Sep 01

Orchids

“Oh, no, the orchids died again.”  I almost cried as soon as I saw the white and purple orchid pots in the gray room.  I threw my heavy winter coat on the kitchen chair and dashed to the orchid pots on the glass table in the middle of the gray room and carefully touched the wide green leaves.

“The leaves are still alive, not dead yet,” I continued, looking at Kwang’s back and his shoulders, and asked his  help.“Then, Kwang, how can I make them bloom again?”

“As you know, you should take care of plants like your baby, especially orchids,” was Kwang’s blunt reply.  I almost exploded at Kwang’s unfriendly response and it ignited my grumpy mood.

“I know, but the two cactus are fine,” I spilled out my emotion with high pitch.  Quietly Kwang disappeared into his library in order to avoid the delicate situation with my emotional climax.

 He did not want to help me?  I was frustrated and it was hard to control my bitter feelings.

At the dinner table I forced a compromise on the issue of the plants with Kwang.  The first one is keeping the fresh flowers on the kitchen table while we are home and adding the silk artificial ones in the living room. Second, the plants inside the house are his responsibility and the rose garden in the back yard is mine.  He had no objection to our negotiations.  But without saying a word, we made an agreement.

“Fresh flowers on the table, it is too much money,” and he continued, “Are you sure?”

I walked away from him without any further comment to avoid more conflict with him.  I got fresh coffee. I knew what he meant and he was showing me again his frugality.

Our friends and children send me flowers for Mother’s Day and my birthdays, but Kwang has never sent me a single stem of a rose for our almost fifty years of marriage.  I have bought fresh flowers for myself from Costco without expecting them from Kwang.

It has been such a joyful and happy moment for me to cut the stems of fresh flowers, smell them and touch them, and put them into vases with bluish copper citrate compound as a preservative.  I put them on the glass table in the living room and I looked at them a while. 

Mm, it’s beautiful and it makes my day, humming around the house.

I don’t need Kwang’s flowers.  He provides me with other things more precious than flowers, I was talking to myself, humming, up and down the stairs.

Last year, a couple of months apart, I received a white orchid from one of my daughters-in-law for Mother’s Day and a purple one from a friend on my birthday.

Both blossoms lasted about two months and then their petals fell down one by one.  And they left only the straight brown stems and two wide green leaves at the bottoms of the pots.

“Kwang, throw the pots away.  They just take up space,” I commanded him when we had warm coffee at the kitchen table while looking at the white snow on the pine trees on the bump through the window.  Kwang was quiet for a moment and then responded, “Remember, my job is to take care of the plants inside of the house”.  I was stunned and speechless. 

That’s right.  We made a deal, I talked to myself and continued, I am so stupid.  Don’t step on his toes, just take care of it yourself.”  I totally forgot the deal that I forced him to make.

I should say to him, I am sorry, it’s none of my business.  I did not say that.  My ego did not allow me to mention it, but quietly I did, Yes I am sorry.

For a couple of months, from Kwang’s dedicated care of these two orchid pots, miraculously they started to bloom again with white and purple blossoms on the kitchen table, even during the Michigan winter.

His technique of success was to pay attention to the orchids constantly by talking with them and breathing the same air with them.

We took the Around the World Cruise in 2011 with Holland Cruise Lines’ ms Amsterdam from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from January 5 to April 26, 2011.  Just a few days before we left home both white and purple orchids were blooming from Kwang’s engineering mind with precise temperature and humidity control.  I deeply admired his tireless efforts and  determination to achieve his goal, to get the most beautiful blossoms, yet I did not tell him.

On the ms Amsterdam I could see orchid pots on each dinner table and everywhere.  The dangling beautiful orchids flowers were in the library, at the corner of corridors and even in the women’s restrooms.  They had extremely healthy blossoms with supporting stems and wide thick green leaves.  They had small yellow flowers like forsythia in the spring, purple color like azaleas, white like white rose petals on the tables.

Normally, the ship cruised at night and docked at the port the next morning for the variety of excursions in order to observe the unique cultural events in each country.

On sea days, Kwang went to the water color painting class and I went to creative writing.  Many other activities were keeping us busy, such as Tai-Chi, lectures, dance classes, wine tasting and cooking classes.  Neither of us missed attending any Tai-Chi classes or the International Lecture series.

In his water color class Kwang painted the human faces from magazines and the beautiful scenery along the seashores and the rock statues on the shore of Easter Island were magnificent.  He demonstrated his talent perfectly on the paper.

