Thread by @machineiv

I want to talk briefly about being a small-time indie author who happens to be hard left, and #BoycottAmazon. It's fucking tough. But I want to be real here.

I want to just sell directly to my fans. I'd give anything to do even comparably as well as I do through marketplaces like Amazon. The thing about Amazon is, it's a way to get sales that you otherwise wouldn't get. And this isn't something to scoff at.

I've had about, give or take, 100 people ask me if I sell my books directly because they don't want to support Amazon. So I offer a direct sale option where I get all the proceeds but for credit card processing fees.

I've had about 100 (rough estimate) ask me for links to get my books so they can avoid using Amazon. My biggest novel, #iHunt, has sold a grand total of seven copies through Payhip directly. My other two #iHunt books have sold exactly zero copies through Payhip.

Understand that if you're non-exclusive through Amazon, you miss out on a lot of promotional opportunities AND you make half the amount in royalties as an exclusive seller. It's the difference between 70% royalties and 35%.

So, I've decided to go non-exclusive because people tell me they want to buy my books away from Amazon. A book like #iHunt will sell about 1000 copies give or take, unless you're super lucky. Do the math. $5 cover. It's $7,000 or $3,500. And what do I get for that? 7 copies. $35.

So essentially, as an independent author, I can go with Amazon exclusive and make about $7,000. Or I can sell direct and make $3,500 through Amazon and make $35 direct. I presume you can see the struggle here.

And that's presuming I'm selling the same number of copies through Amazon. Which I wouldn't be. Like I said, you have better promotional opportunities as an exclusive author. So really the non-exclusive author is taking more than a 50% hit to their income by selling direct.

This, in a word, sucks. It's awful. Amazon's shit. They're predatory. But the person getting hurt by literally every choice here is the creator. And while I appreciate every copy sold, that 7% return on people asking me to sell non-exclusively isn't even remotely incentive.

And people who aren't authors telling me that I can just sell direct are not helping. Because if you know me, you know that I am a huge proponent of direct sales and supporting indie creators. But that $35 doesn't keep the lights on.

Do I want to move to exclusive through Amazon?

Fuck. No.

I hate them. I hate that they have a stranglehold on my work. I hate that they get to dictate terms that matter to my life. They're utter shit. But, they're the only game in town.

I absolutely appreciate that #BoycottAmazon is a thing. But you've got to ask yourself, are you one of that 7%? Or are you the 93%? If you say you won't buy an author's book on Amazon because of ethics, ask yourself if you'd really buy it elsewhere before saying you would.

So how do you support the author? That's fucking tough. The first answer presumes you buy from Amazon.

LEAVE REVIEWS. I hate to say this, but leave five-star reviews, four-star at WORST. If your book drops to 4 or lower, it's basically garbage to Amazon.

If you prefer to #BoycottAmazon, then:

A) Buy elsewhere.

B) Share the shit out of it. Don't just share though, talk about it. People buy books based on word of mouth about experiences. Not just recommendation.

C) If you have any avenue to do so, review it.

EITHER WAY, if the author has a Patreon or independent merchandise, hit that up. Hell, I know people who follow creators on Patreon but pirate their stuff. I... don't necessarily think that's a terrible choice.

Should you #BoycottAmazon? I don't fucking know. I avoid it unless it's the only way I can get something. But there's no good answer. There's no ethical consumption under capitalism. That's not just a meme; it actually means something very important here.

If you buy my book on Amazon, Amazon makes money. That sucks. If you buy it elsewhere, I don't get bumped up the charts so I don't get as many sales. That also sucks. No matter WHAT you choose, the creator hurts. Not Amazon.

But if you REALLY want to help independent creators, DEFINITELY don't be that 93%. Maybe skip a big budget Disney blockbuster this summer and buy two awesome books from people who will directly benefit from your purchase.

Maybe drop Netflix for 10 months out of the year, just binge the cool new show when it comes out. And take that other $14 a month and drop it on some marginalised creators' Patreons.

Instead of doing MoviePass, maybe buy an indie movie every month. Buy a DVD. Or better yet, buy direct, or through iTunes, Steam, or somewhere else the creator gets a much bigger cut.

Here's an important one that we all can try: If you find yourself talking about a big new thing, maybe buffer it by talking about two indie things and why they're awesome. I assure you everyone knows the new Star Wars exists. They don't know Trans Author X's new book does.

Remember that every time you talk about mass market media, you're giving them free advertising. But, conversely, every time you talk about an indie creator, you're giving them free advertising. And the secret is, Disney can actually get ad space without your help.

Don't get me wrong; there's room for discussion of mass media. It's culture, and to fix culture, we need to talk about it. But the point here is, if you really, genuinely want to help indie creators, try to move away from exclusively talking about big budget shit.

Like, Marvel's Marginalized Superhero is a great movie I'm sure, and it's doing cool things for representation. But your $15 ticket doesn't matter. But if you spend $15 buying a thing from Actually Marginalized Creator, maybe they don't have to eat ramen. That's awesome.

I guess the takeaway here is, you can boycott big business if you want. But you have to couple it with actually buying indie, actually buying direct, or else you're not really doing anyone any favors.

Anyway, I'm gonna share direct links to my first four novels now. Check them out, or check out some other independent art.

This is Blood Flow. My first novel. It's a really fucked up vampire story about how democracy can be manipulated, about the complexities of consent, and about realising that you're something you're afraid of.

payhip.com/b/uPAi

This is #iHunt: Killing Monsters in the Gig Economy. It's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but if Buffy hunted monsters using an app like Uber because she's a broke as fuck millennial. Also she's super queer and unlike in Buffy the girlfriend doesn't die.

payhip.com/b/ylDI

Next is #iHunt A Transylvanian Prince in Southern California. Dracula bought some nice oceanfront property. Lana is being paid to kill him. Also some guy who may be a Van Helsing is flirting with her and it's kinda awkward.

payhip.com/b/kIu5

Lastly, #iHunt Mayhem in Movieland. It's a story about working at Not Really Disneyland Because Lawsuits But Totally Disney, about dealing with anxiety, and about hunting ghosts.

payhip.com/b/p427

Ironically I’ve sold more direct copies of #iHunt today than the past year combined. If you like it, review it? Let me know what you think!