By James M. Jackson
Much of the world blames Amazon for the decline in author
incomes. Here’s the truth: I am to blame, not Amazon. Well, I’m not all of the
problem, of course; but a tiny bit does belong to me. A critical component of economics
theory is how supply and demand shape prices. Part of the problem (the demand
side) follows good economic logic on my part; the supply side of the problem demonstrates
my economic foolishness. Let me explain:
Shall we start with the demand side, where I claim I am
driven by economic logic? Thanks for your indulgence, because at least that part doesn’t make me look stupid.
There would be no Amazon if I didn’t buy stuff from them. (I
suppose it’s clear that “I” includes a gazillion other people.) I do not buy
print books for retail price, which means I rarely venture into a bookstore.
Why should I pay full retail when I can buy the same book online and have it
delivered to me in two-days’ time? My TBR (To Be Read) pile will hold me at
least that long, and I don’t need the immediate gratification. I make an
exception to the full price rule when I purchase a book in person from an
author I know, but of the 1,000,000 books published in 2018, I don’t know very
many of their authors, so that is cold comfort.
I have given up serendipitous “finds” by not wandering
through a bookstore. But honestly, ever since I abandoned the self-help
section, my choices have been driven by recommendations from people I know,
authors I already read, and interviews I hear on NPR.
And if the author is well-known, I’ll get the book from the
library. My taxes and donations pay for the library; I don’t feel guilty about
this, nor do I object to people borrowing my books from the library. I love
libraries. Always have; always will.
I tried Kindle Unlimited for a year. It was a test to see if
I saved money. I didn’t—I don’t read enough books, and many of the nonfiction
books I read aren’t available on that platform. But if it or any of its kin
saved me money, I’d gobble it up like a mallard on white bread. Saving me money
means someone—usually the author—is losing money.
So that’s not so bad, really—me being willing to take the
deals the publishing business is offering, even though I know they’re not in
the long-term best interests of my author community? Right? It makes sense. And
it makes sense to millions of other readers. What, you wonder, is this irrational
part I alluded to.
Because I am an author, I also affect the supply side of the
equation. I add a book a year to the available titles. Economically, it makes
no sense for me to do this. If I had spent the same time making burgers at
McDonalds or performing any other near minimum-wage job for which I could
qualify, I would have made more money than I have from my six published books.
Being an author is pure economic folly. Yet, I have done it
for more than a decade and plan to continue. Unlike many of today’s authors, I
do make money and pay taxes on it. But it is a pittance, and if I didn’t have
outside income, I could never subsist on my profits. I’ve signed publishing
contracts with little or no advance, and I’d do it again for the right
opportunity. I accept the terms offered by Amazon—even if that means they take
65% of the value of my novella sales.
I continue to write short stories for which I receive token
compensation. My little drop in the supply of books ocean is trivial—but
combined with hundreds of thousands of others like me, we present a problem for
all authors because we add to the supply and are willing to work almost for
free.
Which means, I am personally stupid or we’re missing
something from this economic equation. I add to my personal economic balance
the pleasure I receive creating stories people enjoy reading. I love meeting
fans, and other authors. I make no claim that I must write. I choose to write and that makes me part of the
problem for those who think they must write.
*****
James
M. Jackson authors the Seamus McCree mystery series. Empty Promises, the fifth novel in the series—this one set in the
deep woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—is now available. You can sign up for
his newsletter and find more information about Jim and his books at https://jamesmjackson.com.
