on Bezos floating in space
Galley Beggar Press, Confingo Publishing, Lolli Editions, Moist Books, Open Pen, and Nightjar Press
17 Dec 22 | Issue 47
Yet Bezos says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Bezos spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?
I come not to bury Bezos. OK, misquoted, and actually I do. A bit. Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to stop your shopping at Amazon.
The original title was on the ethics of shopping, which is probably more accurate, but I went for clickbait. Our topic is independent publishing houses. Before then a small discourse on... the ethics of shopping.
You are more than aware of the complaints against Amazon. Tax evasion. In case you wanted perspective, about £500,000,000 was not given to help fund the NHS in the UK, and $5,000,000,000 dodged in the US. That's half a billion, and five billion. Bezos is personally worth twenty billion. 1 2 3
I mention the NHS because Amazon has a record of treating its staff badly, with no healthcare and sickness pay, using zero-hour contracts through proxies. So the NHS is picking up the tab for any injuries sustained. Don't worry. I'm not suggesting not using Amazon.
There's also the green issues and what it's doing to our high streets. But since this isn't about not using Amazon, I’ll skip those. eluxemagazine.com/culture/articles/is-amazon-ethical if you're interested.
I sincerely believe that pennies (or cents) are worth more than our votes. Don't fret, I still vote. I simply have no expectation of politicians honouring election pledges, or behaving ethically, or even legally. I do believe that not buying something from a company can affect their profit line. It can hurt them. A little.
Surprisingly the newspaper for students at Oxford University, who are meant to be woke, say there's no point in boycotting Amazon. Since your one sale wont make any difference. That's right, there's absolutely no point in having any ethics at all, so let's just let Bezos and his shareholders fuck us sideways for the sake of not wanting to wait a few days. Beneath the pavement, the boardroom! Anyone up for crowdfunding a Bristol rowing team? Just to put some righteous anger on The Thames, and scuttle Oxford in the next boat race. www.oxfordstudent.com/2020/11/07/the-ethics-of-buying-from-amazon
I am reminded of my favourite ending to a book.
My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?
David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
Hirschman's theory of consumer dissatisfaction "Exit, Voice, and Loyalty" lays the framework for strategies of dollar voting. It does work, here's a list of successes www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethicalcampaigns/boycotts/history-successful-boycotts
Nike committed to independently monitored social audits across its supply chain and began publishing audit details on its website, after a boycott call caused its revenues to fall by 16% and its share price to drop by 57%. The boycott call followed claims from the company that the notoriously poor conditions in its supply chain were not its responsibility.
In case you think Amazon is cheaper — UK population: 67.33 million, Amazon UK tax avoidance: £50m. That means Amazon didn't pay 74p for every person in the whole country. Take away all the people who didn't buy from there, and you personally have already paid over the odds for that book by covering their tax share. But I'm not going to ask you to stop shopping at Amazon. 4
And in case you're also wondering, my favourite opening to a book is...
When the first bullet hit my chest, I thought of my daughter. At least, that is what I want to believe. I lost consciousness pretty fast.
Harlan Coben, No Second Chance
The point I really wanted to raise was something more nefarious. The way Amazon is both distributor and producer, and uses this to undermine the very business it pretends to promote.
One of my few personal heroes is another Geoff. Geoff Travis, who ran Rough Trade records, and realised that independent music would never have a hit since the major labels controlled distribution. Rival independent records would never reach shops in time to meet demand. So he formed Rough trade Distribution, which became The Cartel. He took on Sony, BMG (RCA), Warners. In June 1979 Geoff beat Goliath as Gary Numan hit number one with Are Friends Electric.
If you have any interest in post-punk music, Joy Division, The Smiths, The KLF, Depeche Mode, Moby, it's because of Geoff Travis. The KLF are oft mocked for their burning of a million pounds. Little known is their contribution of the same sum to fledgling musicians and graphic artists – that would be me, I was freelance house designer – when Rough Trade went bankrupt. I received a phone call informing me Geoff was personally going to make sure all small operators were paid before any corporations. Both the KLF and Daniel Miller of Mute records refused to receive the million pounds they were both owed in sales, instead insisting the little people were paid. About as ethical as you can be?
Here's punk's greatest unsung songwriter, Vic Godard and Stop This Girl. The record that changed my life. But that's for another week.
Back to loser Jeff. Well, $20bn rich loser Jeff. What Harvard Business School found was Amazon monitors the sales of the small independent stores it distributes, then seeing a product doing well, it starts selling it itself. Undercutting the independent store, removing their profitable line and in effect killing them. About as unethical as you can be?
But I'm not suggesting not using Amazon. Although if you're interested www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethicalcampaigns/boycott-amazon is a good place to start. Research shows boycotting doesn't do anywhere near as much damage as bad publicity. If you feel strongly about their ethics why not post on their Facebook or page, or tweet (assuming Twitter is still going next week. Another unethical egomaniac astronaut at the helm).
Let's not forget, like telling single mums not to feed their kids poorly, that healthy food costs money. Fruit and vegetables are expensive. Let alone organic and free range produce. Some people really do need to save these few pennies by buying from Amazon. I too occasionally use it. Recently even, like when I forgot Ben's birthday and needed a book to arrive the next day, pretending all along I knew and was merely waiting for him to be home for the delivery.
