don't have access to the kind of distribution that will make any kind of a difference in sales. In fact, if a bookstore actually decides to purchase books from a publisher who uses a POD, the publisher will end up losing money hand over fist and eventually going under. I've been with two publishers who went under for this very reason. 

One other interesting option POD distributors give publishers: make your books returnable so bookstores will order. My interpretation of this based on my experience to date with how this works: here's a knife go kill yourself. If your book happens to catch the eye of bookstores so that they're inclined to order it, it will most likely be "returned" or if you're with a POD distributor, "destroyed." And these books are "usually" in perfect condition for resale because "usually" the books are never taken out of the box.

By the way, this is true of all POD distributors and not just LSI which is why I say to make sure you understand what you're NOT getting. The absolute BEST way to purchase my books is to go to my publisher's website. Thanks again to those who already have. ;)

http://www.downwarden.com/blackbedsheetstore

Blog up at Speculative Faith.

I was asked to be a guest blogger at Speculative Faith, a blog associated with a book tour that wouldn't tour Forever Richard after Never Ceese toured with overwhelming success. The reason; my publisher wasn't sanctioned by the gatekeepers. I don't see this as an acceptance into what is now known as the Christian Fiction arena. That's reserved for evangelical publishers and authors. It was a nice opportunity for me to post my experiences with this closed and targeted market though. Check it out if you're so inclined. ;)

Target Audience Magazine reviews Electric Angel!

Aw, I love it when they love it. Especially when I didn't even ask for the review in the first place. That's always nice! ;D

High Voltage Horror and Suspense Coursing Throughout ‘Electric Angel’ by Sue Dent

Indiegogo.com/ElectricAngelGraphicNovel

Do take a moment and check this fundraiser out. The overall funding is a huge number but only $7500 is needed to begin and hopefully the first on-line section of the three will generate funds for the rest of the project. This information is also in the project information as well. Thank you in advance for taking the time to check it out.

Sue Dent's Electric Angel to Graphic Novel. 

It's official!

After talking with my publisher it has been decided that Cyn No More, the third installment of my Thirsting For Blood Series, will be short-run only. 

What does that mean?  

Well, I can only tell you what that means through Lightning Source as it has different meanings in different publishing circles. Through Lightning Source short-run simply means that one's book doesn't go into distribution. And this means that thousands of sites set up for distribution such as Amazon and mainly Amazon will not have access to the titles.

In order to get Cyn No More, one will HAVE to go to the publishers site. Since distribution has come so far, with entities like Lightning Source having locations throughout the world, it is completely possible for a publisher to handle their own distribution. This is fantastic news as battling with on-line distributors such as Amazon is exasperating. And their  priority of concerns places those who choose to distribute through them, at the bottom--the very bottom of a very long list. Not a good scenario at all especially when the publisher can get the job done themselves.


Therefore I say so-long to Amazon and all the other on-line distributors. Hello new world of publishing. My publisher's website and store is of course: 

www.downwarden.com/blackbedsheet

Having a choice is wonderful and I must say that knowing this will put an end to my complaining about Amazon and sites like Amazon. *Many cheer loudly.* But I'd no idea I could "choose" not to be listed. This is wonderful news indeed.


Also my publisher's site has a place for reviews. If it's on your heart, after reading any of my books, to share how much you enjoyed them, please go there and share. No need to leave a review on Amazon or any other site that lists my books presently as I will soon take all of my books out of distribution which will bring my books off those sites ergo all reviews will go with it. Thank y'all sooooooo much for all your support thus far. 

Love y'all,

Fan Expo Canada - Don't miss this one!

I registered in April and was accepted as a guest author and will be in with the other Horror Authors. I am looking forward to meeting fans in one of the few venues available to small published authors. I will have give-aways and much more. Watch this site for details.
 

Buy books/e-books from Publishers when available.

Technology has brought the world of publishing to its knees. In the very, very, distant past it was extremely expensive to print books. That is no longer the case. In the past there was no such thing as affordable free-lancing professional editors. That is no longer the case. And in the past authors and publishers "had" to have distribution to succeed. That also is no longer the case. 


Print on Demand technology means no more overwhelming expense to print or stock books. Using an editor to get a novel into tip-top shape is no longer an elusive feat and distribution is no longer a road block.