One day he gave me a folder of his painting works including a Valentine card and several of orchids with bright colors.

“Oh, wow, a Valentine’s card.”  It was the first time I ever got a Valentine’s card, or any card from him in my life.

“Tomorrow morning the sun will rise from the west, not the east”.  We both burst out laughing and I said, “Thank you” and gave him a big hug.

“So many orchid paintings?” I asked him.

“One week’s work,” he quietly answered.

It reminded me of our orchids on the kitchen table when we left home in January.  They had beautiful white and purple flowers in each pot.  We were both speechless for a minute.  Kwang might think about orchids at home, too.

“In a couple of weeks our art class will have a silent auction with the paintings”.  I did not understand completely what he talked about, so I was quiet, but he continued, “Each student donates a couple of pieces”.  I was listening and Kwang continued, “The teacher told us it is absolutely voluntary, no obligation,” and he continued, “But I should donate a couple of pieces.”

I was stunned.  I could not agree with him at all.  We needed at least four pieces of his work on this trip to give to each of our children.  “No.  You cannot donate, because we do not have many pieces for our children.”  As usual he was quiet and he went to the sink to clean up his brushes.

The next day I found out that one piece was missing.

“Kwang, the pink orchid piece is not here, in your folder.”

“I donated it to the silent auction event.”

We did not speak to each other for a couple of hours.  I tried to comfort myself and control my anxiety.  The cold war could not thaw for several hours.

“The auction’s purpose is to help an orphanage in the Philippines.”

“You did not tell me.”

“I did not know exactly what the purpose was, and today the teacher told us clearly that this is an annual event on the ms Amsterdam”.

I felt much better than before but we could donate with money instead of his painting.  Two weeks later the paintings were on display on three long tables, about 50 pieces, in the main theater.

“What talent.  Such amazing pieces,” I told Kwang.

“Yes.  Many beautiful pieces were donated.”

“Kwang, I am sorry.  You should donate more, and your paintings of the Easter Island statues and the other scenery were astonishing products.”

“Don’t worry.  We will donate more with money, and then let’s give the rest of my paintings to our children.”

“Thanks.”

His orchid painting was sold for $25.00.

All the money that was raised was donated to the Hospicio de San Jose.

The Hospicio de San Jose (Hospice of St. Joseph) is the first social welfare agency in the Philippines.  It was originally called Hospicio General (General Hospice), The Hospice de San Jose was established in October 1778 by husband-and-wife Don Francisco Gomez Enriquez and Dona Barbara Verzosa with a donation to found the hospice that would take care of Manila’s “poor and unwanted children”, and people who are physically and mentally challenged, and also aging people.

Their goal is to design, develop and sustain innovative programs, services and curriculum to improve the quality of life of the poor.

There was no doubt the spirit of Kwang’s pink orchid was sprawling all over the Philippines and the spirit was embedded into the hearts of the people.

Aug 24

3 Writing Lessons from Ken Burns’ Mark Twain

Mark_Twain - BP

PBS television is a great resource for anyone interested in the works or lives of authors.  If you are an early riser, or good at setting a DVR, you can watch Terry Tazioli on Well Read interview authors such as Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love), Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club), or Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner) about their latest works and creative process.  American Masters has profiled Alice Walker (The Color Purple) and J.D. Salinger (The Catcher in the Rye) among others this year.

Last month I watched a reshowing of Ken Burns’ documentary on Mark Twain.  I recommend this compelling portrait of one of America’s foremost authors.  It reveals Twain’s monumental life along with his more personal, sometimes heartbreaking, experiences.  You’ll discover why his books continue to be read the world over as significant literary works.  After watching the film, I wondered what lessons specific to the writer can be drawn from the presentation.  So, I watched it again and discovered three takeaways.

1. Notice the details of people, places, and things

Writers tend to be natural people watchers, but how close do you look?  Do you notice the way people hold themselves?  The way people comb their hair or wear their hat?  Do they speak slow and steady or fast and jittery?  What about the places you go?  Are there smells in the air?  A certain color to the grass?  Sounds drifting in from someplace close by?  What’s interesting about the things around you?

If you stick to what is easy to see, you run the risk of giving the reader only the mundane.  The details provide little sprinklings of spice you can use to create more compelling narratives and characters.