No, I'm not suggesting not using Amazon. Also, can I have a point for that triple negative. What I am suggesting is positive action. Buying a book directly from an independent publisher's website.
Inverting Amazon's producer and distributor monopoly. Or if you want to be woke hip, disrupting it.
Over the last few years I have bought books directly from these small independent publishing houses. Not saying I've read them, mind. I propose that as well as funding Bezos's potential cryogenic future frozen in space when his rocket fails, you also put some pennies in the coffers of those who care about words, authors, and readers. Giving them both the producers and distributors share of the coin.
In no particular order...
A heavy hitter of the indies. Galley Beggar Press has quite a few books I’d happily add to my tsundoku. I bought Lucy Ellmann’s Ducks, Newburyport which arrived beautifully packaged, and it went on to be long listed for the Booker Prize. I’ve yet to start it though. Recently I gave Anne a copy of English Magic by Uschi Gatward which is actually being read, and I’m told is very good. A story from the collection is online www.galleybeggar.co.uk/extract-english-magic
Mentioned recently as they publish Nicholas Royle, including his Manchester Uncanny, and the collection of stories We Were Strangers from various authors inspired by Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures.
I can recommend both of those. In fact I already have. So instead I’ll break with protocol and feature another collection that’s on my wishlist, this time tales inspired by David Bowie’s Low. I know none of the writers, But Confingo published David Gaffney’s novel, so they have impeccable taste — his ultra short stories Sawn-Off Tales inspired me to write tiny tales.
And Bowie because, well, none of us want Bezos to end up floating in a tin can, far far away, do we? Frozen in space. That would be awful. There’s a staaaaarman waiting in the skyyyy.
Last month I bought Johanne Lykke Holm’s Strega purely because Susan Finlay described it as “like if Dario Argento was a woman who wrote novels”. Lolli Editions specialise in novels translated from Scandinavian countries.
Amazon allows one to self-publish. Except they expect you to fund yourself. They won’t promote it either. Just take their cut. If we live in a world of Amazon publishing then there will be no translations. It needs a publisher to fund a translator so we can discover worlds such as this —
With little boxes of liquorice, hairbands, and notebooks in her bag, Rafa arrives at the remote Alpine town of Strega to work at the grand Olympic Hotel. There, she and eight other girls receive the stiff uniforms of seasonal workers and are taught to iron, cook, and make the beds by austere matrons. In spare moments between tasks, the girls start to enjoy each other’s company as they pick herbs in the garden, read in the library, and take in the scenery. But when the hotel suddenly fills with people for a raucous party, one of the girls disappears. What follows are deeper revelations about the myths young women are told, what they are raised to expect from the world, the violence they are made to endure, and, ultimately, the question of whether a gentler, more beautiful life is possible.
Home to the aforementioned Susan Finlay, whose My Other Spruce and Maple Self is sitting in my to-be-read pile.
MOIST’s Director, Paul Finlay, founded the press in 2020. Family friend, Sarah Smith, assists him with MOIST’s publicity. From time to time, his next-door neighbour, Maggie Panikkar, lends her skills as a copy editor and proofreader. Paul’s daughter, Susan, deals with everything design related. Inspired by the North American DIY publishing traditions that grew out of art, music, and LGBTQI+ scenes, the press publishes works of literary and/or creative non-fiction and/or poetry in series of threes.
Don’t you love them already? Scissors and glue on the kitchen table. How all good revolutions start.
Open Pen publishes novelettes, pocket sized tales from the warm fringes. I’ve enjoyed all the ones I’ve ordered, but in particular Good Choices by Bonny Brooks. Which reads as if Nick Hornby was a glue sniffer.
Hoping on a series three very soon. What is better than a dinky booklet popping unexpectedly through the post.
An honourable mention to nightjarpress.weebly.com who I featured a month ago, creators of limited edition eerie and uncanny chapbooks. Should the length of a novelette prove too challenging.
This week featured
Heroes
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoff_Travis
web.archive.org/web/20071027092817/http://www.furious.com/perfect/rt.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cartel_(record_distributor)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rough_Trade_Records
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vic_Godard
Zeros
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos
Buy me a coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/vfnIE9P0Ta
Illustration by Fatima Fletcher
The amazing artist Fatima Fletcher is artist in residence.
Please show Fatima your love by following and liking every single one of her posts at www.instagram.com/fatima.fletcher, and visiting fatimafletcher.com, where her work is for sale, she is available for commissions.
Her wonderful Ruff Ruff coasters are for sale at fatima-fletcher.square.site/s/shop
Send to a friend
I’m currently interviewing a few more authors, and would love their work to reach a wider audience. If there’s someone you know who might enjoy these posts, please forward this email to them, or one you think better suited to wooing. Better still, ring them up, harangue, shout, threaten and coerce them into subscribing. Nicely, of course.
References
This kicks up an observation that there seems to be a media driven narrative that dismisses individual effort as useless. Do not resist. There seems also to be a growing drum beat message with a high hat of quantum entanglement that individual behavior, no matter how small, is both connected and important.
Well said x