Publisher's and authors can now operate as efficiently as the larger houses that founded this industry. Because most publishers use Print on Demand printers such as LSI or Create Space (yes, even the large houses,) on-line retailers can't even get the books for less than the publisher. They can help save on shipping however. In that respect, distribution is still lacking. 


But yes, times they are a changing! Do check out the publisher's site, in most instances, for the best prices out there. My publisher's site:

Black Bed Sheet Books

Anne Rice Takes a Moment on her Fan Page on FaceBook . . . . .

Anne Rice takes a moment on her Fan Page to humor ways to fix a deplorable issue that affects ALL writers; targeted attacks just for the heck of it. 

It began when I commented on one of her post that it wasn't worth it for me as a writer to have my books show up on sites like Goodreads and Amazon because such sites aren't obligated to uphold the very guidelines they set for posting "reviews" and leaving comments. Authors are openly bashed to the point where they go off and set up private groups which is fine until one considers that no author has a choice about whether they end up on these sites. The second an ISBN goes on a book, an author is open prey.

Ms. Rice's response on her Fan Page on Facebook directed to me:

--- I hear you. There is a lot of hatred and hate negative review campaigning on sites like Amazon where people use authors as punching bags. It is quite horrible. But I do think we are doing something positive here on this page, and by posting articles about books that are responsible and informative I am fighting back against the darkness of the internet. Maybe we should discuss a little more the kind of libelous hate that swirls out there and what we can do about it.

She added in another comment directed toward me that 

"--- . . . I've put up with campaign reviewers on Amazon for years who treat me like a video game. It's nonsense really all the garbage these people spew. And I can imagine how these kinds of people hurt other authors. So let's talk about it a bit. Let's see if we can generate some interest. I'm pondering how to do it. I might publish some "negative" reviews of my books from Amazon and open the topic. . ."

Ms. Rice's suggested some steps that could immediately improve the site[Amazon] such as (in her own words)

"make reviews carry not only "a real name" but an email. Nobody should be able to "strike" on the web without an email to hear a response. Most of the really hateful and ugly and unfair reviews I see are by "anonymous" people or people with made up names and profiles. So again, first make it "real name" situation and make an email part of it. That might be hard to police but Amazon could do it. If you aren't willing to use your own name and your own email (the email through which Amazon contacts you, etc.) then you don't get to post a review, or post in the viewer discussions."

But Amazon is a retailer and it seems like other retailers, they "skimp" on the capital it takes to create a system to protect authors from the "hate negative review campaigning" that takes place. Their primary interest is of course, their readers. No retail site that encourages "anyone" to leave reviews is willing to monitor such things or to "police" policies already in place or so it seems. An author should therefore suit up in their thickest armor and wait for the inevitable. 

One solution for an author, to keep from showing up on such sites to begin with, is to not assign an ISBN to their work. They could simply sell their books through their publisher's site or a site of their making. Of course, large bookstores won't carry a book with no ISBN but then they won't carry any publisher's books or self-published book unless one plays by the "hang-by-the-neck-until-dead-industry-standard-non-industry-standard-return-policy" game.

You may find these comments and more on Anne Rice's Fan Page on Facebook, one of the few, if not only, large published authors/legends who actually takes the time to talk with her fans--personally. Love me some Anne Rice. 

Just like Video killed the Radio Star . . .

Just like "Video killed the Radio Star" and "Internet Killed the Video Star," or so the songs go, one could easily say that technology killed the publishing world. In the publishing world however, it would be more accurate to replace "killed" with "changed." And for writer's around the world, it's a very welcome change at that. 

For decades the publishing industry has struggled with the cost of printing books. It was so costly back in the day that the few publishers around would have to print thousands of each title at a time due to the expense of simply printing one. And then there was the dilemma of stocking the "all those books" until they sold or were returned to be trashed. 

The few publishers around back in that time, utilized bookstores to help with this inventory dilemma and this worked well until the depression hit. Bookstores could no longer "afford" to stock large volumes of a publisher's books and then "pay" to have what didn't sell returned. Simon & Schuster rose to the occasion by allowing bookstores no charge for returning just the book covers from books purchased and no deadline on when those covers had to be returned (for credit.) The other few publishers of the day were forced to comply or "sink."
   
So you can see it hasn't been an easy road. 

But publishers no longer have to worry about the cost of printing books, they can print-on-demand which means more economically priced books for readers. It's a wonderful day for publishers as far as the cost of operating goes. 

