Amazon is excluding spicy romance & LGBTQ books from the affiliates program.

[davidbridger@writing.exchange]

@susankayequinn It effectively stalled my career. Not my love of writing for my readers. I've kept going, and my established readers have stayed with me. But commercially it was a head-on collision with a truck.

[mycotropic@beige.party]

@susankayequinn

Bezos is an asshole and I hope that #ChuckTingle takes his awesome library to his own store and makes bank! I'd happily purchase; "Pounded By This Weregroundhog In A Seemingly Endless Time Loop On Groundhog Day " for twice the price if Chuck got it all!

Think I'm making that title up?
https://www.amazon.com/Pounded-Weregroundhog-Seemingly-Endless-Groundhog-ebook/dp/B0GKXF61S9

[broadfork@mastodon.green]

@susankayequinn @DavidBridger Yes, that’s very true. One minute the customer thinks they’ve got a good deal from the options available to them. The next there’s only one offer on the table because the competition has folded or been assimilated.

But sooner or later Empires always fall. And when they do, they crumble quickly.

[susankayequinn@wandering.shop]

@mycotropic Chuck Tingle is a national treasure

[weirdwriter@caneandable.social]

@susankayequinn I hate this timeline we are in, where fascism is appreciated and promoted on the Internet more than kissing and gender or sexuality expression.

[mycotropic@beige.party]

@susankayequinn

Are you also into Dan Lacey? https://designyoutrust.com/2019/06/this-artist-makes-a-living-by-painting-celebrities-with-pancakes-on-their-heads/

I discovered both through #SomethingAwful back in the day. I still have a stock of Lacey paintings and I always wanted Chuck and Dan to collaborate!

[sapphireangel@mastodon.online]

@andrew @susankayequinn Keep in mind Bezo is no longer the CEO of amazon so you guys can't blame this on him.

[susankayequinn@wandering.shop]

@mycotropic nope never heard of Lacey

[susankayequinn@wandering.shop]

@sapphireangel you're... you're kidding, right?

@andrew

[sapphireangel@mastodon.online]

@susankayequinn @andrew Andy Jassy became amazon president and CEO July 2021.

[donhawkins@mastodon.social]

@susankayequinn @angiebaby

[susankayequinn@wandering.shop]

@sapphireangel I know I'm just amazed that you think that's important to point out

@andrew

[sapphireangel@mastodon.online]

@susankayequinn @andrew I don't agree with what they are doing, but people need to stop tossing everything at the founder when he's not the one making the decisions now. He was and that can be faulted.

[susankayequinn@wandering.shop]

@sapphireangel Bezos empowered Trump, donated to the ballroom, funded the Melania movie, in every way has used HIS AMAZON MONEY to put the people into power who are enforcing Project2025 at every level they possibly can, OF WHICH THIS IS PART. Amazon is absolutely kow-towing to the fascists and Bezos is *making that happen*.

Your "people need to stop"... is an insult at best, at worst, it's making excuses.

@andrew

[kerravonsen@mastodon.au]

@Broadfork @DavidBridger @susankayequinn
I can't remember exactly when I stopped using Amazon, but it was quite a while back, when I heard about their terrible employment practices. I wasn't going to support a business which penalized their workers for taking breaks (and other relentless, ruthless and callous practices).
I have not regretted it. For books, I go to Fishpond.com.au; and that was the only thing I bought from Amazon anyway.

(I wish I could put a permanent setting on all my search engines to exclude results from Amazon; it's a bit annoying to have to add the "-site:" string every time I'm looking for shopping stuff...)

#CorporateGreed

[mycotropic@beige.party]

@susankayequinn

Chuck is enough anyway!

[peribotsarah@babka.social]

@susankayequinn what non-amazon ebook shops do you suggest- looking for those which let me download.

[susankayequinn@wandering.shop]

@peribotsarah Bookshop.org is carrying ebooks now. I'm working on getting the rest of my books over there. Kobo is good. Nook is decent. I'm also on Google Play and Apple but they're big tech too — not as horrible as Amazon (maybe) but yeah.

[rubyjones@wandering.shop]

@susankayequinn Sadly, D2D is not great for spicy books either and will not send any of mine to bookshop.org. Like, they will publish to other places, but two of my books they will only publish to Smashwords.

Like I feel you, they are better than Amazon, but there is a strong chance that if it's spicy they will block it from bookshop.org.

[firlefanz@writing.exchange]

@susankayequinn

I knew they would come for those books. I knew it. And that's only the beginning. (Although their greed may keep romance alive.)

I never used the affiliates program and never will. In fact, I stopped using Amazon ads this year (and yes, I see a loss of sales).

You can re-order links in Books2Read, and I have put my PayHip on top, followed by Bookshop org and Smashwords (which now pays 75% royalties), before I list Amazon.

Same on my website.

And I'm going "wide" with Print.