When Marti sent me the link to the Washington Post’s article, Amazon Tightens Noose on Print-On-Demand Publishers, I just about fell over in my chair when I followed the link to read what Writer’s Weekly had to say about it. Basically, Amazon is forcing authors to sign up with BookSurge if they want their books to be sold directly through Amazon’s website. I drove home from work, pissed and worried about my listings for Prosperity and the 2006 Writer’s Blog Anthology. I’m happy to report that as of right now, you can still buy these books (and any others published by Lulu) from Amazon.

Authors who chose Publish America as their route for publishing are not so fortunate, unless they had their books formatted for Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader. Although their books are still listed, they have to either rely on third party vendors to sell their books or enlist in Amazon’s Advantage program.

Will the same thing happen to Lulu publishers in the future? No one knows right now because management has yet to respond, but it’s a strong possibility if Lulu doesn’t adhere to Amazon’s terms. One author on the Lulu forum commented that Amazon isn’t the only avenue to sell your books, and he’s right. But Amazon has become a household names to millions of people who otherwise wouldn’t know of your book’s existence. That’s what really hurts, the lost book sales and for a POD service that is inferior.

I can’t help but feel that Amazon has joined the ranks of Google and Microsoft.

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