Amazon Publishing / AmazonEncore / Montlake Romance

[James D. Macdonald]

[*]And #3 makes me wonder: heck, how long before B&N and BAM start trying to develop titles? How long before some conglomerate of publishers tries to open a bookstore?

The answer is: A decade ago to over a century ago.

E.G. The Cook's Encyclopedia of Vegetarian Cooking ISBN 0760724229 published by Barnes & Noble, 2001.

Henry Holt was the first major publisher that didn't own a bookstore. As recently as fifteen years ago, Random House operated its own bookstores.

 

[thothguard51]

For their SF&F imprint, 47north, you have to contact them to find out what the submission process is.

As mentioned before, I suspect Amazon is cherry picking the authors they want to go with at this time. Not a bad move on their part but I don't see where unpublished authors would benefit from this new publishing venture...

 

[Miss Plum]

It's not a bookstore or an actual retail front, it's just a pickup locker for you to get your order.

Ah. Having never seen the thing, I thought it was an actual browse'n'buy bookstore.

The answer is: A decade ago to over a century ago.

E.G. The Cook's Encyclopedia of Vegetarian Cooking ISBN 0760724229 published by Barnes & Noble, 2001.

Henry Holt was the first major publisher that didn't own a bookstore. As recently as fifteen years ago, Random House operated its own bookstores.

Learn something every day. And now you mention it, I have seen Penguin bookstores and -- what was that when I was a kid -- a Doubleday bookstore?

But what I'm spitballing, James, is something bigger and newer to respond to the new challenges to publishers and bookstores. A gang-up of the Big Six or something, in a retail chain with a limited menu of bestsellers?

 

[James D. Macdonald]

The only thing constant in this industry is change. There's a joke that the first item off Gutenberg's press was a bible, and the second was a tract proclaiming that publishing was on the verge of collapse.

I don't think we'll see the Big Six get into the bookstore business. Why should they take the risk when someone else can take it, and pay them for the privilege?

 

[IceCreamEmpress]

I don't think we'll see the Big Six get into the bookstore business.

Get back into the bookstore business, you mean. And I agree!

Barnes and Noble has been publishing since the early 1980s; the now-defunct bookstore chain Brentano's was a publisher in the 1940s.

 

[jrector]

As mentioned before, I suspect Amazon is cherry picking the authors they want to go with at this time. Not a bad move on their part but I don't see where unpublished authors would benefit from this new publishing venture...

All publishers cherry pick the authors they want to go with, and Amazon Publishing is no different. But the majority of the authors they've signed up are previously unpublished. I'd have to double check to make sure, but I don't think any of the authors they've published under their AmazonEncore imprint (besides me and Konrath) have been previously published by big 6 houses.

AmazonEncore is there to find the best unpublished or self published books and introduce them to a wider audience. The other imprints like Thomas & Mercer and 47 North are set up for original titles, but just like any other major publisher, they will take previously unpublished authors books if they fit with what the editors are looking for, and if they're good.

What Amazon is doing is a very good thing for writers, published and unpublished. Not such a good thing for agents and other publishers, though.

 

[kaitie]

Are they actually giving advances to those authors? If so what sort? Comparable to others, more, or less? Also what royalty rates and promotion are they offering?

 

[thothguard51]

Well, as a curious old soul, I contacted 47North today to ask for submission guidelines...

Waiting to hear back from them...

 

[Sheryl Nantus]

Are they actually giving advances to those authors? If so what sort? Comparable to others, more, or less? Also what royalty rates and promotion are they offering?

Well, it's all very secret doncha know...

Meh.

Just another publisher to my old eyes. Except they're keeping their authors exclusive to the Kindle, meaning they lose sales on the other platforms. And few bookstores will carry the books on their shelves, since Amazon is the direct competition.

Just another new kid on the block. Big toys but starting off with a big handicap which is probably why all the secrecy.

Maybe Amazon is paying in groceries or video games. After all, they carry everything on their websites. Hmm. Wonder if I can get an advance of a PS3 for a novel instead of money...

 

[Miss Plum]

Are they actually giving advances to those authors? If so what sort? Comparable to others, more, or less? Also what royalty rates and promotion are they offering?

I'm glad this thread has revived, because I'm just really catching up to the significance of this.

DISCLAIMER: I'm only repeating things I've read here and there.

As we all know, it is reported that Penny Marshall got an $800k advance for her Hollywood autobiog, which doesn't seem to fit any of Amazon's imprints. (Or is "Amazon Publishing" some umbrella non-imprint that acquires properties outside the imprints?) Outside of that, Amazon Publishing has an NDA clause in its author contracts and it's being rather secretive about its upcoming titles and editorial staff.

Nevertheless, I'm strongly inclined to jump in. The more I read about it, the more I like it. I'll be contacting my agent to ask him about the possibility of querying Amazon Publishing.

 

[Miss Plum]

they're keeping their authors exclusive to the Kindle, meaning they lose sales on the other platforms. And few bookstores will carry the books on their shelves, since Amazon is the direct competition.

Not quite:

… a number of independent booksellers in the US are refusing to stock Amazon books under any circumstances. “We’re not doing that,” the owner of a store in New Jersey said. “I’d love to stock their books and give them more money to put me out of business.” Barnes & Noble, the US’s only dominant bookstore chain since Borders went out of business in July, does stock Amazon Publishing titles, but with a proviso: that it gets to sell the print title as well as the e-book. “We will not stock physical books in our stores if we are not offered the available digital format,” the chain’s CEO William Lynch said. “Given Amazon’s recent push for exclusivity with agents and the authors they represent, we feel it’s important to be very clear about our position on content going forward.”