2. Explore unconventional publishing methods

Twain’s Innocents Abroad published as a subscription book in 1869.  Sold door to door by salesmen, literary critics rarely bothered to review these works.  Both ePublishing and self-publishing have started out with similar low regard from established literary circles.

By going the subscription route, Twain got his books into the hands of the masses.  People who didn’t frequent or have access to bookstores could purchase his book causing sales to flourish.  In time he was promoted as “the people’s author.”  Going the traditional route for publishing is an option.  At the same time, keep an open mind to other opportunities that can also land you an audience.

3. Write about what it is to be human

We live in rich environments for storytelling.  You may think your life uninteresting, but it is a human life filled with people and experiences to which many can relate.  Add to that the social issues going on around us and you have fertile ground for your imagination to comment on the human condition.  A writer conceives from this bounty something that is magical, thought provoking, or revolutionary then wraps it up in an entertaining package.

Writers can take sides on social issues to influence people’s thinking for the betterment of our culture or ourselves.  Even the lightest works can help people see more about themselves and to understand significant things about our journey through this world.  Ultimately, that is the genius of Samuel Clemens’ Mark Twain.

Aug 23

Minutiae

According to Merriam-Webster.com, “Mystery” means anything that is not understood. Its origin pre-dates the bible. “Suspense” is defined as nervousness or excitement caused by wondering what will happen. It was first used in the 1500’s. “Minutiae” means trifles, details and smallness, and it dates to 1782, making it the new kid on the vocabulary block. The elements of minutiae can enhance both mystery and suspense, but they are used differently in each genre.

In a mystery, you don’t know who done it; that’s for the protagonist and the readers to figure out. The author plants clues throughout the story, and those clues are often in the minutiae, the small details in the beginning that have large consequences in the end. For example, break a fingernail in Chapter 1 and have that fingernail show up at the scene-of-the-crime in Chapter 7. Mystery readers need to be on their toes, constantly asking themselves, “Why did the author choose this minutiae to express that scene?” Readers won’t fault the author if they figure it out before the end. Instead, they will think of themselves as very clever for having done so.

In a suspense novel, the reader knows who did the dastardly deed, often from the opening chapter. There is no mystery to the story itself. Instead, there is plenty of mystique in the characters, and the readers are left asking, “Why does she always do that?” Readers don’t fault the author if the character’s mystique is double-handed or morally corrupt, so long as the author explains the minutiae in a rational way for that character’s development.

In a mystery, minutiae mystifies the storyline, in suspense it mystifies the characters and their actions.

What you choose say is just as important as when you say it. Character traits are popular with authors because these small details pull double duty with character development, and they don’t have a “sell by” date, meaning you can bring them back in your next chapter or next novel.

One place where minutiae can play a part in your novel is when you want to slow down the pace. Never use minutiae to speed up the action, like: His fist floated into Fred’s flabby gut. He heard him go oomph and gleefully watched Fred double over in pain. Instead say: He hit Fred once and watched him double over. Only use minutiae to slow down the action: The wine’s robust aroma floated in the air and competed with her perfume. He inhaled deeply, slowly; this was a night he had to savor.

Entirely new scenes and romantic moments can also benefit with a sprinkle of minutiae, to let the scene breathe. But this minutiae is only used once to full effect, then condensed for any revisits. Case in point: here’s a “first” scene from my upcoming novel Knock Softly (working title). The characters make several visits to the park and dog run with our protagonist, Edvard, and his two dogs, Rufus and Pudge, throughout the story. The dogs weigh 75 and 25 pounds respectively. (The novel goes into more detail on the dogs, too, but here such detail would only be minutiae.) This scene involves only a small portion of the 1.2-mile walk. Knock Softly is told in present tense.

Long before they arrive at the dog run, Ed has to walk the dogs past a family of oaks that proves to be home to an entire community of squirrels. The trees are a magnificent cluster whose matriarch stands dead center and at least 80 feet tall. The grounds under the oaks are well shaded and almost barren of other trees or tall vegetation. Their broad branches and long, fingered leaves steal all the sun’s rays leaving this part of the walk always cooler, darker. Rufus lifts his ears in eager anticipation and starts pulling on the leash. Ed wraps the leash around his wrist and braces for impact.

Readers revisit this part of the path again in another scene several pages later, but in the second scene, the pace is much faster and it is dialog that sets the pace. The scenery is just the canvas:

They’re getting closer to the oaks and both Ed and Rufus know it. He wraps the leash around his wrist before they get to the shadows and gives it quick jerk to let the dog know who is boss. Ed tells Jane… And the dialog follows.

