Only On Sunday

So what’s up with Amazon.com? There was a time when it was little more then an online bookstore. Innovative, to be sure, but little more then that. And not terribly competitive either, what with having to pay the shipping cost and then waiting several days for your book to arrive. But that has been changing for some time now, admittedly beyond the view of this writer who tends to like browsing in real bookstores when he’s not hiding in his dark room laboring over his next novel.

Since giving up the day job to become a full time writer, however, I’ve become hyper aware of such things as Amazon.com. Lo and behold, they sell more then books now. Indeed, there doesn’t seem to be much they don’t sell, not that I’m all that interested in their non-book wares. I am typically male when it comes to shopping. Except for bookstores, which I mostly just like the ambiance of and so will shop for hours on end, in other things I want, I seek, I find, I buy. Online or off, it doesn’t matter to me as long as I can find it fast, buy it fast and get it fast. Obviously, brick-and-mortar is the better route for the latter, but online does offer more advantage as regards the former.

But Amazon.com seems to be moving beyond just selling stuff. You could see where they’re going as an online form of window dressing, offering pretty content as a way to get you in the ’store’ in the hopes you’ll buy something. And I suppose that’s exactly what it is to an extent. But is there something more afoot?

I read this morning that Amazon plans to broadcast an original show by Bill Maher featuring artist and authors pushing their stuff. Of course, this stuff will also be featured for sale on their site. However, something a bit closer to this writers heart is another feature I just discovered on Amazon: The Amazon Shorts.

No, not boxers or briefs silly, short stories. For sale. At .49 a download. What a great opportunity for writers and readers alike. Looking for something new to read? Heard about a writer but don’t know their work? Wary of plopping down the hard earned book bucks on an unknown? Check out Amazon Shorts, see if something by them is there. If you like their short stories, chances are you’ll like their novels. Everyone wins. You find a new author, the author finds a new reader. Couldn’t get any better then that.

I found something else interesting coming out of Amazon. They have their own POD company, BookSurge. More on this, and where I think it’s going, in another post.