Over the weekend Amazon threw me a whole orchard of lemons.
What happened?
My publishing account closed and all of my indie and republished books were removed and my earned payments kept.
It was a writer’s worst nightmare, and sometime I’ll share the full story because it’s terrifying and why I’ve always been concerned about how big and powerful the company has become. The good news is it’s been resolved and my books are back up. The bad news is it could happen again at any point in time because I don’t know why it happend the first time.
But what I really want to focus on today is the good.
On September 18th I have a book releasing. Yay!
Next week We Three Kings releases, and I’m so excited about this novel. With this book I return to two of my passions – World War II and the Monuments Men. I also got to write the novella set in one of my favorite countries, Germany. This Christmas novella collection will get you in the mood for the holiday season with three novellas from three award-winning authors. It was a delight to write with my friends Crystal Caudill and Angela Strong. I love the books both of them write, so it was fun to get to write with them and I truly believe you’ll enjoy all of our novellas. Crystal’s is set in the 1880s, mine is in 1945, and Angela’s is contemporary. All revolve around one family across the generations and all point to the true light of Christmas. This whole fiasco with Amazon has emphasized that where you buy my books matters. Need ideas on where to buy? Can I ask that you consider purchasing somewhere other than Amazon? I personally buy most of my preorders from Baker Book House and Christian Book Distributors. I also love Indie Bound and Barnes & Noble. Links for each of those are below – just click on the word or click on the link above. Thank you for believing in me and supporting my books. That truly kept me going this week when I was tempted to stop writing. Well you and my next contracted deadline kept me going! |
In celebration, I’m hosting a fun giveaway. The ornament on the cover is one I bought in Berlin a couple years ago. Fortunately for y’all, I bought extras. To celebrate the release of this collection, I’m giving away a copy plus one of the wood ornaments. Use the form below to enter. No purchase is necessary to participate. US only to receive an autographed paper copy and ornament, but I will gladly gift an ebook to an international winner. Use the form below to enter (If the form doesn’t show up, click on the link to go to the form). Thank you so much for your support of the books.
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Dani says
Oh my goodness. How scary. Sorry you had to go through that. I LOVE ordering books through Baker Book House and Christianbooks.
Thanks for the insightful post.
Cara Putman says
Those are my two favorites places, too, Dani. And then it feels like Christmas all year as books show up in my mailbox — and I’ve forgotten I preordered them. 🙂
Leigh DeLozier says
Oh no, what a nightmare! So glad everything is back up for everyone to find.
I buy books on Amazon when I’m part of a launch team and that’s where they want us to go. Otherwise, I try to order directly from the publisher or at Christianbooks. And my local, independent book seller is always happy to order for me. 🙂
Cara Putman says
I love Indie stores! And Christianbooks is just a stalwart. I’m getting ready to order a bunch from there. I do love the preorder deals from Baker Book House, too.
Karen Witemeyer says
How horrible, Cara. I’m so sorry that happened to you and so thankful you were able to get it resolved. Yikes! I love the preorder deals at Baker Book House and often purchase books through them. As I dip my toes into indie publishing, though, I’m depending on Amazon for that side of things which can make me a little nervous. So far, they’ve been a good partner, but the amount of power they hold is slightly terrifying.
Cara Putman says
For most of the time, Amazon has been good. But I can’t rely on it alone after this. It was terrifying.
Joy says
I’m so glad to hear you were able to get the issue resolved. How frustrating… we’re so dependent on them and they know it. I avoid them when it comes to paper books but admit that I’m hooked on my Kindle. I’ve been seeing more Indie authors selling ebooks and audiobooks direct through their websites via BookFunnel. Knowing the author makes more money that way, I’m trying to support them by buying them there. I can send the ebook to my Kindle still that way.
Cara Putman says
Joy, that’s the move I’m making. Look for that option in November when my last book can come out of KDP. I don’t want to be so at risk. It’s scary to go direct and it’s scary to be so wholly reliant on Amazon.
Betty Strohecker says
Thanks for the information. I started ordering from Baker Book House about two years ago and love the way they package the books. Although I have ordered from Amazon, some books arrive with bent covers. I will return to ordering from B&N, like I used to.
Cara Putman says
Betty, I do love how Baker packages the books. And I love the goodies that are often included.
Angie Quantrell says
EEK! That is horrible! I also am concerned about the power of Amazon! I’m glad you’ve got it figured out for now. Congratulations on the new book!
Cara Putman says
Thanks, Angie. I’m so excited for readers to discover this book.
Becky Wade says
Cara, I’m so sorry about what you went through with Amazon. That’s scary! And very unfair. I’m glad to hear that your books are back up on their site.
Cara Putman says
It was an experience. 🙂
Elentarien says
Ugh. So sorry to hear of your problems with Amazon. This is not the first time I’ve heard of them causing issues for authors. I wish there was a better alternative.
I realize there are ‘other’ places to order from, however, a lot (if not all) of those places aren’t really viable to those of us in Canada, and probably gets worse for those overseas.
Example: Baker Books the preorder price is $14.99USD, Barnes and Nobles it’s $17.99USD. To order from either of those places, I’d have to pay exchange (raising my price to $19.45 or $24.32), then I’d have to pay shipping, because all the ‘free shipping options are US only, PLUS the exchange on that. Plus when said book hits the border there’s a good chance of having to pay duties (which I can’t calculate, as I’ve been hit with duties that are more than double the actual price of the item in the parcel. It’s extortion! $15 cd? Oh, here, pay us $30 to let you have it!) to recieve the book. So by the time I actually get the book, it costs 3 or 4 times more than the actual price. It’s ridiculous.
However, if I can get said book (or most any item) from Amazon, it’s $24.31, plus GST = $25.53, and free shipping. While it still has a higher price tag, I skip out on the hassle of exchange, shipping, and hang-ups at the border. And I’ll get it in 3-4 days (well, with normal items, not pre-orders, obviously) as opposed to 2-3 weeks. Honestly, it’s VERY rare I will order anything from US sites at all. Though, I’ll admit, if duties weren’t an issue, I *might* do it more often, if it were really worth it.Shipping would still be a beast, though, so it’d have to be really worth it. But yeah, add the uncertainty of the duties. . .and I avoid it like the plague. I’m willing to bet people overseas probably do a lot of the time as well.
So as bad as Amazon can be. . .they DO help expand your base. But they really could treat their suppliers better. 😛 I’m sorry they’ve tried to burn you and hope they don’t do that again!
Just some extra, outside perspective, though. I wish there was a better solution for everyone.
Betty Strohecker says
I know what you mean, Elentarien. I often read books with a friend in Australia. She has to buy the ebook, or the cost is exorbitant.
Cara Putman says
International definitely complicates everything! The international source I used to use to send books to contest winners just went away and it’s so expensive to ship books.
Jen says
Yes, large corporations can be a huge problem. What happened to you is awful and I am glad you were able to work it out.
Blessings on your new Christmas book.
Cara Putman says
Thank you, Jen!