Amazon finds way to pay ebook writers even less

It’s cool that the U.S. Women’s National soccer team will win the World Cup today, as part of the Fourth of July weekend. Thanks, ladies! Let’s nutmeg the headlines.

41.9 million Americans expected to leave town for Independence Day”: Wow. What town would that be?

Amazon to pay ebook writers by pages read”: This week, the company implemented a new policy that it will pay authors — in its Kindle Library — by the number of pages read and not the number of times a book is checked out. Hmm. So your Kindle is recording your reading, page by page, — or lack thereof? Does that mean the customers have the option to buy a book one page at a time? No, only Amazon gets to be that cheap.

To be fair, the policy is only for authors who are part of the Kindle Direct Publishing Select program, which features self-published titles that are exclusive to the Amazon platform. If you’re a self-published author, often you’ll take whatever pay you can get. But like Twitter “followers” and Facebook “friends,” someone will figure out a way to fool Kindle, and make it look like someone has made it through all 1,254 pages of your Beanie Babies “memoir.”

Jim Carrey goes on twitter rant over California’s vaccine bill”: Two of Carrey’s movies come to mind: “Dumb and Dumber” and “Liar, Liar.” And blame USA Today and CBS News, among other traditional media outlets, for reporting this latest celebrity anti-vaccination rant as “news.” Such celebrities have done enough damage, as have the media outlets that cover them. For crying out loud.

How to get a real meal out of instant ramen”: Uh, by adding real food to it?

Why BlackBerry isn’t dead yet”: Because the people who make and create things don’t listen to online “sages” who are always predicting the death of something? And because the people who buy things don’t always listen to the Internet “sages.”

Your 8-year-old can hail a ride Uber-style with this app”: Oh, boy. The service is called “Shuddle,” which is in keeping with the app trend of naming your app with a misspelling, or ending it in a “y.”

If this is supposed to be a time saver for parents, it’s hard to understand how. According to the article, “Children between 8 and 16 can use the app to order a ride at least one hour ahead of when they want to be picked up. When the reservation is booked, both parents and children get a photo and bio of the driver and car description sent to their smartphones. Parents can watch the car with their kid driving along its route through the app thanks to GPS tracking technology.”

If a parent is going to spend the entire time monitoring the ride, what’s the point, exactly?

Skinny jeans can lead to nerve and muscle damage, doctors say”: Just add some high heels for a complete killer outfit!

If warranted, give someone a yellow card this week for “persistent infringement.”

Carol MacPherson: 425-339-3472; cmacpherson@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Thursday, March 28

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Initiative promoter Tim Eyman takes a selfie photo before the start of a session of Thurston County Superior Court, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Olympia, Wash. Eyman, who ran initiative campaigns across Washington for decades, will no longer be allowed to have any financial control over political committees, under a ruling from Superior Court Judge James Dixon Wednesday that blasted Eyman for using donor's contributions to line his own pocket. Eyman was also told to pay more than $2.5 million in penalties. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Editorial: Initiative fee increase protects process, taxpayers

Bumped up to $156 from $5, the increase may discourage attempts to game the initiative process.

Protecting forests and prevent another landslide like Oso

Thank you for the powerful and heartbreaking article about the Oso landslide… Continue reading

Boeing’s downfall started when engineers demoted

Boeing used to be run by engineers who made money to build… Continue reading

Learn swimming safety to protect kids at beach, pool

Don’t forget to dive into water safety before hitting the pool or… Continue reading

Comment: Why shootings have decreased but gun deaths haven’t

High-capacity magazines and ‘Glock switches’ that allow automatic fire have increased lethality.

Washington state senators and representatives along with Governor Inslee and FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez break ground at the Swift Orange Line on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Community Transit making most of Link’s arrival

The Lynnwood light rail station will allow the transit agency to improve routes and frequency of buses.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, March 27

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

An image of Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin is reflected in a storefront window during the State of the City Address on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at thee Everett Mall in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: State of city address makes case for Everett’s future

Mayor Franklin outlines challenges and responses as the city approaches significant decisions.

FILE - The massive mudslide that killed 43 people in the community of Oso, Wash., is viewed from the air on March 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Editorial: Mapping landslide risks honors those lost in Oso

Efforts continue in the state to map areas prone to landslides and prevent losses of life and property.

Burke: ‘Why not write about Biden, for once?’ Don’t mind if I do.

They asked; I’ll oblige. Let’s consider what the president has accomplished since the 2020 election.

Comment: Catherine missed chance to dispel shame of cancer

She wasn’t obligated to do so, but she might have used her diagnosis to educate a sympathetic public.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.