Amazon recently gave notice about a new policy for publishers who use print on demand services to fulfill orders. Print-on-demand books must now be printed inside Amazon’s own fulfillment centers. The only other option is for the publisher to enroll in the Amazon Advantage program and provide 5 copies of each title for on-hand inventory. Amazon is pushing the idea this is a means of servicing customers more efficiently. Those most heavily affected will be authors who produce a book as part of a business platform rather than as an end product for profit, and authors who use vanity publishing to bring a dream book to market. The dream book will likely not make a profit anyway, but this move adds to the anguish. How will the rest of the industry be affected?

I haven’t talked to my own publisher, but I can say over the years I have come to hold a slight grudge against the online book giant. I recall returning from a trade show after a tour for my first book. Several months later, drastically marked-down copies—signed by me—were available for peanuts via Amazon’s reseller program. I purchased a ‘used’ copy just to see what happened. The book appeared to be brand new. My publisher had donated the books in hopes booksellers would put it on the shelf to draw attention in the marketplace. Many did, and it certainly boosted his sales. But I still remember how those ‘used’ books with their rock bottom prices caused a very large lump in my throat.  I think this is an experience many mid-list authors go through, because I interview a lot of them for clients with writing publications and websites.

I wonder how Amazon’s latest move will affect the company’s brand. I’m a longtime customer there, but I confess I will take my business elsewhere. I don’t think those who do a book as part of an overall platform will be affected drastically. But I do think those starry-eyed writers who dream of their poetry book or their romance or their memoir selling lots of copies will be dramatically affected. Royalties from Amazon sales through a traditional publisher are minuscule. Royalties for vanity titles will all but disappear. It’s not a great leap to assume those of us who write also purchase lots of books. There’s also the tricky issue of monopoly, but POD companies like LuLu and iUniverse have reportedly agreed to the new  policy. Angela Adair Hoy, an author and journalist who publishes the world’s largest circulation writing ezine in the world, has sharply criticized the new policy. Booklocker, one of the most respected POD publishers and competitors in the marketplace, has traditionally used Lightning Source for printing. Adair Hoy operates Booklocker and the company will likely be affected by the new policy.

In an article at her website Writers Weekly, Adair Hoy points out, “Notice they [Amazon] left out the setup fees ($50 for new titles), the printing costs, and the 48% they want from each sale. In fact, there’s no mention of fees at all in the statement. They also don’t mention that the average publishing package for authors at Booksurge is over $1,000.” Adair Hoy is arguably the writing world’s staunchest advocate. If she’s against it, the policy is likely not going to benefit authors unless they’re best-selling brand names with a top house. She’s dogged this story since it broke and has a great deal of information on it at WW.

How will this new policy impact overall sales? Bloggers at sites like Computer World are already criticizing the move. Will writers like me discontinue purchasing from Amazon as a show of support for aspiring writers in the book world? Will top organizations like the American Society of Journalists and Authors and Online News Association take a position? Will those who work in marketing and advertising who use books as part of a campaign complain? Will your average Amazon customer even care that in this case the little guy is truly getting ambushed? Amazon may see this new POD policy backfire.

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