The Guardian is
reporting that amazon.co.uk charges small presses 55% of cover price PLUS shipping to Amazon for books it sells. Thus, the report contends, publishers have incomparable access to worldwide distribution at a price which renders it difficult for them to keep operating in the future. Assume that the book retails for $15; the publisher would get $7.50 before paying for shipping, and once you take into account the cost of production, let alone whether the author gets any royalty or the staff of the press gets any salary, and it's a very difficult world. (I'm not sure if the U.S. situation is quite the same, given that the U.S. has a better tradition of small press publishing, but I imagine it's comparable.)
Small publishers get an amazing boost from selling on Amazon, in that it gives them instant worldwide distribution. Amazon should be applauded for the ease with which they grant access to this network. Through what they call their Advantage programme, any publisher, no matter how tiny, can quickly get their books on Amazon. In other words, a publishing house cannot even exist one day and a few days later find their books for sale everywhere from the UK to the US, to China and beyond, through a company whose websites draw millions of hits each day.
However, there's a price for entering such a spectacular marketplace; one so steep that it could be argued that all the economic advantage goes to Amazon alone. The standard fee for small presses working through the Advantage programme is a staggering 55% of a book's cover price. In addition, publishers are also responsible for the cost of shipping their books to Amazon warehouses. This puts these publishers in the horrible position of having access to arguably the best book distribution system ever devised, while being charged so much for the privilege that it becomes difficult to impossible for them to make any money.
My interest in this is partly in how this has repercussions for (written) art. In one sense, the ways internet technology has opened up publishing should allow a diversity of aesthetics. Then again, the 1970s was a time of great diversity in publishing, helped in part by the advent of Xerox machines, but also largely through the use of familiar technologies such as letterpresses (hard now to get a hold off). Those of us who have poet-friends probably know at least one person with a well-received first book unable to get a second book published, and with small presses short on capital to increase their list size in order to take second or third books by poets they've committed to while also adding new poets to their roster.
This is part of a larger issue which requires much thought, but in the immediate future, I'd suggest that buying books directly from small presses is the solution. Many small presses offer discounts or free shipping:
Four Way offers a 32% discount, comparable to Amazon's (the difference being that they, rather than Amazon, get 55%, and they're a non-profit);
Omnidawn is offering Lyn Hejinian's
Saga/Circus for $9.95 and free shipping if you order before 7/31.
So no more buying from Amazon. I should have done this an age ago. It's tough to reconcile the student stipend with the desire to support contemporary poets with regular poetry purchases (I could use my university's library, but that's not supporting contemporary poetry), but it seems to me now that it's better to buy one less book a year but to buy them all directly.
"We would drink together and smoke together . . . and it's just a bad deal. It's not something that is conducive to being a role model—no iconic actors that I know of have problems like that. And I don't know how to do it like a gentleman. I don't know how to have one drink." - Shia LaBeouf in the September 2008 issue of Details mag, coming out just after his recent arrest for drunk driving. 
Rebecca Romijn has joined the list of baby mama's to-be as she and hubby Jerry O'Connell are expecting twins! The baby(ies) craze continues! 
I know I'm not the only one out there who waited in HUGE lines this past weekend to catch the premiere of the amazingly clever and the darker than ever batman movie, The Dark Knight. Obviously not, because the latest in the series broke records in the U.S. with an opening weekend of $155.3 million. And I have a feeling that the number will keep on rising in the weeks to come.
As for batman, now that's a different story. Christian Bale appears to be going through a slightly darker time. The actor is denying allegations, after being arrested, that he assaulted both his mother and sister. Calling the matter "deeply personal," the actor is denying all allegations, cooperating and asking the media to respect his privacy. Bale made his first appearance since the claims were outed with wife Sibi at the movie's premiere in Barcelona. 
It's official, Brenda Walsh is def. joining the cast of the 90210 spin-off! Shannen Doherty will be playing the role of a drama teacher at W. Beverly High, in town to direct a musical. The show will premiere Sept. 2. Kelly, Donna and Brenda back together in TV's most favorite zip code, oh how exciting this fall will be!
Chace Crawford celebrated his 23rd birthday at the Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge in the Hamptons this past weekend with a bbq and his friends from Texas and California. 
"Tonight there's this guy here, he throws a football and he's really good at it. He's my better tomorrow and I wrote this song for him." - J. Simpson on her song "You're My Sunday," dedicated to bf Tony Romo at Country Thunder USA, where fans booed and cheered her on. 
OK! mag is making out like a bandit during this baby season. They scored yet another cover, this time with Jessica Alba and baby Honor. Look at that head of hair, what a cutie!
Question: What were you doing last night?
What I assume will be one hunk of a little boy, Matthew and Camila have named their new bundle of joy Levi Alves McConaughey. The name seems very fitting, I like!
As the baby boom of '08 continues, (just a few left, Angelina, Gwen, Ashlee) OK! mag is revealing the first photos of Maddie Briann with Jamie Lynn. Cuteness!
Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves have welcomed their first child, a little boy! More deets to come!
Justin and Drew are dunzo! Aw man, I was rooting for them! I even nicknamed them Drustin. Whatev, I guess they're still friends. 
Nicole and Keith welcomed their baby girl to the world this morning. Sunday Rose Kidman Urban weighs in at 6 lbs, 7.5 oz.
Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber are expecting their second child. Their cutie son Alexander will be turning 1 this month. The Aussie actress is entering into her second trimester. 
Angelina may have a ways to go before delivering her babies (who by the way have just been granted honorary citizenship of Nice with the mayor referring to them as "two little Nicois"). During a press conference, her obstetrician Dr. Michel Sussmann assured the world that she is doing fine, something Brangelina wanted to share with everyone. (How nice of them!) "Everything is normal," he said in both English and French. "She is very well, and she's okay...Brad and Angelina want everyone to know that everything is going well." According to the doc, the twins' arrival will be "in the weeks to come." Throughout the past week, Brad has brought Shiloh and Zahara to visit their mom, as well as Maddox who made a trip to the hospital with a bodyguard.
Madonna's life has been drama-filled the past few weeks, but not to worry, the Queen of Pop and her hubby Guy Ritchie put the divorce rumors to rest, at least for now, when they stepped out together for dinner in NYC. 
As for her her so-called affair partner in crime, the Yankees' third basemen A-Rod (who has reportedly been visiting her apartment during late hours of the night, as well as giving her his seats for his home games and studying Kabbalah) has split with his wife, who is said to be in Paris with rocker Lenny Kravitz, but of course just as friends. And the solution to all of this, all three, Kravitz, Madonna and A-Rod, share the same manager.
Pete Wentz is revealing a little more about himself in the upcoming issue of Out magazine. He's made out with boys. 
A Brangelina Twins Update: Angie has been admitted to a French hospital as she and Brad await the arrival of their twins. Apparently everything is well with the mother-to-be of six and this trip to the hospital was planned. 
