Another Rock in the Path

— Mark Paxson

This morning I woke to another email from D2D. Today’s issue is this. My short story collection consists mostly of stories I’ve published on one of my blogs. I note that in the front matter of the book.

Amazon will not publish anything that is available for free elsewhere on the web, so … Amazon won’t be making my book available. Oh well.

The thing is that D2D asks this question before publishing and warns that Amazon won’t publish anything that is freely available elsewhere, or even available at a lower cost. I just didn’t figure Amazon will catch it. Lesson learned — they did. But again … oh well.

Published by kingmidget

About the name. I was the youngest of four. Until I got to kindergarten, I didn't have much to say. All I had to do to get what I wanted was to point, and a sibling, or loving parent, would fulfill my request. As a result, my father coined the nickname -- King Midget. At least that's the way the story goes. I am a father, husband, friend, and lover, writer, runner, pizza maker, baker, and many other things. What I am not is my occupation. It is my job that pays the bills and provides for my family. But, it does not define me. View all posts by kingmidget

4 Comments

Audrey Driscoll says:

September 6, 2022 at 3:21 pm

But what about all those public domain books that some people scan and publish? For example, you can buy H.P. Lovecraft’s novella The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath in print or ebook on Amazon, even though it’s freely available in entirety at hplovecraft.com.
Will D2D distribute your book to outlets besides Amazon?

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1. kingmidget says:
  
  September 6, 2022 at 3:23 pm
  
  All other outlets have accepted the book.
  
  As for your larger point … what? You expect consistency from Amazon?
  
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  1. Audrey Driscoll says:
    
    September 6, 2022 at 3:25 pm
    
    Right–isn’t it the outfit that apparently deletes legit reviews randomly while retaining one-star rants about books delivered with damage?
    
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  2. kingmidget says:
    
    September 6, 2022 at 3:57 pm
    
    That’s the one! I tried to imply this with my “oh well,” but I probably should have expanded on that a bit. I have no doubt I will experience fewer sales without Amazon, but there are at least ten other ebook platforms people can buy the ebook from, including Apple for anybody with an iPhone or other Apple device. And the paperback will be available at B&N, and several other on-line retailers.
    
    The reality is that I would love to have a divorce from Amazon. I’m plotting ways to move a lot of my existing books to platforms that distribute more widely.
    
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