e-book | BREATHE: Michelle Garren-Flye

Dear Amazon,

I am one of your writers. One of your writers who truly believed up until yesterday that your Kindle Select Program would eventually prove to be a winning game for me. I have written and published seven books using your Kindle Select Program. I’ve taken advantage of the promotion system you had in place of rollback deals and free days for my Kindle books. Because of this, my self-published e-books were available exclusively on a Kindle platform, in spite of the fact that I know people who own Nooks. When I gave away e-readers, it was always a Kindle.

Yesterday, to my sorrow, I lost faith in you, not because I think your program is a bad one, but because you made a move that I believe takes advantage of writers like me. Writers who are trying to get our words out to the public. Writers who believe we have something to say, even if we don’t always have the patience and forbearance to deal with the traditional publishing system. Writers with talent and passion for their work.

By changing your policy of paying Kindle Select authors by the download to paying them by the number of pages read, you devalued my work. You said my work is worth less than traditionally published authors. You said you have lost faith in me.

My work is worth as much as any traditionally published book out there, whether it be a bestseller or a struggling indie book. I already charge less for my e-books, and when they’re borrowed through the Kindle Select Program, I get a fraction of my already small profits. But I guarantee you, I put as much work into my romances as any Harlequin or Kensington author out there, and I insist that that work be respected.

With regret, I have stopped the automatic re-enrollment of my books in your Select program. By the end of the summer, I will be free to seek other platforms to publish my books on, and if your new policy is still in effect, I will do so. I imagine I won’t be the only one, either. Any smart self-published author out there will also look elsewhere if they want the world to know they respect themselves and the writing process.

Sincerely,

Michelle Garren Flye

Two bits of news to share with you today. The first is that WHERE THE HEART LIES is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Would love to see my book get some sales before it’s even “on the shelf” so to speak. (Please remember it is an e-book, so don’t order it from Amazon if you don’t have a Kindle!) Check it out here: Where the Heart Lies Pre-Order for Kindle.

Second, and just as exciting, my short story “Agapi Mou” was accepted by Turquoise Morning Press for their Foreign Affairs anthology. I don’t have many details yet, but I’ll let you know when I do. I’m kind of excited about this one for several reasons. First, I will be earning royalties for it. Although I’ve been in anthologies before, I’ve never earned royalties for them, just honorariums or one-time payments. Second, it will most likely be print. Third, I’m really impressed by Turquoise Morning Press. They have a very professional business and put out some beautiful products in both print and e-book format. I’m thrilled to be associated with them.

So that’s it for now. I’m off to write and gloat over the final, completely formatted PDF of WHERE THE HEART LIES that I received from Carina Press last week. It’s just as gorgeous as you might imagine!