Writers Tricks of the Trade VOLUME 7, ISSUE 3 | Page 25

D ON ’ T I MMEDIATELY T RUST M AINSTREAM S ITES ON P UBLISHING S TORIES (C ONT ’ D )
Coverage from Publishers Weekly has included a precise definition from Amazon of new as “brand-new,
unused, unread copy in perfect condition. The dust cover and original protective wrapping, if any, is intact.
All supplementary materials are included, and all access codes for electronic material, if applicable, are val-
id and/or in working condition.”
A S IS FREQUENTLY THE CASE , REACTION TO A MAZON ’ S APPLICATION OF ITS STANDARD BUY - BOX POLICY TO BOOKS IS PROB-
ABLY OVERHEAT ED . It’s not clear yet how much actual impact this may have on revenues for authors and pub-
lishers if third-party sellers are indeed held to dealing in actual new books.
That said, at the heart of the disturbance is a mystery as to how third-party vendors can sell new books
at the low prices they charge (and still make anything) and how they’re obtaining the books they say are
new. If anything, this development will lead to a healthy tightening of some publisher’s own sales poli-
cies—particularly as it relates to advance review copies, hurts, and remainders—as well as to tighter con-
trols on what books are sold as new on the Amazon platform.
N OTE : If you believe your book (or anyone’s book!) is being sold as “new” by a third-party seller—but it
really isn’t “new”—you can file a complaint with Amazon. Both authors and publishers have had success in
removing illegitimate third-party offers, either by contacting the third-party seller directly, asking for re-
moval, or by contacting Amazon.
THE CONCERN ABOUT UK’S “SCREEN FATIGUE” REPORT
The latest UK Publishers Association’s report included a purported rise of 8 percent in physical sales (to
the highest level since 2012) and a 17 percent drop in the total consumer ebook market.
As usual, without an understanding of context and nuance, the mainstream media waded right in for
the latest doom-of-the-ebook wallow. Chief among these was the Guardian’s piece proclaiming that ebook
sales have plunged in the UK “as readers return to print.” In that story, Publishers Association chief Ste-
phen Lotinga speculated that “people are now getting screen tiredness, or fatigue, from so many devices
being used, watched, or looked at in their week.” This, of course, as every other screen-distributed medium
seems to thrive.
The Guardian published another story on the same day in which it asserted that ebooks have “lost their
shine” because “Kindles now look clunky and unhip.” More such misinformed coverage could be found
at CNNMoney and Engadget: the pile-on was underway as print fans rejoiced and yet another industry re-
port left the unseeable unsaid: we can only guess at how many ebook sales are out there unless Amazon
suddenly becomes more transparent. It’s well known that Amazon and other online retailers don’t make
ebook sales data available. And rather than explaining that we simply don’t have adequate data to assess
how much of the market is going to ebooks, publishers’ trade organizations tend to favor the narrative that
supports the concept of the print resurgence dear to many.
David Vandagriff at the Passive Voice blog wryly posited that “screen fatigue” sounds like a marketing
phrase. He suggested that they might have “considered ‘bookstore fatigue’ or ‘high prices fatigue’ while
fatigue’ while they were brainstorming.”
S UMMER 2017
P AGE 18
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE TRADE