Amazon.com inspires anxiety just about everywhere, but its publishing arm is getting pushback from all sorts of booksellers, David Streitfeld reports in Monday's New York Times. They are scorning the imprint's most prominent title, Timothy Ferriss's “The 4-Hour Chef.†That book is coming out just before Thanksgiving into a fragmented book-selling landscape that Amazon has done much to create but that eludes its control.
Mr. Ferriss's first book, “The 4-Hour Workweek,†sold nearly a half-million copies in its original print edition, according to Nielsen BookScan. A follow-up devoted to the body did nearly as well. Those books about finding success without trying too hard were a particular hit with young men, who identified with their quasi-scientific entrepreneurial spirit.
Signing Mr. Ferriss was seen as a smart choice by Amazon, which wanted books that would make a splash in both the digital and physical worlds. When the seven-figure deal was announce d in August 2011, Mr. Ferriss, a former nutritional supplements marketer, said this was “a chance to really show what the future of books looks like.â€
Now that publication is at hand, that future looks messy and angry. Barnes & Noble, struggling to remain relevant in Amazon's shadow, has been emphatic that it will not carry its competitor's books. Other large physical and digital stores seem to be uninterested or even opposed to the book. Many independent stores feel betrayed by Mr. Ferriss, whom they had championed. They will do nothing to help him if it involves helping a company they feel is hellbent on their destruction.
“At a certain point you have to decide how far you want to nail your own coffin shut,†said Michael Tucker, owner of the Books Inc. chain in San Francisco. “Amazon wants to completely control the entire book trade. You're crazy if you want to play that game with them.â€
When Mr. Ferriss signed with Amazon, he celebrated the n ew at the expense of the old. “I don't feel like I'm giving up anything, financially or otherwise,†he said.
He has a somewhat different view these days. “By signing with Amazon, I expected this type of blowback,†he said. “I've been girding my loins.â€
