Writer Sanctum
Writer's Haven => Writer's Workshop [Public] => Topic started by: JRTomlin on January 03, 2019, 12:18:26 PM
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More on the state of the industry than on writing, but well worth a read. She usually is even when you don't agree with her. In this case, I think that I do.
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I guess you mean this article (https://kriswrites.com/2019/01/02/business-musings-sales-planning-for-2019-part-2/), since you forgot to include a link. And yes, that one is pretty good.
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LOL Thanks, Cora. Yep, that's the one I meant.
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Is she implying that some of the bigger money-makers dominating KU are having their earnings somehow cut back so that a thousand smaller authors can be enthusiastic about the program?
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I am not sure 'cut back' but that that is where Amazon's interests lie. There being a lot of books in KU to choose from may be more important to Amazon's paying customers than there being books from a few top sellers. However, she also emphasizes that is an opinion based on pure speculation as well as her business experience. I was more concerned about the rest of the article. But then I am not in KU so that is natural.
ETA: I am not sure tweaking the payout amount which is what she refers to would cut back the top earners money, but we've all suspected that Amazon tweaks the payout. That idea isn't new.
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I like it when people have wild conspiracy theories. It's more fun than the reality that it's just a chaotic system with nobody at the wheel. LOL
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If that were true, eliminating the bonuses would be the first step.
Actually, I see Amazon going the other way, for good business reasons. Anecdotal super-success stories get more positive press for KU than do a bunch of more moderate success stories.
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I like it when people have wild conspiracy theories. It's more fun than the reality that it's just a chaotic system with nobody at the wheel. LOL
Yes...never ascribe to conspiracy what stupidity adequately explains.
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I like it when people have wild conspiracy theories. It's more fun than the reality that it's just a chaotic system with nobody at the wheel. LOL
Yes...never ascribe to conspiracy what stupidity adequately explains.
I often think of the scariest movie ever made -- Cube. SPOILER ALERT - In the end, the victims discover they're being tortured for no reason. There is no villain, no single person behind their prison. No reason. The whole torture maze is just a product of a bunch of entities working without communication about the overall plan.
And that's how the world actually is, but most people like movies to have villains, or The Illuminati, because it's somehow more comforting to think that someone is at the wheel, even if it is an evil cabal.
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I like it when people have wild conspiracy theories. It's more fun than the reality that it's just a chaotic system with nobody at the wheel. LOL
Corporate decision making is not a 'conspiracy'. It is what they are supposed to do.
Amazon is out to maximize its profits. If that is a 'wild conspiracy theory', it is a 'wild theory' I have about ALL corporations (except possibly B&N which seems determined to lose money).
ETA: Let me give you a hint that extreme rudeness does not increase communications nor make friends.
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I often think of the scariest movie ever made -- Cube.
Great cult classic flick, along with at least one sequel, I seem to remember.
The Phantasm series is great too--both have that certain something that makes what could have been total rubbish into something memorable.
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I like it when people have wild conspiracy theories. It's more fun than the reality that it's just a chaotic system with nobody at the wheel. LOL
Corporate decision making is not a 'conspiracy'. It is what they are supposed to do.
Amazon is out to maximize its profits. If that is a 'wild conspiracy theory', it is a 'wild theory' I have about ALL corporations (except possibly B&N which seems determined to lose money).
ETA: Let me give you a hint that extreme rudeness does not increase communications nor make friends.
JR! What's that all about?! Is that at me?
I was referring to my own wild conspiracy theories. Do I have to put one thousand smiley faces and LOLs on every single message I write?
Or have you figured out I'm Dalya and I just drive you nuts and have been doing so for 8 years now? Like seriously, was it some dumb thing I said on kboards once? Whatever it was, I'm sorry and I don't know what happened. Didn't know then, don't know now.
*waves white flag*
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It's always going to be in Amazon's best interests to reward top sellers. All Star bonuses are super cheap compared to the percent of the pie the people who get them are getting. I just redid the math, and the top 100 authors (as in the 100 pen names that got an Author Bonus for any given month) are getting about 6-7% of the total pages. All Star bonuses are only about two percent of the total KU spend.
It's a lot cheaper to motivate people with All Star bonuses (it also motivates people who aren't earning the bonuses, and the gamification likely encourages people to stay in the system) than it is to increase the actual payout.
Please do correct my math if it's wrong. There are a lot of zeroes in there. I did make some assumptions about average earnings (20 million pages for top ten, 12 million for next ten, 7 million for next thirty, 4 million for next fifty. That's reasonably accurate IME. Also, I already closed the window where I did this, so these numbers are from memory).
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It's always going to be in Amazon's best interests to reward top sellers. All Star bonuses are super cheap compared to the percent of the pie the people who get them are getting. I just redid the math, and the top 100 authors (as in the 100 pen names that got an Author Bonus for any given month) are getting about 6-7% of the total pages. All Star bonuses are only about two percent of the total KU spend.
It's a lot cheaper to motivate people with All Star bonuses (it also motivates people who aren't earning the bonuses, and the gamification likely encourages people to stay in the system) than it is to increase the actual payout.
Please do correct my math if it's wrong. There are a lot of zeroes in there. I did make some assumptions about average earnings (20 million pages for top ten, 12 million for next ten, 7 million for next thirty, 4 million for next fifty. That's reasonably accurate IME. Also, I already closed the window where I did this, so these numbers are from memory).
I am way too lazy to check your math but the theory you mention - that it is in Amazon's best interest to reward top sellers - is one I have to agree with. Amazon is acting in its own best interest, nothing new.
That, I think, is what KKR was getting at. The best thing we can do is find some way if not to align our interests with that, at least not to try to swim against the tide.
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I like it when people have wild conspiracy theories. It's more fun than the reality that it's just a chaotic system with nobody at the wheel. LOL
Corporate decision making is not a 'conspiracy'. It is what they are supposed to do.
Amazon is out to maximize its profits. If that is a 'wild conspiracy theory', it is a 'wild theory' I have about ALL corporations (except possibly B&N which seems determined to lose money).
ETA: Let me give you a hint that extreme rudeness does not increase communications nor make friends.
JR! What's that all about?! Is that at me?
I was referring to my own wild conspiracy theories. Do I have to put one thousand smiley faces and LOLs on every single message I write?
Or have you figured out I'm Dalya and I just drive you nuts and have been doing so for 8 years now? Like seriously, was it some dumb thing I said on kboards once? Whatever it was, I'm sorry and I don't know what happened. Didn't know then, don't know now.
*waves white flag*
No, I did not know, except that you just brought it up, what name you posted under at KB. If we had disagreements on KB, I have long since dismissed it as water under the bridge as I always do with online disagreements. Brooding over them is not worth the effort or emotion. The comment certainly seemed addressed to mine since no 'wild conspiracy theories of yours' had been mentioned that I noticed. But it is not worth my concern so if that is what you were actually referring to my apologies.