When I format my books. I push the font size up and pick a heavier text, because of this problem and this has helped me. I used EB Garmond and push the size up to 12.5 font which is large for book type, but you can read the darn thing and it does not look large at all when you look at the book. I always get a proof copy and check them out and so far I've been happy. I think people do care but there is only so much they can do. I've heard good things about https://www.lulu.com but I priced them out for 30 book and it was going to cost me $8.00. I would never get my money back. This one: https://bookvault.app seemed more competitive with Amazon and I'm still checking them out.
What a nightmare, Kay! Facebook lets us respond with icons that indicate we're angry or sad, so my "like" is strictly a vote for your text, and NOT for what happened.
The difficulty you describe is endemic with publishing, and it also seems to put us in greater danger of censorship by AI algorithms. Here's a true story from my end.
When I have "gone wide" with digital books, I have used Draft2Digital, with whom I've had good results, and whose software is very user-friendly. However, their AI banned the first two novels in my series (*The Passion of Elena Bianchi*). When questioned, they insisted that absolutely none of their fifteen or so retailers would accept the books because of content. Curiously enough, one of those retailers (Barnes & Noble) lists both titles in paperback.
This is a little removed from your experience, yet the "constant" is that AI-generated responses -- and in your case, excuses (e.g., "blocked driveway" from the USPS; "on the way" from Amazon) -- are now facts of life.
Your last paragraph speaks volumes: << Amazon wouldn’t allow its regular customers to wait endlessly for a package, yet they seem perfectly content letting an author wait. Worse, they don’t seem interested in hearing about these issues or improving our experience. >>
True, but remember: They don't need us. We need them! What would any of us have in sales without Amazon? That crass reality should not alter the rules of courtesy and decency, but apparently it has.
That is the essence of Amazon. Like you pointed out they don't need us. There are more authors every day, every week and every month. The reality is that when we don't wear our author hats we are consumers of other stuff and my experience with them is starting to bleed into that. I found myself telling my husband the other day to go somewhere else to buy something when he wanted to go to Amazon. It may be quick, it may be free shipping but it's not always the cheapest.
Your experience was extremely frustrating. I commiserate. My issue has been how light the copy print is, and the fact that they've condensed the books so that a book that was 20K words longer than my initial book was no thicker than the first book. The pages were faded. And the font was smaller.
Amazon -mostly- did an okay job on printing, but Draft2Digital did not. (I've ordered books from different printer/publishers with each new book I launched.)
When I called to complain about how light the text was and how hard to read since the font was smaller, the very courteous D2D customer service person apologized, but said they couldn't do anything about it!!!!
You're right, Kay! They simply don't care!
Does anyone know an independent printer who can do a decent job of printing and fulfillment and not require ordering thousands of books?
I, too, am less than enthralled by the quality of Amazon's printed books, Shelley. I believe that IngramSpark's books are better, and I've heard that Lulu's quality is a considerable step up. Of course, it is less expensive for the author to order from Amazon, and considerably more costly to order from Lulu (although the royalty rate is actually better!). IngramSpark books can be sold on Amazon, and I have been told that Lulu's can as well. Just a couple of options to consider... [I have no knowledge of or experience with Draft2Digital paperbacks.]
I just now crunched some numbers on my most recent novel, *Simone.* The Amazon print (i.e., author's) cost is $3.28, and my royalties (@ list price $12.95) come to $4.49. On Lulu, the print (i.e., author's) cost is $6.18, but royalties would be $5.42 at the same list price. Hmmmm.... Food for thought?
I've printed examination copies from Draft2Digital just to make sure the books are okay and they look good, they are a few cents more and it takes more time to get an examination copy,
I wasn't even thinking of selling off of Lulu More to order books when I needed copies to sell at book signings or for launches, so I am not looking to pay royalties. When you order your books directly from Amazon you are basically paying for printing costs which I believe is why they don't care so much. You are not a priority because all they are taking from you are printing costs and shipping fees. Your work goes to the back of the printing que. When you sell a book on Amazon to a reader, you are paying for the printing cost, a royalty and other fees associated with distribution of that book. I believe this is how it works. If anyone believes different, please correct me.
