It started with the mega-low sales of the Penny Marshall book (7,000 in hardcover sales and she was given an $800K advance), now it looks like Tim Ferris may face the same fate. Does Amazon stand a chance against a market that wants to do everything they can to prevent their success? Or was it just a fluke with the Marshall book? I mean Penny Marshall isn’t exactly top of mind with the general public. Though perhaps we’ve gotten sick of celeb memoirs in general. I hear that Cindi Lauper’s book did even worse, 3,000 or so in sales.
Here’s a NYT piece on the struggles Amazon faces, what do you think? http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/05/daily-report-a-cold-shoulder-for-amazon-as-publisher/
of course not ALL Amazon books will fail…but I think B&N has every right, and is doing the right thing, to exclude a competitor (Amazon) who has shown no interest in supporting traditional publication in any regard.
Good for Barnes and Noble.