When it comes to shroud waving, the French have the art perfected.
French booksellers have called on literary judges to “defend books and not those who threaten them”, after one of France’s most prestigious prizes selected a self-published novel available only via Amazon.
Among the 17 titles in contention for this year’s Prix Renaudot is Marco Koskas’ Bande de Français, which was self-published on Amazon’s CreateSpace platform. According to the Syndicat de la librairie française, which represents French booksellers, the jury have put them in an impossible position.
Right. So writing a book and publishing it online is threatening books? Really? Or is that simply the buggy whip manufacturers complaining about the Cotton Jenny?
I had no idea when I wrote my two novels that have been published online using CreateSpace that I was destroying books. I’m sure Leggy had no idea either. I guess we had better stop doing it, then.
The French-Israeli author, who has published more than a dozen books via more traditional routes, told the Guardian he was forced into put out an edition of Bande de Français himself after no French publisher picked it up.
So traditional publishers are under threat because Amazon are providing a service that traditional publishers don’t provide. Have I got that right? That is sort of like someone who runs a cycle shop being threatened by someone opening up a shop selling haberdashery.
Well, yes. However, there is a risk to them that the buying public will use Amazon in preference to them. I already do.
Amazon are also opening up the marketplace to authors denied access by traditional publishers, thereby creating competition. Which is bad. Because reasons.
Mon Sewer le Publicist, maintenant je suis tout outta les fucks.
😀
Ah, competition. You do realise that France is now, has been and will be extremely protectionist? CAP and all that agricultural jazz. They just cannot grow up and face the real world. This is why the UK has been straight jacketed and was very uncomfortable within the confines of the EU.
Indeed. I saw it first hand when I lived there. Macron threatened to do a Thatcher. That’s worked out well. Thing is, they really need to go through that pain to free up their economy and labour market. There are very few French entrepreneurs – given the cost of employment and crushing tax burden, it’s little wonder.
How does denying some people a market ‘defend books’? If the prize winner is not available on mainstream distribution channels because they tend to exclude self published works, isn’t that their problem?
This isn’t ‘defending books’, it’s a classic protectionist argument.
So traditional publishers are under threat because Amazon are providing a service that traditional publishers don’t provide. Have I got that right? That is sort of like someone who runs a cycle shop being threatened by someone opening up a shop selling haberdashery.
Well, yes. However, there is a risk to them that the buying public will use Amazon in preference to them. I already do.
Amazon are also opening up the marketplace to authors denied access by traditional publishers, thereby creating competition. Which is bad. Because reasons.
Mon Sewer le Publicist, maintenant je suis tout outta les fucks.
😀
Ah, competition. You do realise that France is now, has been and will be extremely protectionist? CAP and all that agricultural jazz. They just cannot grow up and face the real world. This is why the UK has been straight jacketed and was very uncomfortable within the confines of the EU.
Indeed. I saw it first hand when I lived there. Macron threatened to do a Thatcher. That’s worked out well. Thing is, they really need to go through that pain to free up their economy and labour market. There are very few French entrepreneurs – given the cost of employment and crushing tax burden, it’s little wonder.
France never changes. Bastiat ridiculed this thinking over 170 years ago.
How does denying some people a market ‘defend books’? If the prize winner is not available on mainstream distribution channels because they tend to exclude self published works, isn’t that their problem?
This isn’t ‘defending books’, it’s a classic protectionist argument.