Timothy C. Ward » AudioTim

As we continue our discussion, Robin Sullivan of Ridan Publishing addresses some key areas to the IPG driven fear about Amazon taking 70% royalties. One of many articles about this new scare comes from www.paidcontent.org’s article “Why Amazon’s Kindle Battle With IPG Matters”

Amazon’s decision to yank almost 5,000 Kindle titles from distributor Independent Publishing Group after IPG refused to give the retailer better terms may be a harbinger of things to come.

The first twenty five minutes talks about the current lawsuit against the agency model, how Amazon has made it big through making their site the most attractive to authors, and why even if they did revert back to a 65/35 royalty sharing model, it would still be better than nothing.

Around the twenty five minute mark, Robin talks about how Pottermore is a real game changer, and that publishers should sell direct, and show how they don’t need Amazon.

Around the 37 minute mark, I ask if Amazon isn’t powerful enough right now to switch the royalty over to 70/30. She tells us what she thinks if they did, and how publishers would respond. In fact, at the 44 minute mark, Robin says that royalty rate percentages isn’t even the scariest leverage Amazon holds. Around the 41 minute mark, Robin discusses the pros and cons of using KDP Select for her Ridan titles.

All in all, another great interview with Robin. I feel like I just sat down at a convention workshop. I feel very privileged for her audience, and to share this with mine.

You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, but the complete list of back episodes is on my Podcast Page, along with a promo from my interview with her and her husband, Michael Sullivan, on Episode 16.

Music is brought to you by Daddy Scrabble’s “Lorda Mercy” from www.freemusicarchive.org

For other podcasts on this subject:
Adventures in SciFi Publishing: Episode 163 Zack Ricks and Scott Roche; Episode 166 Is Amazon Your Daddy
The Shared Desk: Episode 13 Amazon, Authors, and Armageddon…at a Discount!