From +Evo Terra :

The reality of an authors lack of control of their own destiny.

Reading the story below, I feel like I was punched in the gut. I can't even imagine how +Jim Hanas must have felt, since it happened to him.

But it happens. A lot. It's nothing unique to publishing. This happens in business all the time, where the people are personally impacted with big business start squabbling. It sucks.

Check out how Jim reacted. I'm still mulling over if it is what I would have recommended he do, but I can only applaud his strategic thinking about his approach.

Jim was one of the first people I started following on Google+ back in the day. He's a smart dude and I'm sure this will all work out for him. But it still sucks. Hard.

Reshared post from +Jim Hanas

Kicking the Amazon Habit

Yesterday, I wrote about the fact that my book has been delisted from Amazon, thanks to a contractual dispute between the retailer and my distributor, IPG. This is frequently described in the press as "removing the buy buttons," but in my case — since my book has no print edition — it is much worse. My book page has vanished entirely. Reviews, summary, everything.

I blame Amazon, even though — as I mentioned yesterday — I have not been an Amazon-hater in the past. So what am I going to do about? What can I do? Well, since Amazon is failing to support me, I am going to withdraw support from Amazon and give it to people who have supported me. Here's what I've done so far:

I've removed the Amazon button from whytheycried.com. The book is still available via WORD bookstore in Greenpoint, direct from the publisher, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Google, and Sony. I recommend these options in roughly that order, based on how much they've supported the book — the last four being more or less equal.

Next I blew my entire Amazon gift card balance on — and this is the delicious part — a Kobo Touch eReader. That's right. Amazon doesn't handle these directly, of course, but you can spend gift card balances with Amazon merchants, which is how I was able to buy the Kobo. It should arrive in a week and then, as a reader at least, I'll be Amazon-free.

Why not a Nook? Again, I'm following principles of linkage and support. Even after months of trying, I was unable to convince the Barnes & Noble in my neighborhood to have an ebook event, despite the fact that it might have meant sales of both devices and books. You know who did? WORD, an indie in Greenpoint. I'm hoping to give them much of my freed-up ebook business (when it doesn't make more sense to buy direct from the publisher; I'm still working this out). Kobo works fine with Google eBooks, plus the folks at Kobo and Canadians in general (my publisher is in Toronto) have been very good to me and my book. Loyalty in, loyalty out, you might say.

" Plus Ça Change" is an increasingly infrequent column on (but almost never about) Google+. For archives and email subscriptions visit http://jimhanas.com/pluscachange .

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Why They Cried
A short story collection by Jim Hanas, featuring stories that originally appeared in McSweeney's, Fence, One Story, and elsewhere. Released as a Joyland eBook by ECW Press in October 2010.

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