All the minutiae from the first scene are present in the second, just not on the page. Left in the readers’ thought bubbles are the cluster of trees, the squirrels, and all the other previously established minutiae. To put all of that on the page again would only bog the story down when it wants to run.

And never use the same minutiae twice – that’s worse than marrying your brother-in-law in the same wedding dress.

Next Month: First Impressions
They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression, but much of fiction is character development. Development means change, and suspense means changing those first impressions. To write a great first impression in a novel, you have to first think about what your characters are going to develop into. Then figure out what kinds of darling details, social settings and backstories you need to get them there. Next month we’ll look at how to make a good first impression on the page.

Aug 21

What Happened to Abram’s Money?

What did happen to Abram’s money? He never made it to Switzerland so he couldn’t have taken the money out or sent it to America. I used to wonder, when I was a child, and my Mom entertained us each night before bed by telling us stories about her two trips to Europe and how hard it was trying to bring Abram to America, what happened to the money?

As I got older I understood that, in those days, once you put money in a Swiss bank account, you only needed to know the account number to take your money out. No account ever had a name attached to it. People put their money in Switzerland’s banks because their laws allowed depositors to keep their accounts secret and anonymous.

Then I remembered Maximillian, Abram’s younger brother. He had come to America twice with Abram, in 1919 and 1929. From Mom’s stories the two seemed to always be together. According to the letters I read, they were both together in Beirut, Lebanon in the early part of 1941. Abram was thinking about money at that time because he wrote to my grandparents that he was almost without funds and so he couldn’t stay much longer.

Did Abram give Maximillian the account numbers then? Just in case something bad should happen to him?

I talked to my Mom, who’s 101, and asked her why Maximillian didn’t go with Abram when he started out for Switzerland? It seemed strange that the two of them would separate at that point.  She didn’t know. But the two did separate with Abram traveling to Switzerland and Maximillian going to Romania.

She remembered that at some point, when Maximillian was in Romania, he was captured by the Nazis and put in a German concentration camp. She didn’t know which one. He escaped once. But then he was caught and imprisoned again.  At the end of World War II the Russians liberated the concentration camp. He was out for a while. Then the Russians arrested him and put him in one of their camps. Some time later, he tried to escape and this time he was successful.

Maximillian contacted the Red Cross. They were able to connect him with my grandparents. He told them that he was out, but he needed money desperately. I remember that for years my parents and grandparents talking about what they were sending to Maximillian to sell. At one point he wanted material to make men’s suits so he could sew and sell them. My grandparents wanted to send him ready-made suits. It would have been easier for them. But, no, he insisted they send him the material instead. Why? We never found out.

Another time, they thought he could make more money, and it would be cheaper for them to mail, if they sent him watches. He was very angry. Apparently, the Russians or the Germans, I’m not clear which, beat him. They thought the watches contained some type of device to make a bomb.

Then there was the period when they would send him jeans. American Levi’s were a big hit in Europe after the war. He could sell them easily on the street.

Somehow, during this time, he made his way from Bucharest, Romania to Dusseldorf, Germany. I don’t know how he did it. I just googled his journey. It’s 1,221 miles, the distance from San Francisco, California to Denver, Colorado.  He had to travel through Hungary, Austria and halfway across Germany to reach Dusseldorf.

One time, when he was in Germany, in1955, Grandma sent him a copy of A Star of Hope, the poetry book Papa had written and dedicated to her for their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Maximillian wrote back. He was furious. Apparently the German censors, or someone in authority, thought it was some secret code and he was in serious trouble for a while.

Time went on. More packages were sent to Europe with things to sell. Then, at some point, Maximillian wrote to my grandparents and parents. He thanked them all for their help and let them know that they no longer needed to send him things to sell. He was fine. Life was good. He was working in a bank in Dusseldorf, Germany.

My parents and grandparents always believed, after they got that letter, that he had found a way to access Abram’s money. They were so close. He was his younger brother. It seemed only logical that Abram had told him the numbers of his Swiss bank account. We always believed that that was the money he lived on. The job in the German bank was helpful but the salary wouldn’t have been enough for the life he was living.

“Well, time marches on,” as my mother says.  My parents and grandparents wrote and Maximillian wrote back. Many years passed. Grandma and Papa were no longer here. One day my Mom got a letter from Dusseldorf, Germany, from Fanny. Who was Fanny? She wrote to my Mom that she and Maximillian had married shortly after the war. Maximillian had just died. She wanted his family to know.

