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Amazon Connect
An anonymous reader writes "The New York Times is reporting that Amazon is now providing the ability for authors to reach out to their fans via blogs in a program called Amazon Connect. So far, Amazon has recruited a group of about a dozen authors, including novelists, writers of child care manuals and experts on subjects as diverse as real estate investing, science, fishing and the lyrics of the Grateful Dead. Now the authors finally have the ability to respond back to comments!
How about the restrictions that the authors are going to be under, specifically on what they are allowed to respond with. Who will be looking over their material?
do.what.promptcmds
Issac Asimov had, and Piers Anthony still has, very detailed author's notes in their books, something that I have always loved. When reading them, I feel like I am joining up with a larger culture, there is no way I could possibly have attended the Hugo awards in the 1950s*, but from reading Asimov's writings about them, I sure felt like I was there.
Likewise with Piers Anthony, reading his books I also got to watch as his family grew up, be there when he moved from one house to another, and experience so many other things that drew me closer to the author.
Really these author's notes were the first sort of "blog", for all intents and purposes the authors are not some sort of famous celebrities (well outside of their circle of fans), and they live pretty typical lives. The only thing different is that they managed to convince their publisher to let stick a journal entry or two in an otherwise fictional book
Having read so much in Asimov's books about Spider Robinson being a young boy, I still have trouble reconciling the fact that he is in reality an old man!
*I think it was the 50s Hugos he wrote about, it has been awhile since I read his Hugo Awards series.
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Amazon Author's Profile
I was initially a skeptic, but having used it, I'm 100% behind the idea. You can see what an author's posting looks like here:
Untangling Tolkien
It's marvelous for an author wanting to promote books (existing or planned), answer critics, or write more detail about a book than Amazon usually posts. You can make a posting like that above to any of the Amazon detail pages for which you're the book's author. And you can link to outside sites for more information, including your own website.
If you're an author with a book for sale on Amazon, I'd strongly recommend joining. Just keep in mind that it is for authors only (not publishers), and only allows postings to books you've written or the Amazon home page of those who've bought your books. Also, it's one way, meaning the blog doesn't allow readers to post (probably a good thing). And at present it's only for Amazon U.S. Also, there is a careful vetting process to keep out trolls.
I give the idea Five Stars and a Thumbs Up. Amazon is to be commended for this.
--Mike Perry, Inkling Books, Seattle
Authors are already commenting on things in Amazon. The most famous (to me at least) is Anne Rice, she of Interview with the Vampire. She even defended her own book and rated the movie based on her book. Amazon took the listing down for a bit but now it's back. (Look under the reviews in The Blood Canticle, her review is from Sep. 6th). To her credit, as weird and emotional as her response was, she offered anyone money back for the book if they didn't like it and I believe she sent all the unwanted books to the troops.
(I'm by no means an Anne Rice reader, I've never read a single paragraph of her work, but this obviously stood out in my memory).
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