Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)’s Offer to Authors Makes No Sense: Steve Berry

Celebrated author Steve Berry, who has such best selling fiction novels like The Amber Room, The Romanov Prophecy to his credit spoke to Pimm Fox of Bloomberg TV on its “Taking Stock” program. He roundly panned the e-commerce and e-book major Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) new pay plan offer to authors contracted with Hachette Book Group by stating that “It makes no sense. That is almost a ridiculous offer.”

These caustic comments from author Berry comes on the back of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) offering authors contracted with publishing house Hachette Book Group an option to retain the entire revenue generated from the sale of their e-books, till such a time that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Hachette Book Group can negotiate a profit sharing formula.

“Most of the writers at Hachette are advanced writers. They are paid in advance. The publisher risks. How do they (authors) pay it back? From the sale of books.”

The author goes on to state that as per terms of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) offer, Hachette Book Group would end up paying authors for books which they have already been paid for, since e-book “revenue money all along belongs to Hachette. Amazon knows that.”

Mr. Berry further went on to explain that, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) offer seemed more like a “publicity stunt” and added that for him and “those of us in the business looking at that offer, its ridiculous”. He also went on to predict that it is highly unlikely that the publishing house would accede to such a one sided offer from Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Throwing light on the impact this impasse between “two multibillion-dollar international corporation’s fighting over writers’ money” has had on the authors, Mr Berry indicated that he felt that writers should mobilize and attempt to take a greater degree of control on the way the publishing industry is currently structured.

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