Hatchette Vs Amazon Reaches A Resolution, Of Sorts

Mark Coker has written a summary of the Hachette-Amazon resolution, after their very public spat was settled last week. His article, at Huffington Post, provides a good explanation of the winners (not very many) and losers (pretty much everyone), including the harm done to Amazon’s image and the likelihood that no matter what gains the publishers may have made in the short term, in the long run they’re still fighting an uphill battle to preserve their business model.

Who is Mark Coker, and why should we listen to him? He’s the founder of e-book platform Smashwords, and one of the pioneers of Indie Publishing. Every self-publisher should read what he has to say about Indie Authors and their role in the dispute. An excerpt: “When authors are attacking authors, you know the world has gone mad. It was all the sadder that most of these attacks came from the indie author community. Indies should be better than this.”

He compares the victory for Hachette to King Pyrrhus defeating the Romans. He famously said, “Another such victory and I am undone.” That’s your fun fact for the day.

That is all.

Check out Decater's new novel, available now at Amazon. Plus, don't forget his earlier books: Ahab's Adventures in Wonderland and Picasso Painted Dinosaurs.