My parents were stunned. Maximillian had never mentioned a wife. They had no idea. To this day my Mom says, “Why? Why didn’t he tell us?” They would have been so happy to know he had somebody.

Mom and Fanny corresponded. It was complicated. My Mom would write a letter. Fanny would get it. She didn’t speak English. So she would take several buses to a friend’s house who did. The friend would translate Mom’s letter for her. Fanny would write an answer. The friend would then translate it into English and Fanny would mail the letter to Mom.

This would happen once a month for many years. Then one day Fannie wrote that she was very old. All the traveling by bus and transferring from one bus to another to get to her friend’s house so the letters could be translated was too much for her. She couldn’t do it any more. My Mom heard nothing more for a while. Then Fannie’s friend wrote that Fannie too had died.

In the end, Abram’s money did a lot of good. Knowing how generous he had always been in life with his family, I think he would have been happy with what his money accomplished after he was no longer here: It helped Maximillian and Fanny have a nice life and allowed Fannie to live comfortably all the years after Maximillian died.

Aug 18

Amazon, Hachette and “the wretched $9.99 price point”

Print is dead.

At least, that’s what the Big Five publishing houses fear. One company is fighting the potential loss of sales and its possible demise in a public battle that affects readers and writers alike.

Before 2007 or so, the only way an author’s story was read was through a print copy in brick-and-mortar bookstores. The only way to get into a bookstore was through a major publisher. Knowing their control, these large publishers chose the stories and genres people read, the prices at which books were sold and what the authors got paid.

Now that snippy digital upstarts like me are snooting our way in and circumventing the system they so strategically designed, publishers are no longer needed. With digital formats, there is no gatekeeping; I can write and publish any book at any length in any genre I choose and at any price.

Without hardcover or paperback books, the publishers’ choking grip on the market disappears with the turn of a page. The Big Five lose all public prestige, respect, expertise, control and sales. Especially sales.

Welcome to the battle between Hachette and Amazon.

Hachette wants to charge high e-book prices to discourage electronic sales and boost paper sales. Amazon wants to keep prices of e-books favorable to consumers. This dispute has been going on for years. To understand the impact of today’s feud, let’s go back in time for a brief history….  (Shout out thanks to J.A. Konrath’s timeline for the format inspiration that I use.)

NOVEMBER 2007

Amazon releases the company’s Kindle e-reader.

NOVEMBER 2009

Barnes & Noble introduces the company’s Nook e-reader.

Retailers continue buying books and e-books using “wholesale pricing,” an agreement in which publishing houses charge half the printed cover price to those retailers. The booksellers then compete with each other by discounting books or offering sales. At this time, hardback book prices range from $15-30.

Amazon is a large company with a large share of the e-book market. They rarely sell at full price, offering book titles below the printed cost, even as far down as $9.99 for bestselling novels. The Big Five publishers make a lot of money through the sales of higher priced hardcover books, and this consumer-friendly price point might encourage more digital sales than paper. These companies didn’t want that to be the standard that consumers would expect to pay.

JANUARY 2010

Apple prepares to release its iPad, but if they offer books in their iBookstore at a price to compete with Amazon, the company will lose money. A publishing executive blames Amazon’s “wretched $9.99 price point.” Apple and the Big Five publishers work out an agreement that benefits everyone. The publishers switch book distribution away from wholesale pricing to the new and improved “agency pricing” model. In this agreement, publishers control the price of the e-book rather than the retailer. Sales percentages are split favorably, as well: 30% to Apple and 70% to publishers. In this scenario, consumers who choose to buy e-books instead of physical copies are, in a sense, be punished for affecting paper sales.

The only caveat is that all publishing houses have to sell this way to all of Apple’s competing retailers, including Amazon. Amazon pushes back, but with everyone else agreeing to this method of distribution, the company has to accept these terms. Book prices on Amazon’s site rise to $12.99 and $14.99. The term “colluded” is later used when referring to this agency pricing arrangement.

APRIL 2010

Apple releases the iPad.

JULY 2010

Amazon reports that digital e-books outsell hardcover books for the first time in history. The agency pricing continues for two years before the U.S. government steps in.

APRIL 2012

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) accuses Apple and the publishers of conspiring to raise e-book prices and filed a civil antitrust lawsuit. By developing and utilizing agency model, “the publishers prevented retail price competition resulting in consumers paying millions of dollars more for their e-books” especially for the most popular titles by big-name, best-selling authors.

