Blog Dis
Megalomania
2025-01-23
If you are afflicted with the brain disorder known as megalomania, then you are prone to delusions of grandeur. One could easily point the finger at persons like Mussolini and Hitler, Alexander the Great (to a degree, given that he conquered half the free world) and Genghis Khan and his son Kublai, to be sure, and yes Napoleon and numerous other dictators in civil-war ravaged countries. Our world appears to have no shortage of men wanting to spread their wings of power to control everything and everyone within their particular patch of grass but also any neighboring countries. It's like being held hostage by the male ego, which has lost all perspective, to consider the needs of others, and which only thinks of their needs, a form of tunnel vision that fuels their megalomania.
This is how I often feel, as a burgeoning desire swells in my belly, to grab hold of a pick-axe, wielding it like a mad woman at the big block bookstore chains, like Indigo books in Canada (formerly known as Chapters), and Coles, which is also owned by Indigo books, and Barnes and Nobel, some examples. These are brick and mortar bookstores that occupy large store space in a shopping mall, or as in the case of centre town in Ottawa, at a prominent corner. I've had interactions with some of these chains in the past, with regard to selling my series of six Crimson fantasy novels on consignment. Their consignment agreements are pretty much six and one half dozen of the other. The independent author is expected to deliver whatever quantity of books the store is willing to accept, and the store in turn asks that you sign a binding contract, understanding the store isn't responsible for the condition of books, if any are returned unsold, but those that are sold, the bookstore gets a 60 / 40 split, with them scooping up 40% of the book's sale price. All seems reasonable, right?
No. All is not reasonable, if you are the Indie author selling your novels. I've heard first-person accounts of Indie authors who've sold hundreds of their books on consignment with major chains, only to have to hire a lawyer afterward to receive their 60% cut from the cheap-ass, thieving major chain, who doesn't feel compelled to pay the Indie author. This is a despicable practice on the part of these bookstore chains, who take advantage of Indie authors. There are other first-person accounts too of major chains accepting shipments via courier from Indie authors who are expected to ship direct to their warehouse, to pay all expenses, only for the warehouse to state they never received shipment, despite the author having a proof of delivery from the courier company. I'm looking at you Barnes and Noble.
This is how the game is played with major bookstore chains - unfairly. If they had it within their power, they would shutdown every independent bookstore so that customers had only one place to physically browse in person, their bookstore, and theirs alone. Or, alternatively, a manager at a specific large chain outlet will reach out to an India author and offer them an opportunity to come and sell their novels in person, in their store, only for the author to sit there for eight hours and sell one book, while the manager will insist that the author is expected to promote their on-site reading on every social network, which is a wonderful way of promoting the major bookstore chain, rather than the author. The bookstore, by contrast, doesn't actively promote the indie author on their website. To use a contemporary expression, this method is called riding someone's coattails.
I've intentionally omitted including Amazon's online bookstore because this business platform isn't the same as brick and mortar. Whenever a customer buys a book online, they're given the opportunity to read a portion of the book, to entice them to want to buy the whole book, after which it'll ship direct to the customer's location. So over and above the customer paying for the full price of the book, they also shell out coin to ship to their address. This isn't a bad deal if you're not a physically mobile customer, or have ready access to major chains. If you're an Amazon Kindle Direct subscriber, then you can read the entire eBook for nothing, given that you pay your subscription. As to the indie author selling on Amazon KDP, the author's cut is comparable if they were to place a large order of quantities from a local digital printer, but the bonus of POD means you don't have to store boxes and boxes of books in your home. Print on Demand only prints when an order is placed. And when an indie author orders 'author copies' their price per unit cost, to include shipping, is more advantageous when it comes to selling their books in person at book fairs and exhibition events.
All to say, major brick and mortar bookstore chains behave like megalomaniacs, who'd happily close out the business of every independent bookstore, to replace it with their cookie-cutter bookstore that sells candles and doo-hickeys, along with bestsellers. However, I still occasionally enjoy browsing in some of these major bookstores but my heart and mind gravitates to independent bookstores instead.
If I was a megalomaniac, I'd band all the independent bookstores together and create a fissure as wide as the grand canyon in the book trade business whereby only Indie novels would be permitted to be sold by the independent booksellers, if they choose to do so. And, furthermore, the chain bookstores wouldn't be permitted to sell Indie novels, nor would they be allowed to have their books published by major trade publishers to rest on their shelves. Regardless, this is fantasy, which is what I believe is the foundation of every megalomaniac wanting to take over the world - the idea to take over the world begins as a fantasy and then sprouts, to grow into full-blown intent. It has to start somewhere.
The large chain bookstores aren't going anywhere. Last year, Indigo earned just over $1 Billion in Canada. Amazon eBooks and paperbacks earned in 2024 roughly $54 million, by comparison. Amazon KDP has worked hard to finesse their book publishing business in North America, and this includes their POD (Print-on-Demand) services so that their price-per-unit on each item is considerably less expensive for the Indie author than say placing an order with a digital printer whose costs are more expensive locally, unless the author can place a very large order to bring down the per unit cost.
But I repeat, this is just a fantasy, and one that I've been nurturing for years. I love being an Indie author and I wouldn't have it any other way because the control of my creation rests with me, rather than with a major publishing house. I set my deadlines, rather than to be pushed and cajoled by a major publishing house to deliver 'x' number of chapters according to their schedule, not mine. I'm willing, however, to submit my manuscript to the eyes of a highly critical principal editor, to include forensic hacking by a seasoned copy editor, as well as a proofreader and ARC's (advance copy readers).
