The High Price of Cheap Books
Rethinking the Amazon Click
The High Price of Cheap Books: Rethinking the Amazon Click
by Suzanne Visser, Publisher, Clear Mind Press
Purchasing books through Amazon and other large book-selling platforms is, undeniably, an exercise in convenience. With just a few clicks, a new title is either instantly downloaded to a Kindle or swiftly shipped to one's doorstep. The process is seamless, efficient, and appealing to the modern consumer. Yet beneath this streamlined transaction lies a darker economic and ethical reality—one that disproportionately disadvantages authors and small publishers.
Amazon's dominance in the book market has given it extraordinary leverage over pricing, distribution, and visibility. While this has led to lower prices and faster delivery for consumers, it has also come at a cost to those who create the books. Authors, particularly those not backed by major publishing houses, often receive drastically reduced royalties when their work is sold through Amazon. In many cases, Amazon sets steep discounts that shrink profits for publishers and, by extension, their writers. For self-published authors using Kindle Direct Publishing, the terms may seem favourable at first glance, but Amazon retains a significant share of each sale and can alter conditions unilaterally.
Small and independent publishers fare no better. Many are coerced into accepting minimal margins and strict terms to have their books listed and promoted on the platform. The result is a precarious business model where sustainability is compromised, and cultural diversity in publishing is threatened. These economic pressures discourage innovation, limit risk-taking in the types of books that get published, and further entrench Amazon’s gatekeeping power.
Buying directly from authors’ websites, independent bookstores, or publisher-run platforms may take a few more steps and a little more time. But these alternatives offer fairer compensation to creators and support a more diverse and sustainable publishing ecosystem. In an age where convenience often trumps conscience, it is worth remembering that each click is not merely a purchase but also a vote—one that can shape the future of literature.
Suzanne Visser
Publisher, Clear Mind Press, fiercely independent publishing
https://www.clearmindpress.com
Whoa! Nothing like stabbing Julian and Catherine in the back, Robert, and undermining your other books (not to mention mine)! You get way better royalties from NS than you'd ever get from any mainstream publisher, you have more control over everything involved from cover image to font, and everyone (every diverse group under the sun) can publish on Amazon, which is not true of major publishers. Your new book costs $32, which is pretty steep. That's what happened to my book NTG (my shortest book) when New Harbinger was publishing it–it was over $30. Now, with NS, it's down to a very reasonable $13. And I get better royalties. I also get medical supplies from Amazon that I can't find anywhere locally, and I get fast delivery. And I get books. Suzanne Visser is supposedly working on a Dutch translation of my last book, but honestly, this makes me want to withdraw the deal.
I imagine this is a complex topic, but I also have no idea how the behind-the-scenes of online publishing works, so I appreciate hearing directly from a publisher about their take. I ended up buying the 21st Century Self in the epub edition to read with a free web app-based reader.