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  • Amazon Eliminates the Need for Publishers
Technology Articles > Gadgets > eReaders > Amazon Eliminates the Need for Publishers

Amazon has been making a lot of brave and large strides lately. The latest step that the e-book giant has made is to eliminate the need for publisher permission. Let me explain. For as long as writers have existed, publishers have existed. In order for a writer to have a text published, a publisher had to choose a book, put a good amount of money behind the book, and turn that writer into a published author. The whole process is a lot harder than it seems, and thousands of writers create manuscripts every day that are never published.

Some of those manuscripts are great. Others manuscripts don’t deserve to be published. Now, Amazon is removing publishers from the book creation process altogether. Essentially, Amazon will make it possible for anyone to publish any kind of book. Further, Amazon will list this book on the Amazon website, allow anyone to purchase it, and make published authors out of anyone who goes the Amazon route.

An Interesting Move for Amazon

While there are some authors out there who deserve to be published, there are some people who simply do not. This coming fall, Amazon will publish 122 print and e-books. These books will mostly come from top authors who were once signed with top publishing houses. Not only is this initiative interesting, it is also a curious move for Amazon. Why? Simply put, Amazon will be competing for authors against some of the company’s major book suppliers.

Instead of waiting for publishers from New York’s top publishing houses to provide Amazon with books, Amazon will be requesting manuscripts from writers across the land. As you can see, Amazon will effectively cut publishers out of the book selling process altogether. Is Amazon afraid of losing its main suppliers? Hardly. Instead, it seems that it’s the other way around. Publishers are afraid of losing the excellent Amazon forum that they’ve become so used to.

Authors Rejoice

Amazon still promises to keep a tight leash on published content. The Internet giant has a team of editors at its disposal, and some manuscripts will not be published if they do not live up to Amazon’s standards. Still, there’s no doubt that Amazon will be giving authors who never had a chance with publishers a voice. If you have a manuscript that Amazon has faith in, your book will be listed online for millions of people to see and purchase.

As far as advances and royalties go, Amazon hasn’t ironed out all of the kinks yet. But, it will be interesting to see how the company moves forward. For now, it’s more than safe to note that publishers are shaking in their boots. It used to be that authors had to have the right connections, a great agent, and perfectly timed meetings in order to gain a book contract. In the future, the only thing that a potential author has to have is a good book, a solid story, and the right audience – with Amazon’s new strategy, that audience won’t be very hard to find.