Discounted Kindles for publishing coolies—but why not free spaceship seats for execs? Charm the right people, Jeff!
Poor, cash-strapped Amazon can’t even scrape up enough enough money to list my small-press novel properly and remove the unauthorized DRMed edition inflicted on Twilight Times Books and me.
Maybe my publisher needs to forge Random House credentials to get a little more loving care.
Then even if Amazon keeps bungling my book’s listings, she’ll at least qualify for one of the Kindles that Amazon is offering to employees at Random and other majors for about $170 with tax, according to Crain’s New York Business. 40 percent off!
So why doesn’t this deal apply to people at small presses like Twilight Times Books? Maybe because they’re not the ones with the New York Times bestsellers destined to be $9.99 offerings from Amazon if the big publishers don’t spoil the act.
It’s in the best spirit of the free Seattle trip with which Amazon pampered alpha literary agents, according to another Crain’s report, as part of a “charm offensive.”
Like a publishing executive quoted in the new Crain’s piece, however, I doubt the discounted Kindles will work for Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and friends.
Jeff, given the hierarchical nature of the industry, you’d do better to focus on the top bosses. Maybe you can buy them seats on your first passenger spaceship or whatever.
(Thanks to Gary Price at Resource Shelf.)
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