I’ve been really taken with the possibility of Amazon getting into the independent publishing business. As one of many writers spurned by big publishers, this possibility excites me. A total Amazon solution would let me distribute my content on a site with major brand recognition and not let me have to go through a publisher (with all its contracts, returns against royalties, going out of print, etc). Here are my concerns:
- if Amazon seeks to provide a total CMS solution, would it still be in their best interest to make Mobipocket Publisher available to consumers?
- would a total Amazon CMS solution accomodate the variety of licenses (Creative Commons, Founder’s Copyright, etc) that content creators typically want?
- right now Amazon.com is a usable place to find, sell and buy content and reviews. If Amazon itself became the “book market,” would the site become too cluttered with so many “virtual endcaps” as to be impossible to navigate through and impossible to trust?