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If someone’s your bitch, they do whatever you say, even though it may not be in their best interest.

You decide if Target is Apple’s Bitch:
•As part of Target’s 50-year anniversary it’s launching mini-Apple stores within 25 Targets . That’s 1.39% of the 1,800 Target locations.
•Target began selling Kindles in 2010 and the Kindle Fire was Target’s best-selling tablet during Black Friday 2011.
•Target recently announced that it will be “phasing out Kindles and Amazon- and Kindle-branded products in the spring of 2012.”
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Over the weekend, I received a series of emails from an author who used one of the self-publishing companies I recommend in my book. It’s a good company, run by a hardworking, dedicated publisher. The emails were to complain about the publisher. But, they were complaints that were unfounded, unfair, and impossible to respond to. One complaint was that Barnes & Noble never sent the author a link to the page on BN.com where the book was sold. I explained that BN.com doesn’t do that and I sent him the link to the BN.com sales page for his book. The other complaint was that he was under the impression that his book of poetry would be featured on the Amazon.com homepage. Keep in mind, this is a first time author with a book of poetry. Hard sell and harder sell [more...]

As a general rule, you should never do business with a company that makes you agree not to publically discuss your dealings with it. Winepress has a “No Gossip” policy in its publishing contracts, that makes it a breach of contract for unhappy authors to voice any greviences online. What don’t they want you to discuss?

Well, apparently, a lot. As the veil of self-righteousness is being stripped away by facts, Winepress is finding it harder and harder to hide behind the Bible and/or use Bible verses to intimidate people.

So, what does a Jew from Minneapolis know about being threatened with Bible verses by Winepress? [more...]

I don’t want to say, “I told you so,” but, “I told you so.”

If this was high school, Amazon would be the bully who slams the nerds and mathletes against their lockers. But, just like the typical high school thug, Amazon was a geek / nerd until it had a growth spurt, roided up, and joined the football team.

Guess what fuels adolescent roid-rage from a teenager (well, a publicly traded teenager to be exact)? Wall Street analysts (even bigger thugs) who tell Amazon how much it sucks at life and how it’s stock is under performing. While Amazon made a ton of money by any normal person’s standards ($177,000,000 profit in the 4th Quarter of 2011), it’s profit decreased by 58% from the same time the year before ($416,000,000 of profit in 4th Quarter of 2010). [more...]

Having a search engine optimized (SEO) website should be a cornerstone for any author’s online media strategy. I’ve already posted something very similar to this back in August 2011. So, why am I preaching to you again five months later? [...]