So I guess on the one hand I, too, am behaving like a megalomaniac when it comes to the development of my fantasy stories, but on the other hand I'm not in a position to take over the world, unless my latest novel, POM: Portals of Middle-Vision were to catch fire with Amazon's KDP platform. 🤞🤞🤞
This is how I often feel, as a burgeoning desire swells in my belly, to grab hold of a pick-axe, wielding it like a mad woman at the big block bookstore chains, like Indigo books in Canada (formerly known as Chapters), and Coles, which is also owned by Indigo books, and Barnes and Nobel, some examples. These are brick and mortar bookstores that occupy large store space in a shopping mall, or as in the case of centre town in Ottawa, at a prominent corner. I've had interactions with some of these chains in the past, with regard to selling my series of six Crimson fantasy novels on consignment. Their consignment agreements are pretty much six and one half dozen of the other. The independent author is expected to deliver whatever quantity of books the store is willing to accept, and the store in turn asks that you sign a binding contract, understanding the store isn't responsible for the condition of books, if any are returned unsold, but those that are sold, the bookstore gets a 60 / 40 split, with them scooping up 40% of the book's sale price. All seems reasonable, right?
No. All is not reasonable, if you are the Indie author selling your novels. I've heard first-person accounts of Indie authors who've sold hundreds of their books on consignment with major chains, only to have to hire a lawyer afterward to receive their 60% cut from the cheap-ass, thieving major chain, who doesn't feel compelled to pay the Indie author. This is a despicable practice on the part of these bookstore chains, who take advantage of Indie authors. There are other first-person accounts too of major chains accepting shipments via courier from Indie authors who are expected to ship direct to their warehouse, to pay all expenses, only for the warehouse to state they never received shipment, despite the author having a proof of delivery from the courier company. I'm looking at you Barnes and Noble.
This is how the game is played with major bookstore chains - unfairly. If they had it within their power, they would shutdown every independent bookstore so that customers had only one place to physically browse in person, their bookstore, and theirs alone. Or, alternatively, a manager at a specific large chain outlet will reach out to an India author and offer them an opportunity to come and sell their novels in person, in their store, only for the author to sit there for eight hours and sell one book, while the manager will insist that the author is expected to promote their on-site reading on every social network, which is a wonderful way of promoting the major bookstore chain, rather than the author. The bookstore, by contrast, doesn't actively promote the indie author on their website. To use a contemporary expression, this method is called riding someone's coattails.
I've intentionally omitted including Amazon's online bookstore because this business platform isn't the same as brick and mortar. Whenever a customer buys a book online, they're given the opportunity to read a portion of the book, to entice them to want to buy the whole book, after which it'll ship direct to the customer's location. So over and above the customer paying for the full price of the book, they also shell out coin to ship to their address. This isn't a bad deal if you're not a physically mobile customer, or have ready access to major chains. If you're an Amazon Kindle Direct subscriber, then you can read the entire eBook for nothing, given that you pay your subscription. As to the indie author selling on Amazon KDP, the author's cut is comparable if they were to place a large order of quantities from a local digital printer, but the bonus of POD means you don't have to store boxes and boxes of books in your home. Print on Demand only prints when an order is placed. And when an indie author orders 'author copies' their price per unit cost, to include shipping, is more advantageous when it comes to selling their books in person at book fairs and exhibition events.
All to say, major brick and mortar bookstore chains behave like megalomaniacs, who'd happily close out the business of every independent bookstore, to replace it with their cookie-cutter bookstore that sells candles and doo-hickeys, along with bestsellers. However, I still occasionally enjoy browsing in some of these major bookstores but my heart and mind gravitates to independent bookstores instead.
If I was a megalomaniac, I'd band all the independent bookstores together and create a fissure as wide as the grand canyon in the book trade business whereby only Indie novels would be permitted to be sold by the independent booksellers, if they choose to do so. And, furthermore, the chain bookstores wouldn't be permitted to sell Indie novels, nor would they be allowed to have their books published by major trade publishers to rest on their shelves. Regardless, this is fantasy, which is what I believe is the foundation of every megalomaniac wanting to take over the world - the idea to take over the world begins as a fantasy and then sprouts, to grow into full-blown intent. It has to start somewhere.
The large chain bookstores aren't going anywhere. Last year, Indigo earned just over $1 Billion in Canada. Amazon eBooks and paperbacks earned in 2024 roughly $54 million, by comparison. Amazon KDP has worked hard to finesse their book publishing business in North America, and this includes their POD (Print-on-Demand) services so that their price-per-unit on each item is considerably less expensive for the Indie author than say placing an order with a digital printer whose costs are more expensive locally, unless the author can place a very large order to bring down the per unit cost.
But I repeat, this is just a fantasy, and one that I've been nurturing for years. I love being an Indie author and I wouldn't have it any other way because the control of my creation rests with me, rather than with a major publishing house. I set my deadlines, rather than to be pushed and cajoled by a major publishing house to deliver 'x' number of chapters according to their schedule, not mine. I'm willing, however, to submit my manuscript to the eyes of a highly critical principal editor, to include forensic hacking by a seasoned copy editor, as well as a proofreader and ARC's (advance copy readers).
So I guess on the one hand I, too, am behaving like a megalomaniac when it comes to the development of my fantasy stories, but on the other hand I'm not in a position to take over the world, unless my latest novel, POM: Portals of Middle-Vision were to catch fire with Amazon's KDP platform. 🤞🤞🤞