Do keep in mind that most physical bookstores both Independent and large chain bookstores, don't order in volume (or at all in most cases) any book from any author or publisher that doesn't agree to abide by what has become an "industry" standard return policy that has not changed with the times. Therefore while it is every authors dream to show up in mass in one of these stores, it isn't a reality. That's okay. The dream will change as the reality changes but presently it means the best fiction out there can only be found . . . elsewhere.


My books are available for purchase at all venues where books are sold with of course the exception being availability at physical or brick and mortar bookstores. I've opted to "save" my publisher by asking that my books be made non-returnable. My titles will remain non-returnable, a classification that means I won't participate in any "industry" standard return policy (that no longer works for the industry,) until an updated return policy is implemented.  

I would strongly recommend and ask that you purchase any of my titles through:

 Black Bed Sheet Books. 

 Since my books are POD through Ingram's Lightning Source, no other distributor such as Amazon or any other on-line retailer can get them for less. This goes for Kindle format and any other e-book format.


Here are the exact links for each of my titles, all formats, via my publisher. International shoppers should use Amazon and other on-line sites who can have the books printed in their respective countries thus saving on shipping. This is the ONLY time when buying from anyone but the publisher will actually save you money.:

Electric Angel

Forever Richard

Never Ceese

And to my current readers and fans, thank you for your support and love. I couldn't do it without you and I wouldn't even try.

Black Bed Sheet Books site going strong!

Publisher Nicholas Grabowsky has worked over-time to get the Black Bed Sheet Books site up and running. Do go over there and check out the goods! There is even a place to leave reviews as well as forums one can add or join. The link:


www.downwarden.com/blackbedsheet


Great job Nicholas, if I do say so myself. You've outdone yourself and as a Black Bed Sheet author, I applaud you.

Amazon Author Central: The continuing saga.

Short but sweet: An author can have an Author's Page on Amazon Author Central. They can post a bibliography, and list their books. On my author page I noticed that two of my published works weren't showing but rather two editions that were out of print. I pointed this out to Amazon. They told me I was correct and they fixed it.


I then noticed that when you sort on popularity, those same two books showed up and not the currently published titles. Granted the out of print titles may be the most popular because they're cheaper, the two published ones should at least show up!!!!!


I also noticed that when sorting on Highest to Lowest price and Lowest to Highest, the same thing was true. The published titles of my work on those two books NEVER displayed.


I asked Amazon and here is there response:

 The order of the titles that appear on your bibliography is determined automatically and based on many factors, such as past sales history, current availability, and length of time the items have been listed on our site. It is not something we are able to manually alter. Author Page bibliographies have also been designed to be convenient and easier for our customers and readers to view while they're browsing for books on our website. In order to provide the best browsing experience, we display only one edition of each work.


For example, the paperback edition may primarily be displayed on the Author Page, although the hardcover and Kindle editions of the same work also exist.

I sincerely regret that we haven't been able to address your concerns to your satisfaction regarding this issue.

My response was to point them to several Author Central pages where several editions of the same books were in fact showing up. Actually I told Amazon Author Central that if they wanted me to, I'd sit down for as long as it took to point them to all links where this happened. LOL Really. They made it that easy.


So just know that when you go to any Author Page on Author Central, other than that of a large published author like John Grisham or Anne Rice, when you sort on price, you won't be given all the actual pricing. In fact, in most cases, as is the case with my books, you'll only see pricing, low to high or high to low for out of print books that neither I nor my publisher make any money off of. Guess who does make money? If you guessed Amazon, you're right. ;D


And to make it even more deceitful--Amazon lists two of my out of print titles for sale as NEW through AMAZON even though I've asked them time and time again to stop selling my out of print books as NEW. I even sent the reversion of rights letter to prove I have the authority to tell them to stop. Gotta love Amazon. If you don't like how they play, you can't run away.

Amazon's Author Central is just that.

Please visit my publisher's site at http://www.downwarden.com/BlackBedSheet for complete and accurate information concerning all my titles including reviews.