I am quite certain that you are correct, Kay. However, your larger point is even more significant. Suppose this were a local or nearby printer. How long would the company stay in business with such crass disregard, rudeness, and outright lies? Yelp reviews would hurt them. However, Amazon is...well, Amazon.
The quality, sadly, reflects what we choose to pay for it. I have been told -- and my experience confirms -- that IngramSpark's books simply look better than Amazon's. I have been assured by other authors that Lulu's are even better than IngramSpark's, although their site is even less "user-friendly" (if that's possible).
Draft2Digital was still in "beta-testing" when I last considered a paperback through them, but I have since heard that what you reported above is correct: the quality is on a par with IngramSpark (i.e., definitely better than Amazon), but they take more time to complete an order.
Yes three times in the past month. I’m in Canada and it is impossible to talk to a human. When I finally navigated to the right button asking for a phone call, the unhelpful person had no clue how to help me and told me to email customer service and no reply yet. We have to unite and make a stand against Amazon. Maybe then they will acknowledge there’s a problem
I’ve had some luck with chats. I don’t know what the answer is. Like someone else pointed out, they really don’t need us. Even when you reach someone that can do something, they have a play book they have to follow. I do think there needs to be some kind of accountability, but how that would come about and what it would take to get there, probably some kind of legislation.
Our postal carrier never delivers to our door if it's raining. We've had blocked road, no a cess to house or mailbox and even acces blocked by vicious animal. In fairness we do have deer that walk across our front yard but there never been vicious. I filed countless complaints with the post office online and finally wrote my congressman about it. They just aren't a reliable service and they don't care.
Rain stops them? We have deer too. I suppose they could be vicious if there are a bunch of males fighting over a female. I don't get my regular shipments from Amazon from them, only the bigger quantities of books. What has happened to the USPS and why is Amazon depending on them to ship our books? So crazy, what a weird situation.
When I format my books. I push the font size up and pick a heavier text, because of this problem and this has helped me. I used EB Garmond and push the size up to 12.5 font which is large for book type, but you can read the darn thing and it does not look large at all when you look at the book. I always get a proof copy and check them out and so far I've been happy. I think people do care but there is only so much they can do. I've heard good things about https://www.lulu.com but I priced them out for 30 book and it was going to cost me $8.00. I would never get my money back. This one: https://bookvault.app seemed more competitive with Amazon and I'm still checking them out.
What a nightmare, Kay! Facebook lets us respond with icons that indicate we're angry or sad, so my "like" is strictly a vote for your text, and NOT for what happened.
The difficulty you describe is endemic with publishing, and it also seems to put us in greater danger of censorship by AI algorithms. Here's a true story from my end.
When I have "gone wide" with digital books, I have used Draft2Digital, with whom I've had good results, and whose software is very user-friendly. However, their AI banned the first two novels in my series (*The Passion of Elena Bianchi*). When questioned, they insisted that absolutely none of their fifteen or so retailers would accept the books because of content. Curiously enough, one of those retailers (Barnes & Noble) lists both titles in paperback.
This is a little removed from your experience, yet the "constant" is that AI-generated responses -- and in your case, excuses (e.g., "blocked driveway" from the USPS; "on the way" from Amazon) -- are now facts of life.
Your last paragraph speaks volumes: << Amazon wouldn’t allow its regular customers to wait endlessly for a package, yet they seem perfectly content letting an author wait. Worse, they don’t seem interested in hearing about these issues or improving our experience. >>
True, but remember: They don't need us. We need them! What would any of us have in sales without Amazon? That crass reality should not alter the rules of courtesy and decency, but apparently it has.
That is the essence of Amazon. Like you pointed out they don't need us. There are more authors every day, every week and every month. The reality is that when we don't wear our author hats we are consumers of other stuff and my experience with them is starting to bleed into that. I found myself telling my husband the other day to go somewhere else to buy something when he wanted to go to Amazon. It may be quick, it may be free shipping but it's not always the cheapest.
