Since this Amazon brouhaha started, I have maintained that I really don’t know whether Amazon’s actions are illegal (anti-trust, restraint of trade, etc.). I’m not a lawyer, after all, nor do I play one on YouTube. But, in my opinion, Amazon’s actions are unethical with all the hallmarks of a marketplace bully.

At my age I find that there are very few surprises in life but I find myself still scratching my head with this one as well as several other developments in the self-publishing world. This, of course, includes the follow-up on my publishing adventure with Amazon’s new publishing service, CreateSpace.com

Many years ago I remember walking into Book Expo America in Chicago and seeing Amazon banners hanging from every girder. What was an Amazon? Within a few years, Amazon was a household word. To consumers it was an online e bookstore. To investors it was a giant black hole where tens of millions of dollars were dumped with no return on investment.

I have published a children’s book entitled The Old Blue Whale with a subsidy press which came out in March of this year and I wanted to share my experience in hopes that you will not make the same mistake I made

That’s a pretty tough question. Do I think there are POD publishers out there who are honestly trying to help authors fulfill their dreams of being published? The answer is yes with an *.

Who says there is no use for POD? There is a use of POD (digital printing) that could help any author improve sales, regardless of how the book is ultimately published. That is to use POD as a test-marketing device.

Why can’t I make money with a POD Publisher? I thought it was appropriate that I write the answer to this on April 1 because this industry represents one of the largest April fool’s joke on the Internet. As potentially successful as the POD publisher’s salesperson or website makes it appear, the numbers just don’t add up.