This week: digital “ownership” and my change of plans for selling my books; an update on my writing; The Spike-related links; and “The Bitter End” by Placebo.
let’s_get_physical
As you may have heard, Amazon have this week removed the option to download Kindle ebooks directly to your computer. Their Digital Rights Management (DRM) will limit how you can use what you have paid for.
You might be thinking, so what? You never downloaded ebooks like that anyway. I know I didn’t.
Amazon have taken away your freedom of choice. Previously, if you wanted to read on another device, like a laptop, or a different manufacturer’s e-reader, you were able to download and transfer your library. Not any more.
Amazon are using their dominant market position to lock you into using their Kindle e-readers or app. Forever.
I’m going to assume if you’re reading a fiction author’s blog, you probably have some interest in reading novels. You may have quite a library of ebooks purchased from Amazon.
What if, when your current Kindle needs replacing, your only option to read the books you paid for is a newer Kindle?
What if, because they know their customers are tied to them, they hike the prices of their Kindles?
What if they delete books you’ve paid for from your library?
This has happened. It’s almost beyond irony that the books in question were George Orwell’s “1984” and “Animal Farm”. (If you haven’t read them, they’re an important warning about the direction society is travelling and are classics for a reason.)
Amazon have been at pains to claim these deletions were due to copyright infringements, and that may be the case. But they’ve shown they have the capability and the right to do it under their terms and conditions.
What if a government decided to ban a book?
The MAGA movement were getting books banned before they became the current administration, and have already proven their authoritarian credentials. Who knows what’s next?
It’s a whole lot easier to delete an ebook from everyone’s cloud libraries than it is to go into people’s homes and burn their paperbacks.
(As an aside, my favourite story about book-banning came from America. After Utah’s Republican government passed a law in 2022 banning “pornographic or indecent” books from schools, a parent’s complaint was upheld and the Bible was removed from shelves. That backfired beautifully.)
It’s unclear what Amazon were thinking when they decided on this policy change, whether they thought few people would notice, no-one would care, or they would just get away with it anyway.
The reading community has noticed. And they care. There are plenty of angry posts; this is one of the best I’ve seen:
Will there be an exodus from Amazon? Maybe not the casual reader, who probably won’t even know any of this has happened. But those readers who buy the most? I’d bet they’re already looking elsewhere.
Will there be a return to buying more physical books, paperbacks and hardbacks? And not just books, but other forms of art too, like CDs and DVDs/Blu-rays? Sales of physical music albums (CDs and vinyl) grew in 2024.
I’ve taken a bit of stick in the past for continuing to buy music, TV, and films on disc, but I’m aware some of my tastes are outside the mainstream and I had no faith a conglomerate focussed on sales would provide the content I want to listen to in perpetuity.
I’m not saying I never stream or download anything, but if I like it enough, I’ll buy a physical copy.
The subscription model that’s being pushed on consumers is all about maintaining a revenue stream, to satisfy the market price and the shareholders. The corporations always hated they could sell a product only once. The industries that could built in an obsolescence, but now they’ve found a better solution. They don’t even need to update their product as regularly, so less research and development costs too. Now they sell the same thing to you over and over, every month or year, and act like this is somehow progress; that it’s reasonable to charge you £15 per month to have heated seats in your car.
With all this in mind, I’m going re-evaluate how I sell my books in future. For just £5 per month, you will be able to read all my works through this website.
I’m kidding.
My aim is to sell DRM-free digital copies direct from this website, as well as making it available on a wider variety of online stores. And I’ll investigate different options for physical copies too beyond just Amazon that I use at the moment.
If there’s a particular store you’d like me to sell at, let me know in the comments.
I’ll announce any changes here before they happen. You can subscribe (for free!) or follow me on social media (links in the top menu).
progress_report
Another rough week in the day job. At the end of the extended days, I didn’t have much brain power left to spend on writing.
The next section I have to write is the first crossover between the three separate stories, and the most complex sequence other than the finale, so I couldn’t do it half-arsed.
Instead of trying to drag words out kicking and screaming, I decided to work on the new covers I’ll need for the second edition of The Spike Volume 1. I’ve got some ideas I like and have been collating reference materials I’ll need to bring them to life. This is time-consuming but not too taxing on a tired brain – perfect for this week.
Next week, the day job should be calmer so I could return to words rather than pictures, but I may leave that until the following week when I’m on holiday again and will be able to dedicate proper time to it. That would allow me to work more on the covers whilst I have the images fresh in my mind. I’ll see what I feel like when I sit down to work.
status.vol2
The Spike Volume 2 will contain three separate books from the perspective of seven characters.
Part 1 – draft 2 complete; further chapters to add.
Part 2 – draft 2 complete!
Part 3 – draft 2 written up to chapter 31; thirty-five chapters to go.
The intention is to complete draft 2 of part 3 by the end of March.
Part 1 is currently much shorter than the others, and I want them to be closer in length, so I will need to decide how to tighten parts 2 and 3 slightly, and add more to part 1 – I have some exciting ideas to expand it.
Then a readthrough of all parts will determine how much revision is required.
The ultimate aim is to have Volume 2 finished by the end of 2025 for publication early 2026.
connecting_links
The Spike is set in our world, incorporating real events; the links below are relevant to the themes and overarching storyline, and may or may not provide clues to the direction of the series.
I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any of the views within.
Generative AI is an energy hog. Is the tech worth the environmental cost?
Artists release silent album in protest against AI using their work
Gen lay-Z: Why my generation doesn’t care about work
Licence to kill: could a James Bond horror emerge when book copyrights expire?
We gave an AI a Rorschach test. What it saw in the inkblots offers a window into the human mind
weekly_inspiration
Every week I share something that’s inspired my creativity.
This week, I’ve been trying to kick my tired brain into gear with some Placebo. Their music has a great energy, and covers subjects not often broached in mainstream music like sexuality, mental health, and drug use. Whilst I can’t claim to relate with many of their lyrics personally, I find it more interesting to listen to than the same old, same old, and the singer Brian Molko sells them with personality and gusto.
It’s another reminder to be yourself and make art you’re passionate about.
What’s inspired you this week? Please share in the comments.
See you next week.
Arrowmaker Books 