Lightning Source response to Amazon
Lightning Source went out to its customers today with an open letter saying "be calm" as a means to re-assure publishers who feel threatened by Amazon's insistence that pod books are printed by BookSurge.
Here's the contents of the e-mail I got today:-
Lightning Source announcement regarding Amazon/Booksurge
Dear Customer,
Lightning Source has been following the recent press coverage and discussions about Amazon.com and BookSurge. We are aware of the concern this is causing the publishing community. The issue centers around Amazon.com tying the availability of your books and terms of sale at Amazon.com to the production of books at the Amazon.com subsidiary BookSurge, specifically requiring you to use BookSurge in order to sell on Amazon.
Like you, we are very concerned about any conduct that would serve to limit a publishers choice in supply chain partners and to negatively impact the cost of your products to consumers. We believe that choice and selection of best of class services are critical to the long term success of publishers and a vibrant book market.
Lightning Source continues to provide the highest quality digital on demand print and distribution services for every one of our customers. All your titles continue to be available to all of our channel partners, including Amazon.com, with immediate availability for shipment within 24 hours.
We are committed to providing you with the best of class quality product and fastest distribution service in the market, and will continually work to develop new channels and new offerings.
Lightning Source will continue to monitor this situation and let you know when we have more information.
Please feel free to call your Lightning Source point of contact, if you have any additional questions.
J. Kirby Best
President & CEO
Lightning Source Inc.
But there is also a VERY interesting piece in Publisher's Weekly about the next steps in pod.
It seems the coffee shop where they print and bind books for you while you wait is closer than I thought.
Looks to me like a show down brewing. If this latest development in technology occurs as soon as Publisher's Weekly indicate, it could seriously damage Amazon's business.
I like the quote in the last paragraph about working together. That is the carrot approach to which people respond more positively, not the stick of coercion.
Here's the contents of the e-mail I got today:-
Lightning Source announcement regarding Amazon/Booksurge
Dear Customer,
Lightning Source has been following the recent press coverage and discussions about Amazon.com and BookSurge. We are aware of the concern this is causing the publishing community. The issue centers around Amazon.com tying the availability of your books and terms of sale at Amazon.com to the production of books at the Amazon.com subsidiary BookSurge, specifically requiring you to use BookSurge in order to sell on Amazon.
Like you, we are very concerned about any conduct that would serve to limit a publishers choice in supply chain partners and to negatively impact the cost of your products to consumers. We believe that choice and selection of best of class services are critical to the long term success of publishers and a vibrant book market.
Lightning Source continues to provide the highest quality digital on demand print and distribution services for every one of our customers. All your titles continue to be available to all of our channel partners, including Amazon.com, with immediate availability for shipment within 24 hours.
We are committed to providing you with the best of class quality product and fastest distribution service in the market, and will continually work to develop new channels and new offerings.
Lightning Source will continue to monitor this situation and let you know when we have more information.
Please feel free to call your Lightning Source point of contact, if you have any additional questions.
J. Kirby Best
President & CEO
Lightning Source Inc.
But there is also a VERY interesting piece in Publisher's Weekly about the next steps in pod.
It seems the coffee shop where they print and bind books for you while you wait is closer than I thought.
Looks to me like a show down brewing. If this latest development in technology occurs as soon as Publisher's Weekly indicate, it could seriously damage Amazon's business.
I like the quote in the last paragraph about working together. That is the carrot approach to which people respond more positively, not the stick of coercion.
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