That seems to be the general consensus lately. Jeff Bezos, a true business warrior is obviously in a buying mood. Word on the street is that after his recent purchase of ABE Books, he is not purchasing Shelfari. Soon, he will own the world. And you heard it here first.
What does this mean to us? Well, that depends on how you look at it. If you look at it from a reader's point of view, who cares. It probably won't change anything in the scheme of life. From the author's point of view, it is a whole new ball of wax.
Shelfari is one of those places that readers can keep track of what they read and write reviews and so forth. In my opinion, it is an antiquated version of GoodReads. Shelfari has big clunky images and so forth and I just don't find it to be as nice as GoodReads. This could all change when Bezos' people get in their and start shuffling things around.
I do frequent GoodReads a lot and one of the reasons is because of their relationship with Amazon.com As a publisher, I am a huge fan of Amazon.com. I know there are people out there who think they are out to monopolize the industry, and that may be true. But as long as they keep making my company's books available and selling them, I say, "More power to 'em!"
Back to Shelfari. Now that Amazon.com is going to own this and have a good chunk of control over the program, I am hoping that it increases the exposure of our books to readers in general. That is our goal. I am not a fan of the incestuous relationship many authors have come to rely on inside the book industry. Too many authors are missing the boat by focusing all their attentions on the writing community and fellow writers. Sure, writers also read, but they are at cross-purposes with regard to buying books. Fellow writers are not as much concerned with buying your book as they are with you buying their book! It's a fact, deal with it.
Amazon allows authors a few really good venues for reaching readers. They have their Amazon Shorts. They also have Amazon Connect. If you don't know what these are, you should check them out. Whether you are a writer or a reader, you both stand to benefit.
Readers want great books and stories to read. I hear lots of grumbling at events that some of the "favorites" are starting to lose steam. They have written so many books that their new ones are starting to sound like the old ones with new character names. It's bound to happen eventually. This is why new authors need to focus on gaining the loyalty and respect of readers.
You can find me at Shelfari, GoodReads, FaceBook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. They are all great places to find new authors and to find readers. Don't be shy, get out there and mingle, network, and for the love of all things sacred READ MORE BOOKS!
And readers, authors love to get feedback on their books. A lot of authors make themselves very accessible in Internet forums, as well as at conferences and festivals. Don't be shy, come up and talk to us. We are, after all, human, just like you.
And for you mystery lovers, don't miss your chance to rub elbows with some of the best mystery authors and fans in the world at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in Baltimore, MD. You can get more info and register by clicking here.
©Karen L. Syed
What does this mean to us? Well, that depends on how you look at it. If you look at it from a reader's point of view, who cares. It probably won't change anything in the scheme of life. From the author's point of view, it is a whole new ball of wax.
Shelfari is one of those places that readers can keep track of what they read and write reviews and so forth. In my opinion, it is an antiquated version of GoodReads. Shelfari has big clunky images and so forth and I just don't find it to be as nice as GoodReads. This could all change when Bezos' people get in their and start shuffling things around.
I do frequent GoodReads a lot and one of the reasons is because of their relationship with Amazon.com As a publisher, I am a huge fan of Amazon.com. I know there are people out there who think they are out to monopolize the industry, and that may be true. But as long as they keep making my company's books available and selling them, I say, "More power to 'em!"
Back to Shelfari. Now that Amazon.com is going to own this and have a good chunk of control over the program, I am hoping that it increases the exposure of our books to readers in general. That is our goal. I am not a fan of the incestuous relationship many authors have come to rely on inside the book industry. Too many authors are missing the boat by focusing all their attentions on the writing community and fellow writers. Sure, writers also read, but they are at cross-purposes with regard to buying books. Fellow writers are not as much concerned with buying your book as they are with you buying their book! It's a fact, deal with it.
Amazon allows authors a few really good venues for reaching readers. They have their Amazon Shorts. They also have Amazon Connect. If you don't know what these are, you should check them out. Whether you are a writer or a reader, you both stand to benefit.
Readers want great books and stories to read. I hear lots of grumbling at events that some of the "favorites" are starting to lose steam. They have written so many books that their new ones are starting to sound like the old ones with new character names. It's bound to happen eventually. This is why new authors need to focus on gaining the loyalty and respect of readers.
You can find me at Shelfari, GoodReads, FaceBook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. They are all great places to find new authors and to find readers. Don't be shy, get out there and mingle, network, and for the love of all things sacred READ MORE BOOKS!
And readers, authors love to get feedback on their books. A lot of authors make themselves very accessible in Internet forums, as well as at conferences and festivals. Don't be shy, come up and talk to us. We are, after all, human, just like you.
And for you mystery lovers, don't miss your chance to rub elbows with some of the best mystery authors and fans in the world at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in Baltimore, MD. You can get more info and register by clicking here.
©Karen L. Syed
5 Comments on Amazon Warrior…and I don't mean the tall gals!, last added: 9/11/2008
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If You Were a Parrot
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>>>he is not purchasing Shelfari
The Typo God has visited yuou. I think you meant "now."
Happens to me all the frikkin time!
Very good post and advice. It is true, trying to market your book to other authors is a little like trying to sell your particular brand of ice to eskimos. thanks for the tip (reminder, actually) about amazon shorts and connects. I've been meaning to get going on both those, and your post today was very timely.
I actually buy books from authors I've met as a rule of thumb - I've rarely been disappointed in the read and I like to support my fellow authors!
I haven't ventured into MySpace or Face Book, but have joined GoodReads and Twitter. I was just on the phone consulting with an author about online promotion. That's where it's at in today's world. But...I'm with you Dana, I sure like meeting authors in person.
Hey Karen! Good to see you're back on Twitter. Sorry to hear you're not feeling so well! :blog hugs:
Don't know if you heard, but I'm going to be published in the inaugural issue of In The Mist magazine!!
http://www.inthemistmag.com/index.html
I feel like I owe you my firstborn... or perhaps more appropriately, my first edition ;)