Amazon vs Authenticity
For a brief moment, let’s imagine the world completely different than it is. Let’s imagine it’s a place that values people over profit. Let’s imagine there are no monopolies and cities are full of local businesses and safe, accessible spaces for everyone … hmm, give it a second. It’s nice in here. Take a deep breath and enjoy the imaginary non-polluted air … ahhh … Ok. This is nice.
Moving on. In THIS world, would we hold each other in check? I’m going to try to do that in a blog. I’m going to talk about local/Indy bookstores and say a couple of the quiet things out loud. (Bear with me and remember, not criticizing something makes it a sacred cow. When something is beyond criticism it begins to warp into a deranged version of its former self. It’s not pretty. It’s not the best thing we can do for anyone.)
First, I don’t know any celebrities. I write books. I work a full time job. I grew up in a small town, in a middleclass family. In this space, I self-publish on Kindle Direct. I live in the Midwest, far away from New York and LA. Yet, somehow, if I self-publish my books on Amazon, a platform that holds a massive 90% of the self-publishing industry – I’m a sell out because? Because I didn’t hedge against Amazon and—MAKE MY OWN AMAZON? Seriously. That’s what I feel people want.
Look, I can’t do anything about the late-stage capitalism we’re all flailing in. I’m not even going to apologize for that, it’s just our reality. If it makes you feel better to hold the individual accountable and not the plutocrats, that’s on you, not me. While you’re at it, go ahead and ask every McDonald’s employee to quit their jobs because they’re supporting a massive corporation with their labor. See how that goes ... If you look, these waters get muddier and muddier with every parallel.
Amazon Founder, Jeff Bezos watching “Rings of Power” on his laptop
Spending years writing and editing my stories and spending thousands of my hard-earned for a local artist to format and design cover art for them—I’m doing my absolute best to put something special and creative into this world—and when its’ vast, churning engines of not-giving-a-shit aren’t grinding that into dust, I run into small, local gatekeepers like independent bookstores who refuse to shelve (on consignment) independent, local authors simply because they’re printing books from Kindle Direct. Fine, then take all the zines off the rack that were printed at a FedEx/Kinko’s. Take ALL your books off the shelves that also sell on Amazon. Go ahead. See what’s left. (By the way, just WHO is paying for those display tables at the front of your store?)
You own your own business, right? Guessing the initial frontend of that (VERY likely) came with some seed money? No shame. You probably didn’t grow up middleclass. You probably don’t know what it’s like to not have a trust-fund or much larger financial safety-net over the majority of people out there trying their best to scrape by (let alone DO SOMETHING unique with these scrapings).
I don’t have staff. I’ve never referred to anyone as “the help.” I can’t create my own store. I work a full time job to, you know, be able to eat. BARNES AND NOBLE can’t compete with Amazon but you want ME to. Awesome. (While I’m at it, why don’t I just get right on top of how China manufacturers exploit the business eco-system in the US. This might be awkward, but of course, YOU don’t have a single item in your store that was made in China … right?)
Thanks for supporting local artists, local bookstore … ever think you might be the one actually selling out? While looking over your many shelves, scan the publishers and give it some thought? (Any inventory there purchased from Ingram? All of it you say? Oh, no.) While you’re pondering, here’s another tasty tidbit: You’re a for-profit business (arguably, just like Amazon) that deals in something our local libraries are giving away for FREE. Keep patting yourself on the back for that. When you’re done, please catch up with the world people are actually living in. Adjust accordingly.
(As soon as you offer your own viable printing press, I’ll retract all of this. Seems reasonable, right? Yeah, neither do you.)
*On a side note, how should we feel about local bookstores with a LGBTQ+ focus selling every JK Rowling book at the same time they refuse to shelve local authors writing non-binary, gay and transgender characters? Just wondering … for a friend.
(for profit) beep!
One final question: Which is worse for books, Ingram or Amazon? (If you don’t know what Ingram is, it’s the GOP donating, multi-billion dollar mega-monopoly Indy bookstores order their entire inventories through.)