Hi Kay -
Your experience was extremely frustrating. I commiserate. My issue has been how light the copy print is, and the fact that they've condensed the books so that a book that was 20K words longer than my initial book was no thicker than the first book. The pages were faded. And the font was smaller.
Amazon -mostly- did an okay job on printing, but Draft2Digital did not. (I've ordered books from different printer/publishers with each new book I launched.)
When I called to complain about how light the text was and how hard to read since the font was smaller, the very courteous D2D customer service person apologized, but said they couldn't do anything about it!!!!
You're right, Kay! They simply don't care!
Does anyone know an independent printer who can do a decent job of printing and fulfillment and not require ordering thousands of books?
Warmest regards,
Shelley Sommers
Shelley@ShelleySommers.com
I, too, am less than enthralled by the quality of Amazon's printed books, Shelley. I believe that IngramSpark's books are better, and I've heard that Lulu's quality is a considerable step up. Of course, it is less expensive for the author to order from Amazon, and considerably more costly to order from Lulu (although the royalty rate is actually better!). IngramSpark books can be sold on Amazon, and I have been told that Lulu's can as well. Just a couple of options to consider... [I have no knowledge of or experience with Draft2Digital paperbacks.]
I just now crunched some numbers on my most recent novel, *Simone.* The Amazon print (i.e., author's) cost is $3.28, and my royalties (@ list price $12.95) come to $4.49. On Lulu, the print (i.e., author's) cost is $6.18, but royalties would be $5.42 at the same list price. Hmmmm.... Food for thought?
I've printed examination copies from Draft2Digital just to make sure the books are okay and they look good, they are a few cents more and it takes more time to get an examination copy,
I wasn't even thinking of selling off of Lulu More to order books when I needed copies to sell at book signings or for launches, so I am not looking to pay royalties. When you order your books directly from Amazon you are basically paying for printing costs which I believe is why they don't care so much. You are not a priority because all they are taking from you are printing costs and shipping fees. Your work goes to the back of the printing que. When you sell a book on Amazon to a reader, you are paying for the printing cost, a royalty and other fees associated with distribution of that book. I believe this is how it works. If anyone believes different, please correct me.
I am quite certain that you are correct, Kay. However, your larger point is even more significant. Suppose this were a local or nearby printer. How long would the company stay in business with such crass disregard, rudeness, and outright lies? Yelp reviews would hurt them. However, Amazon is...well, Amazon.
The quality, sadly, reflects what we choose to pay for it. I have been told -- and my experience confirms -- that IngramSpark's books simply look better than Amazon's. I have been assured by other authors that Lulu's are even better than IngramSpark's, although their site is even less "user-friendly" (if that's possible).
Draft2Digital was still in "beta-testing" when I last considered a paperback through them, but I have since heard that what you reported above is correct: the quality is on a par with IngramSpark (i.e., definitely better than Amazon), but they take more time to complete an order.
Yes three times in the past month. I’m in Canada and it is impossible to talk to a human. When I finally navigated to the right button asking for a phone call, the unhelpful person had no clue how to help me and told me to email customer service and no reply yet. We have to unite and make a stand against Amazon. Maybe then they will acknowledge there’s a problem
I’ve had some luck with chats. I don’t know what the answer is. Like someone else pointed out, they really don’t need us. Even when you reach someone that can do something, they have a play book they have to follow. I do think there needs to be some kind of accountability, but how that would come about and what it would take to get there, probably some kind of legislation.
Our postal carrier never delivers to our door if it's raining. We've had blocked road, no a cess to house or mailbox and even acces blocked by vicious animal. In fairness we do have deer that walk across our front yard but there never been vicious. I filed countless complaints with the post office online and finally wrote my congressman about it. They just aren't a reliable service and they don't care.
Rain stops them? We have deer too. I suppose they could be vicious if there are a bunch of males fighting over a female. I don't get my regular shipments from Amazon from them, only the bigger quantities of books. What has happened to the USPS and why is Amazon depending on them to ship our books? So crazy, what a weird situation.