The Newest Kerfluffle in the Romance World

Apr
13
2009

: Image via CrunchBase

I was a little late to the Amazon Rank kerfluffle party this weekend, but I finally managed to get on board and caught up. If you haven’t gotten the story, check out some links to get up to speed:

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a decent kerfluffle in the romance world without the Smart Bitches getting on board:

Amazon Rank

I am, frankly, a little stunned that Amazon would do this, and then not reverse it immediately when the error of their ways was pointed out. And pointed out repeatedly and publicly.

I guess a lot of us romance writers have a bigger stake in this than the average Joe, but I’m interested to know what the consumer opinion is. Does this make you guys mad, too, or are we writers just getting our panties in a twist over a relatively minor matter? (“Minor?!” my inner voice screeches. “This is censorship and discrimination and lots of other heavy, important words that mean it’s BADBADBAD.” Ahem… but I really do want to know what you think.)

The Gay Books Amazon Doesn’t Want You to Read (queerty.com)
Amazon blames ‘glitch’ for removal of gay titles from sales rankings (cbc.ca)
These Books Too Gay for Amazon (gawker.com)

Written by Sonja in: Books |

Sonja Foust

Yeah, boycotting is difficult when they’re really such a great place to get most stuff. And it’s not just books either. It’s everything!

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Beth Caudill

Sad thing is I can’t really see myself boycotting them. I’d like to but…well they still have the largest selection and a better price. *Sigh*

I used to boycott the B&N store but then Borders stopped carrying as many books and I could never find what I wanted. So I went back. I haven’t found an indy store close by that catered to my tastes either. I’d much rather shop at an independent but there aren’t any that I’ve found that carry Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, and Reference stuff. Usually one but not all.

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Marcia Colette

Sadly, Amazon probably got what they wanted in the end. Publicity. Good or bad doesn't matter. People are hitting their site like never before.

What amazes me most is that one of the threads said they had been doing it well over a year and nobody has caught on until now. So yes. This makes me wonder what other dirty monopoly we'll find them hiding as the months go on.

Sonja Foust

I agree. Censorship is bad, mmkay. ;) Really, though, I still cannot imagine what they were thinking. Arg.

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Karen

I am simply amazed that they would do something like this...
as in speechless.

Beth C.

Oh, yeah I think Amazon really needs to quit messing with stuff.

I can understand the wanting to limit what minors might be exposed to...but make it an option. Not wholesale make it impossible for anyone to find a large segment of books. And eliminating a sales rank is just plain bad business. Those author/sellers should be able to tell how their product is doing.

As I saw someone else mention on one of the many threads I read over the weekend, makes you wonder what else Amazon is hiding from people in their 'best interest'.

Sonja_Foust

If you’re hopelessly behind on the latest romance world kerfluffle, here’s my blog post to catch you up: http://bit.ly/3BeItN #amazonfail

This comment was originally posted on Twitter