As an avid reader, an inveterate "consumer" of books, I welcome lower prices. But when Amazon and overstock.com start slashing list prices of books by 50 per cent and more, I feel driven to give a shout-out to my fellow authors.
That's because most contracts between writers and publishers include a royalties clause that slashes a writer's earnings at a certain discount level.
I know, I know. Writers usually receive only 10 per cent of the list price to begin with: a $30 book earns a writer $3 (applied against any advance, which has to be "earned out"). But when the discount clause kicks in -- for example, on Amazon-style discounts of more than 50 per cent -- then as a rule, whoosh, suddenly the author is entitled to 10 per cent of what the publisher receives.
Consider that $30 book. At best, given the hefty Amazon-style discount, the publisher receives $15 . . . and the writer $1.50. The author's earnings have been cut in half . . . and that, as I say, is best-case.
This explains why, when Amazon tussles with book publishers, authors tend to side with the latter.
[Next day: I love Obama. But on this issue, judging from this development, he has yet to discover the bigger picture.]

Hats off to Merilyn Simonds! She not only runs an amazing meeting. But, with the help of Ottawa writer Eric Enno Tamm, she has pointed the way to a renaissance for The Writers' Union of Canada. In response to revolutionary changes in the publishing landscape, TWUC members at their 40th AGM voted unanimously to admit self-published authors. There WILL be an approval process. And the measure must win the approval of the membership in a referendum. Simonds, the outgoing chair of TWUC, called it "a landmark decision . . . that addresses our sincere desire for inclusion and innovation, while maintaining our tradition of defining and upholding professional standards for writers in Canada.” She noted that in "an increasingly fractured literary landscape, others in our sector are looking to TWUC to define what it means to be a professional book author." If the move wins approval of the general membership, she said, "we hope that granting agencies, festivals, residencies and other support programs for writers will follow TWUC’s lead and expand their own definitions to welcome what is becoming an increasingly important practice among professional writers.” And here's a link to the official release.