If it’s not Facebook, Instagram or Tik Tok, it’s Amazon Boycotts and AI overreach. What’s an indie author to do these days? These are topics I’ve touched on before but they keep resurfacing. Well, maybe I haven’t exactly mentioned the Amazon Boycott that’s being pushed but I have talked about some of the challenges I’ve faced with them in the past. Mainly, it’s their monopoly-like stature in the book selling marketplace. Now, the billion$-earning company has cut royalty payments to the innumerable indie authors utilizing the platform. Just what a writer needs in this ever-increasing, cost of living enviroment, right?
As billionaires get more and more disconnected with the average person’s struggles, a movement to call some of them (Jeff Bezoz, in this case) to account on myriad fronts, has begun. Thus, a call for a boycott of Amazon for the months of July and September. I am conflicted on this. Though my books are widely distributed, available at Chapters/Indigo, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books and Smashwords, and more, 99% of my sales online have been through the ‘Zon. They’re that big! Many indie authors have their books only on Amazon due to the ease of uploading to the KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) platform and a few other perks for being exclusive. So, many are uniquely vulnerable to a boycott. Amazingly, some of these same authors support the boycott. Especially after the royalty cut.
It’s in that vein that I would encourage the boycott as well. If you are interested in The Witch’s Foundling series, consider purchasing them from the other platforms mentioned. We’re also looking into setting things up to offer interested readers a way to purchase the books directly (with special perks, of course). Not being technically gifted and not having the money to hire, there’s a bit of a learning curve regarding the tech skills involved, as well as discerning the best option to do so. Which leads us into the territory of the tech-bros or in this case, the use of Paypal or digital marketplaces like Shopify. Specifically, the rather disturbing statements and positions of the billionaire founders regarding AI and its application to the creative arts.
Generative AI is trained on the work of authors and artists to create; often without the consent of those creatives or any compensation. When the creative work by which you make an income is being taken and used in that manner, it’s theft. It leads to a devaluation and dilution of your work and brand. And the tech-bros excuse to avoid payment is that (paraphrasing) “they wouldn’t be able to afford to train their AI if they had to compensate the thousands of artists/authors whose works they’re using”. There’s that billionaire disconnect again. Maybe if your business model relies on stealing and exploiting the work of others, you need a new business model. I can’t believe there isn’t a way to do that.
This is just one more example of the challenges facing independent artists/authors in a marketplace increasingly dominated by forces geared to exploiting creatives who are the backbone of platforms they control. Now, this is not to be too whiny. I, myself, use the services/platforms I’m talking about (Not AI but Amazon and Paypal) – because no one else has the same reach and security acceptable to the number of consumers as these ones do. It’s being stuck in between a rock and a hard place. At present, I try to urge interested readers to purchase from the other platforms offering my work. Our newsletter highlight the links for the books on Indigo.
In the end, it’s up to each of us to decide how to proceed. Understanding the costs and benefits is an ongoing task as technology keeps advancing. More and more at a speed making it difficult to keep up with. Will there ever be a point at which we say, “Enough is enough,”? Will our descendants look back at us and ask, “What were they thinking?” Though my books are fantasy, they exists within a recognizable historical period.
During my research it was interesting to find how much optimism there was – among the wealthy. And how much discontent among the working class. As our ancestors did not foresee the fallout of many of their decisions (industrial revolution feeding into climate change, for example), we can only hope to learn from their example. As AI expands and how, it’s a question in need of an answer.
FEATURE DESIGN OF THE MONTH
While I do digitally paint my illustrations these days, I do not use Generative AI. Unfortunately, this doesn’t prevent unscrupulous people from feeding my work into there models to train their system. So, I’ll make a wish with the Starlight Sorceress for fairness, justice and some fun. It’s a chaotic, ever-changing world and we all could use a little whimsy.
Our gracious Starlight Sorceress can be found on numerous high quality products on our Redbubble Store. Invite her to your home for some creative magic and fantasy.
