Amazon Tries to Woo Authors in Hachette Dispute

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Amazon, awash in negative publicity in its confrontation with Hachette over e-book terms, is seeking to break the standoff by appealing directly to the publisher’s authors.

David Naggar, an Amazon executive who works with publishers and independent authors, sent a letter to a small group of Hachette writers proposing “a big windfall for authors” by taking them “out of the middle” of the dispute. The letter extends and develops a proposal Amazon made earlier in the dispute, which was dismissed by Hachette. It now offers Hachette authors “100 percent of the sales price of every Hachette e-book we sell.”

Amazon also offered to suspend all its shipping delays and price adjustments, which it put in place in an effort to bend Hachette to its will. Roxana Robinson, president of the Authors Guild, dismissed the proposal.


Amazon Tries to Woo Authors in Hachette Dispute Amazon makes a direct offer to Hachette authors: Here’s the full letter (GigaOm)