Three of the Big Five publishing houses, which include Hachette, settle immediately. Retailers resume discounting and offering sales. The publishers pay financial restitutions to consumers and are “prohibited for two years from entering into new agreements that constrain retailers’ ability to offer discounts or other promotions to consumers….” The DoJ settled with two other publishers and Apple by 2013, yet Apple appeals the decision.

Now fast forward to the present year. Apple’s appeal is ongoing as of this post.

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2014

The 2-year contracts are ending, so new ones need to be negotiated or extended. Amazon sends a contract to Hachette. Because they do not receive a response from Hachette, Amazon removes the site’s pre-order buttons and stops discounting Hachette titles.

MARCH 2014

Hachette’s contract to sell books with Amazon expires, but Amazon extends it into April while both sides negotiate. Because the outcome is uncertain and shipping dates cannot be guaranteed, Amazon reduces the print inventory of Hachette titles.

APRIL 2014

There is now no longer any contract for Amazon to sell Hachette titles on Amazon. Hachette finally makes counter offer, Amazon rejects it.

MAY-JUNE 2014

Hachette authors notice slower sales, so Amazon makes several proposals that they and Hachette offer financial provisions for the authors during negotiations. Hachette declines all of them.

JULY-AUGUST 18, 2014

Here’s when media runs wild with statements, press releases and proposals, oh my!

Hachette compiles its press releases and statements regarding Amazon here.

Propaganda or perspective? Article from Random House editorial assistant Alison Herman with intriguing links at the end.

Big Five authors want print to thrive. Who can blame them? Without physical books, bestselling authors like Stephen King, John Grisham and James Patterson lose their dedicated personal assistants and vacation beach houses. They each become “just another little writer” in a writer’s ocean.

There is a letter from Douglas Preston, a Council Member of the Author’s Guild, signed by authors supporting Hachette. As of August 9, the letter had approximately 900 signatures, published as a full 2-page $110,000 advertisement in the New York Times as “A Letter to Our Readers.”

There is a petition by Change.org urging readers and writers to support the company who supports readers and authors. As of August 9, the petition reached 8000 electronic signatures. (8466 as of my post)

On August 9, The Amazon Books Team releases a letter discussing their point of view from within the negotiation. There are some good links at the end. It’s worth a read through.

The email reply from Hachette CEO Michael Pietsch in response to Amazon’s August 9 letter request for consumers to contact executives about the negotiations.

Amazon releases a statement justifying the $9.99 price point: “For every copy an e-book would sell at $14.99, it would sell 1.74 copies if priced at $9.99. So, for example, if customers would buy 100,000 copies of a particular e-book at $14.99, then customers would buy 174,000 copies of that same e-book at $9.99. Total revenue at $14.99 would be $1,499,000. Total revenue at $9.99 is $1,738,000.”

And here we are, readers and writers, reeling in the wake of potential propaganda from both sides. Marketers in any company can spin numbers any way they want to make the numbers show in their favor. I don’t necessarily believe in Amazon’s exact number or those calculations empirically, but the rationale behind it is solid. If I had $15, would I spend it on one book? Am I more inclined to buy a $9.99 book and a coffee and muffin to enjoy while reading the book? If a purchase like that gives me that pleasure, then I’m encouraged to buy another similarly priced book for a similar experience.

“Why should e-books cost as much as, or more than, a printed copy?” my husband asked me. “There’s no shipping or printing.” He’s a chemist and not in the publishing industry. If this is so elementary to someone outside the industry, how is it lost on someone in the publishing business?

I’m not necessarily pro-Amazon, but I am pro-information. Some people do not have the drive or desire to do it all, so turning their work over to a Big Five publisher is the best option for them. But how is Hachette assisting and nurturing its authors when it let their contract with Amazon expire, and thus all its authors’ contracts as well?

If Amazon wins this battle, they will dominate the market…for now. At some point, all Amazon authors could be stuck with a business model that no longer offers today’s benefits, and then Amazon becomes the Big One publisher. If that happens, authors are not stuck.

Unlike print, where the only way to publish was through a publisher, there are now numerous electronic options. No doubt any number of smaller publishers and retailers will develop online stores. Any author can sell directly from their website. These were options never available before.

Who needs who more, Amazon or Hachette?

Who, or what, do authors need?

Print may be dying, but books and stories never will.