{"id":44451,"date":"2019-03-01T13:42:25","date_gmt":"2019-03-01T18:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shilohwalker.com\/website\/?p=44451"},"modified":"2019-03-02T10:27:36","modified_gmt":"2019-03-02T15:27:36","slug":"the-next-hot-take-an-open-letter-to-jeff-bezos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shilohwalker.com\/website\/2019\/03\/the-next-hot-take-an-open-letter-to-jeff-bezos\/","title":{"rendered":"The next hot take… an open letter to Jeff Bezos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Writers, we have a problem. Doesn’t matter if you’re writing about slaying zombies, speeding through space, chasing down rogue CIA agents gone bad, killer clowns in space, historical hijinks or sexy smooches on the beach…we’ve got a problem. I’ve blogged about this several times the past few days, the problem with scammers taking over the Kindle Unlimited program<\/a> and how it’s affected the Amazon Kindle platform<\/a> as a whole, and genre writing.<\/p>\n

On that note…we all need to take action here, and I’ve written RWA, my writing org. Today, I wrote Jeff Bezos and am posting the letter here, hoping to encourage more people to do the same.<\/p>\n

ETA: It was suggested that I also write to content & legal at Amazon. Emails below.<\/strong><\/p>\n

jeff@amazon.com<\/a>\u00a0CC both content-review@amazon.com<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0legal@amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Letter below.<\/p>\n

~*~<\/p>\n

Mr. Bezos,<\/p>\n

I’m writing about an issue that’s been plaguing the Kindle Unlimited & KDP Platforms for some time, namely the practices used by some participants who buy up manuscripts from other participants after the income stream has dried, then repackage, recover, sell as new on KU with no disclosure that the work has been previously published, not even a mention on the copyright page. They use a rapid release schedule, and may or may not use click farms and other methods to help bolter standing, but the repetitive cycle of constant releases pushes them higher up in visibility, earning them a larger share from the KU proceeds and on their part, they do no true work, make no disclosure about the fact they’re releasing rehashed work and are flooding KU with recycled works that make the quality of the platform rather questionable, while many authors with new stories, fresh voices struggle to find any visibility at all.<\/p>\n

This issue compromises the very art of storytelling, yet some continue to defend it, ignoring the readers, your customers, and the very base who that bolsters the creative industry. You can see their viewpoints, erroneous as it may be, defended on several blogs, including Nora Roberts’.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/fallintothestory.com\/blowback\/#comment-183197<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/yourcheekywench.com\/2019\/02\/26\/as-the-scheme-turns\/<\/a><\/p>\n

One such comment, from Nora Roberts\u2019 blog, posted below:<\/p>\n

\u200bThe link you posted above is suggesting that authors cannot sell their intellectual property (their books) to other authors and publishers. It\u2019s literally calling someone a \u201cscammer\u201d for selling the rights to some books they wrote.\u200b\u00a0\u00a0The link you posted above is suggesting that authors cannot sell their intellectual property (their books) to other authors and publishers. It\u2019s literally calling someone a \u201cscammer\u201d for selling the rights to some books they wrote.\u200b\u00a0How on Earth is that a scam?\u200b\u00a0By that measure, every single traditional publisher that has ever bought rights to a book (and subsequently published that title with their own cover and marketing spin) would be a \u201cscammer\u201d.\u200b\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s silly.\u200b\u00a0Do you genuinely think it\u2019s a scam for someone to sell the publishing rights\/copyright for their original work to another person? If that person then packages and sells that book to the masses, is that a scam?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u200bThis person equates the practice of an author regaining their backlist books and repackaging\/reissuing them to somebody who sells a work for another to repackage\/recover and sell as a\u00a0completely new work entirely<\/em>.\u200b<\/p>\n

\"comment<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s mentioned several times on Kboards and in other places that the failure to disclose is problematic, but as evidenced by the screenshot above,<\/a> that’s clearly no concern to some, to say the least.<\/p>\n

There are several screenshots where this practice is discussed and defended.<\/p>\n

The screenshot above with red text is from the Kboards site and has since been deleted so I can’t provide you with a clean copy, but this user has attempted to defend this stance on other blogs, such as Nora’s mentioned above, and Suzan Tisdale’s, also mentioned. The discussion on Kboards is here, although one must have an account to access. The direct link is https:\/\/www.kboards.com\/index.php\/topic,309267.0.html<\/a><\/p>\n

These shots discuss KU author Isabelle\/Marci Fawn.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/ease_dropper\/status\/1050554829410627585<\/p>\n

People buy these books, change the names of characters, then recover\/repackage and reissue as new, with no disclosure that the books had been previously published.<\/p>\n

KU readers pay into the KU program expecting new, fresh content from an author who is advertising it as such. Readers not in the KU program download a book from Amazon have the right to expect a book with a 2019 copyright to actually\u00a0be<\/em>\u00a0a new book, released for the first time in 2019.<\/p>\n

Copyright, as you’re likely aware, is established when the book is first\u00a0published and it doesn’t change simply because a book is unpublished.\u00a0 Even if it’s sold to another, the copyright, text, etc, the copyright date remains.<\/p>\n

Copyright establishment, etc is clearly stated on Copyright.gov<\/p>\n

In this area for ‘‘notice’<\/a>, see where it references the year.<\/p>\n

\u200bThe copyright notice generally consists of the symbol or word \u201ccopyright (or copr.),\u201d the name of the copyright owner, and the year of first publication, e.g., \u00a92008 John Doe.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u200bWhen protection starts is also addressed.\u00a0When protection starts<\/a><\/p>\n

Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.\u200b<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Copyright law addresses derivative works which significantly change the piece in Chapter 1 of the law itself,\u00a0https:\/\/www.copyright.gov\/title17\/92chap1.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Specifically, this is addressed in this section here.<\/p>\n