****Update 7-6-2012 As I previously stated, it was clear Author Central "read" my concerns and responded because I noticed that, all of a sudden, the most recently published books showed up when one sorted on publications as opposed to those books not showing up at all with only out of print editions being viewable. I couldn't wait to read the delightful response Amazon must have for me. Well here it is:

Hello Sue,

I've looked at the Sue Dent Author Page and you are indeed right in saying that the Author Page isn't showing the correct Black Bed Sheet Books edition for both the books. I'm sorry about this.

I've corrected the problem, and the Black Bed Sheet Books edition shall show up on the Author Page in 2-3 business days. We appreciate your patience in this matter. I'll monitor these changes to ensure they appear on time and will contact you if there's any delay.

If you'd like to update the cover images for the older editions with the Black Bed Sheet Books cover image, please let us know here https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us

Aw, they called me Sue and said I was right! Imagine that! I know more about my books than they do. Go figure! So they fixed ONE of the issues and have yet to address the other issues. They've made it possible for a customer to sort on popular. This is a bit of a ridiculous premise to begin with as everything under the sun is sorted EXCEPT popular books for that author. Also you may sort from high to low pricing of an "authors" book or low to high which again seems mindless as "again" everything in the world shows up. On my Author Central page the only books I have that are published and in print didn't show up at all until I pinged Amazon to ask if that's what they meant to happen when they added that sort to the Author Central page. 

Bottom line, Amazon's Author Central isn't anything but a retailers ploy to get authors to send their readers to their site to possibly purchase books. I must say though, Amazon seems to be working harder to "fix" things that are screwed up when those things are brought to their attention. However they do little to ensure accurate information is available. In fact, they don't care at all about accurate information. They're primary goal is to sell books period. BUT that's pretty much true of all retailers.


****Update 7-6-2012 Mid-morning: I asked Amazon's Author Central why the most recent publication didn't even show up but rather the out of print book. They've not responded to my email . . . yet. But did seem to miraculously "fix" that on my Author Central Page. What remains to be fixed is having out of print books (that only Amazon makes money on and not necessarily the author or publisher, in fact rarely the author or publisher) showing up when they aren't in fact the most popular and I can prove this in one instance. Also sorting by highest and lowest price never, ever, ever, ever shows the most recently published books. What is that about?




While Amazon's Author Central proposes to be a tool for "helping" authors it falls miserably flat in this department because an author/publisher actually has very limited control over the content. In this particular instance I'm referring to books that show up on the Author's Page that one can sort by. You can choose "popular," Highest Price first, Lowest Price first etc . . . In the instance of my books the CURRENTLY published titles, the only ones my publisher and I make money off of NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER show up no matter WHAT option you choose. Not even most recently published. Way to go Amazon!


Basically an author may mark the EXACT books listed on Amazon that belong to them but that doesn't mean those are the books that will display on one's Author Central page. For those of us who have had several publishers go under and have several editions of one book out there, control of what shows up on our page is IMPORTANT!!!


When I went to my page today, two of my newest releases weren't even showing up but rather two titles that are no longer in print or rather two books I'd NOT selected as belonging to me and books I make no money off of. I queried Amazon to see what could be done about this. Here's the response I received:


"Due to recent design changes in our search features, titles on Author Pages are now sorted by popularity."


Since my first publisher liquidated over 4000 copies of my debut novel before they went under, there are tons of this title available for as little as .01 cent. I'm fairly certain a book that sells for .01 cent is going to be more popular than one that sells a little below retail meaning the books showing when someone searches on "Sue Dent" are titles that are out of print and no longer available for sale as new. 


Just keep in mind, as most readers do, a Publisher/Author has very limited control over the content on Amazon's Author Central. Amazon controls it for the most part with little to no regard to the author/publisher. The reason these books are allowed to show up is because Amazon is a retail site! DUH! It isn't hurting them if the out of print books show up on an author's page. They still make money . . . at an author/publisher's expense.


Given that Amazon can make it affordable for readers to purchase an author's/publisher's books in all countries, all authors/publishers have to tolerate them. UGH!

Aw, thank-you reader!

Hi Sue,


I enjoyed Never Ceese and I am really looking forward to Forever Richard. My wife wanted me to hurry up and finish Never Ceese so she can read it now. I work ten hour shifts and I have time to read, usually non-fiction, sometimes novels but yours was different. There are some books that I like to read just a chapter at a time so I can savor them and this was one of them. 


Thanks.

This is why I write. This is what matters. This is what will always matter. Thank you so much Jim!!! Forever Richard is on the way. ;D