More at http://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2011-10-19-analysis-if-amazon-ruled-book-publishing-too. One of the comments at that article says:

As anyone who has bought books from Amazon knows, as soon as you have made a purchase you start receive emails suggesting other titles that match your purchase. The email marketing continues when they publish new titles that match the customer profile that they have of you..

Of course some customers may not like being Spamazoned, but some do appreciate the service. Beyond that, as authors/producers who want to get their book marketed it all seems good to me!

ETA: Just found this on indie booksellers:

Independent booksellers willing to carry Amazon Publishing titles had some of their own conditions. Richard Goldman, co-owner of Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont, Pa., said his store has sold some AmazonEncore titles after customers requested them, and if he could get Amazon Publishing titles through Ingram “at normal terms,” he would carry their books. “Generally our position on carrying a book is, if we can get it at 35% or better, and it’s returnable, we’ll order it.”

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/...icle/48259-all-eyes-on-amazon-publishing.html

 

[Arcadia Divine]

Well, as a curious old soul, I contacted 47North today to ask for submission guidelines...

Waiting to hear back from them...

Here's what I got. It's copied directly from the email.

Thank you for your interest in Amazon Publishing's sci-fi, fantasy, and
horror imprint, 47North. Due to the volume of submissions we receive, we
are unable to respond to every request.

Should we be interested in publishing your work, we will be in touch.

Submission requirements

Proposals and manuscripts should only be submitted to one
imprint or editor at a time. We will communicate internally to make sure
your work finds its best home. For a full list of Amazon Publishing
imprints, visit: amazon.com/amazonpublishing

If you are represented by an agent, please have your agent
submit your proposal.

Submissions should include the following information:

o Title and author in the subject line

o Short synopsis of the book

o Brief bio and bibliography of author

o Full or partial manuscript (Word file, Times New Roman 12)

o Comparable authors or titles

o Any relevant marketing/PR strengths

Thank you again for your submission!

Amazon Publishing

I sent my question dirctly to their submission's email addredd/. I didn't recieve a response back from their other email address.

 

[thothguard51]

Arcadia...

Thank you for the post. Still waiting for a response, but as their reply noted, they may not respond to every request.

I find it odd that they want the submission to be in Times New Roman. Times New Roman is a bit hard to read at times, especially on a screen. They also indicate you can submit a full instead of just a partial. A bit odd for a query I think

I am still not sure how this new Amazon venture is going to be a plus for new and unpublished authors. Midlisters and authors with a few successful credits though might have better success with Amazon...

 

[kaitie]

I want to see their contracts, personally. I also want to see what kind of actual service people are getting and how comparable it is--particularly for the new authors they're taking on. I'm skeptical.

 

[Miss Plum]

kaitie, of course we're all skeptical until we have all the facts, but is there anything more tickling an alarm for you? I'm about to ask my agent to look into them. Generous royalties, promotion by spamazon, a partnership with Warner Bros, maybe even a whopping advance, heck yeah I'd take that.

 

[kaitie]

Yeah, but I've already detailed my reasons in two other threads. I probably shouldn't derail this one to do the same, but let's just say lots and lots of reasons.

 

[Miss Plum]

Ach, yeah. I'll go reread those threads.

 

[Cyia]

If this retweet by Sarah LaPolla (originally from EvilWylie) is accurate, then it's something to think about:

Why does Amazon make Amazon Publishing authors sign non-disclosure agreements, forbidding them from disclosing royalty rates, sales, etc?

 

[kaitie]

Yeah, she's not the only one who's said it. The author in one of the articles I linked also had to sign one. Sounds true to me.

 

[Snappy]

Any new news?

 

[Bubastes]

I clicked on a few random Montlake romance links and checked out their Amazon sales rankings. As a whole, they don't seem to be doing any better than books from other e-publishers. So what's the advantage of going with Montlake again?

 

[Mustafa]

I clicked on a few random Montlake romance links and checked out their Amazon sales rankings. As a whole, they don't seem to be doing any better than books from other e-publishers. So what's the advantage of going with Montlake again?

Off the top of my head, um, superior cover art, superior editing, advances, the fact that they do print and ebook, and the fact that, despite what you suggested above, they do a lot better than other e-publishers. So, yeah, there's that I guess. ETA: the fact that they belong to Amazon, which means they actually have money behind them for important stuff, like marketing.

 

[K. Victoria Chase]

Have you guys seen this?

http://www.robinperini.com/for-writers/writers-notes-by-robin-blog/montlake-romance-an-inside-scoop

A writer for Montlake posted this last October. Gives submission guidelines (a few) and says Montlake accepts unagented submissions. I hope this info is still good because I sent off my manuscript, hehehe.

 

[HapiSofi]

For years now, we've been seeing Amazon sell certain books for less than they paid for them, or turn off the "buy this book" button on an entire publishing house in order to force them to knuckle under in some ongoing negotiation, or arbitrarily declare certain ebooks to be "on sale" at deep discounts, or {fill in stories here}.

What are they doing with their original-title publishing program? Beats me. If they didn't have their history of weird sneaky maneuvers, I'd try to analyze the project as a publishing operation. But since they do, all I can say is "Beats me; could be anything."

 

[Sheryl Nantus]

Off the top of my head, um, superior cover art, superior editing, advances, the fact that they do print and ebook, and the fact that, despite what you suggested above, they do a lot better than other e-publishers. So, yeah, there's that I guess. ETA: the fact that they belong to Amazon, which means they actually have money behind them for important stuff, like marketing.

Your source for this statement?

Please and thank you!