Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 20:09:28 -0500
Subject: [WSFA] Re: [wsfa-forum] Over the weekend: Amazon vs MaCmillan
From: "Elspeth Kovar" <ekovar at panix.com>
To: wsfa-forum at yahoogroups.com
Cc: "WSFA members" <wsfalist at keithlynch.net>
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

Michael Walsh wrote:
> One take on the Hatfield / McCoy feud:
> http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ar/theshelf/2010-02-01/amazon_vs_macmillan_ultimately_resolved.html
>
> http://tinyurl.com/yd5ddjh
>
> Perhaps one thing learned from this fracas: it's Macmillan not MacMillan.
>
> mjw

I hadn't replied to this because, well, I'm an addict and have been online elsewhere
dealing with this. The Washington Post. The New York Times. Amazon. Facebook.
Various blogs.  But y'all have me seriously confused.

Want to buy anything by Charles De Lint? Can't do it directly through Amazon.
Michael Bishop? Elizabeth Bear? Cory Doctorow? No, no, and no. The links are to
resellers. Amazon said on Sunday, in an creatively worded statement, that wouldn't
keep banning Macmillan books but you still can't get them.

Bujold? She's not with Tor or Forge so you can still get her. I've skimmed out
Guests of Honor and none of them are with a Macmillan imprint. None of our Small
Press winners because, well, they're small press. Haven't checked SFRevu authors --
there are probably a lot there but in no way, shape, or form should the SFRevu weigh
in on this.

Was just looking through Tor/Forge authors on Amazon as I was writing this: they've
gone from being only available through resellers to "Sign up to be notified when
this item becomes available."! Yea! Hey, remember McGraw-Hill? I need to check them.

Anyway, for a quick education: read the letter on the Tor site that Macmillan spent
money to publish in PW.
http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=58701#more It's still
the best and most unbiased thing I've come across.

(Folks have made a lot of hay over Macmillan taking out an ad and of course making
the whole matter public was good for them -- Amazon had buried it in a community
forum for people with Kindles. But Amazon also pulled thousands of books without
warning and without telling anyone. A PW ad, even at the price of a full page, was
the best and fastest way Macmillan could let their authors know that they weren't on
Amazon any longer and why.)

Ouch. Just checked on Amazon for Kage Baker, who died last week.  Her latest, a
paperback brought out by Tor November 10, 2009, is still only available from
resellers, not even a "we'll let you know when we have more".