No question Bezos, now wanting to be known as the owner of the Washington Post and one of the world's Top 10 BILLIONAIRES, is poised to try for even more power. Maybe the Presidency in 4 years?
Meanwhile, he nickels and dimes dead authors on Amazon.
His book-killing KINDLE has driven bookstores and libraries into the dirt and turned authors into hapless pawns. Many have no alternatives anymore besides selling downloads rather than REAL BOOKS. Even then, forced to use Amazon's own company to hoist the stuff to the site, an author can't even get a sale.
I once asked Dick Gautier if he was related to the writer/poet ("The Mummy's Foot") Theophile Gautier. No, he told me. He added "I wish I was." Me too. Then, like Theophile, I could BUY a copy of one of his books: "No Laughing Matter."
What an appropriate title.
It's no laughing matter that Dick's novel, and thousands of other novels by thousands of other writers, CAN'T BE BOUGHT on Amazon. Not individually. You have make a "deal" with the devil, Mr. Bezos.
Dick died the other day, in assisted living.
Was he even aware that the novel he toiled away to write, would NOT EVEN BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR INDIVIDUAL SALE TO HIS FANS AND FRIENDS?
True. Take a look:
Dick used "Amazon Digital Services" a division of AMAZON, to get his book on AMAZON, and THEY WON'T SELL IT.
You can't pay $3.99 for a download, like you can with Orson Bean's "Safe at Home." Why? Dick made his deal with the devils themselves, and it's a bad one. Orson used an independent company that doesn't make you pay triple the price EVERY MONTH for a "service" you might not even use.
The only way you can read Dick's book is to "subscribe" to Amazon at $12.50 a month.
Cute, huh?
You can imagine if Bezos ran your local newsstand. You ask for a newspaper and he says, "Nope, nope, gimme $12.50 and you can "subscribe" to my newsstand, and then I'll sell you newspapers. Join my club first!"
This is the same Bezos who refused to even allow sales of books from certain publishers he didn't like. This is the same guy who bellowed about price-fixing and is now price-fixing.
Unfortunately, Dick Gautier did what a lot of foolish authors do. He simply let Amazon do whatever they liked, under the vague notion that his book would therefore "be available on the biggest book website in the world." Yes, Ugarte, for a price. An overpriced $12.50 a month rather than a one-time $3.99.
Orson Bean's book is published by Balboa. While there's a $3.99 Kindle edition, you can avoid putting more money in Bezos' pocket, by going over to the Barnes & Noble site, and paying for it THERE. I did that last night. I was hoping to buy Dick's book today, but it looks like Amazon is being Fascistic about it, and I can ONLY read it if I pay 'em $12.50 a month forever, not $3.99 now.
Sorry to hear Dick Gautier has died.
Sorry to know that he, like so many other authors, is the victim of a ruthless businessman who is now, in Dick's case, a grave robber.
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