April 30, 2008

Letters To The Editor For April 30th

We're Not the Only Ones Disturbed by the Washington State Attorney General Letter...

Hi Angela,

I saw you posted excerpts from the letter the Washington State Attorney General sent out. I received one, too. I must say, the part I found most disturbing about the letter was not included in your excerpt. The Attorney General said:

"Some of the complaints that we have received state that Amazon is refusing to sell books printed by Lightning Source or other POD publishers, and will only sell POD books printed by BookSurge." Then they go on to quote Amazon's "Open Letter to Interested Parties," which states that anyone can sell through Amazon, as long as you take part in their Advantage Program. (Of course the "Advantage" is to Amazon only, since they get to rake in fees, and create more hassles and expenses for us to have the priviledge of selling on their website--a sure way to discourage using other POD services.)

What disturbs me about this preliminary legal opinion is that it seems to imply Amazon is not monopolizing the print and distribution of POD books on their site, since they offer the Advantage Program. While this is only Washington's opinion, and the matter is going to federal antitrust agencies, I'm concerned they will come to the same conclusion. How can we fight this technicality? I hope others out there with legal experience can come up with strong counter arguments.

If you feel this issue is relevant and needs to be addressed by those opposing Amazon, I hope you'll post it on your website, or draw it to the attention of those who can make a difference in this antitrust issue.

Sincerely,

Jennette Green
http"//www.jennettegreen.com

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One Thing Leads to Another!

Hi Ang,

Just thought I would drop you a note to let you know about what happened
after my article on advertising columns appeared in WritersWeekly (March
27). I got an email from a real estate agent who was online looking for
pre-written articles on real estate that she could buy and use, and
happened across my article in WritersWeekly. I wrote back and told her
that I don't have time to do the columns anymore, but that I could put
the word out among some of my writing acquaintances.

One acquaintance who has read my book, Portable Writing, so knew how to
write and sell these types of advertising columns, responded right away.
The result is she will be writing the columns, plus the real estate agent
has offered to help find more buyers of the columns among her company's
hundreds of agents.

So it's definitely not just writers who read WritersWeekly. And since I
have a firm belief in passing along opportunities that I can't pursue to
other writers, I was happy that someone so well-qualified was able to
take advantage of this opportunity.

And I want to say that the thing I appreciate most about you and your
business is that you are so giving of your time, talent, and
encouragement. On behalf of all the subscribers to WritersWeekly, thanks
for being there for us.

Oh, and have a really great, relaxing vacation, if that's possible in the
confines of an RV. Sometimes I want to pull my hair out, and the only
other living creatures that I have to contend in with in my motorhome are
my husband and one oversized cat!

Hugs,
Kay Kennedy, Author of:
"Looking Back: Boomers Remember History from the '40s to the Present"
History as seen through the eyes of those who lived it!
"Portable Writing: The Secret to Living Your Dreams with 25 Projects to
Fund Your Freedom" - Make money writing!
http://www.kennedyk.com
http://lookingbackboomersrememberhistory.blogspot.com and
http://freelancewriter.booklocker.com