Will Amazon.com Push Its Own Published Books Most

By Rhonda Campbell 

Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.com Beat the Odds

Oh, but Amazon survived. Did it ever. Now those heady days are gone. Jeff Bezos’ “baby” has not only survived. It has thrived, making Bezos one of the wealthiest people in America. In fact, what started in 1994 as an online book retailer has expanded into a CD, fashion, home and garden, automotive and even grocery product sales enterprise.  

Through it all books has remained Amazon’s main product. After the company launched its Kindle products (e.g. Kindle basic, Kindle Touch, Kindle Fire) its e-book sales skyrocketed. At the start of the year Amazon reported it was “selling more Kindle books than paperback books. Since the beginning of the year, for every 100 paperback books Amazon has sold, the company has sold 115 Kindle books.” Not bad. 

Amazon Enters the Self-Publishing Arena

Around 2009 Amazon opened the door for authors to self-publish their books through the company. (Barnes & Noble expanded its book publishing presence in 2003 when it picked up Sterling Publishing. It also has rights to list and sell all Lightning Source books.)  

But we were talking about Amazon. The company’s self-publishing services are offered through Create Space. Authors who publish their books through Create Space can also sign up for Advantage to track their orders and sales. Amazon’s publishing imprints include Amazon Encore, Amazon Crossing, Montlake Romance, Thomas & Mercer, 47North and The Domino Project.  

Amazon’s book publishing ventures seemed like another creative/business offering until bestselling author and motivational speaker, Deepak Chopra, announced he was inking a book deal with Amazon. But Deepak Chopra wasn’t the first celebrity to ink a deal with Amazon. Actress and producer, Penny Marshall (remember Laverne & Shirley), is under contract to publish her memoir through Amazon. 

Sales of Amazon’s Own Published Books

There has been no evidence or discussion as to whether Amazon will “push” its own titles more aggressively than it does books published by other houses. But it’s hard not to imagine that the online giant wouldn’t leverage its internal sales team to help move books it publishes, especially books authored by big name writers.  

For now we’ll have to wait and see if Amazon nabs other household name writers. We’ll also have to wait and see how those writers books perform at Amazon. One thing’s for sure, if the books take off, Barnes & Noble and other online book retailers might reeve up their own in-house publishing efforts. 

There’s more information on Spiral and Long Walk Up at www.chistell.com  

Sources:

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/06/4034158/deepak-chopra-brother-in-book.html (Sacramento Bee: Deepak Chopra, Brother in Book Deal with Amazon)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/seller-account/mm-summary-page.html?topic=200260520 (Amazon.com: Self-Publish With Us)

This entry was posted in Book Industry Entrepreneurs, Growing Business and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to Will Amazon.com Push Its Own Published Books Most

  1. Pingback: Will Amazon.com Push Its Own Published Books Most | Write Money … | eMega Deals

Comments are closed.