A Tale of Woe

Hello

It is cold and wet outside, and this is not strictly a blog; and by this endeavor, I am not trying to lure you to my website under false pretenses. It's simply that I want to right a wrong, so to speak, although that is almost certainly a far too dramatic way of putting it.

When I first published my book of poems under the title, "Who Would be a Girl When You Can be a Boy?" in 2011, I was surprised to find that it was offered for sale on Amazon.co.uk; surprised, because besides being the author, I was also the publisher and distributor, and I hadn't asked Amazon to sell it. On making inquiries, I was told by Nielsen, (who provide the ISBN numbers in the UK, and with whom the book is registered), that it is standard practice for all retailers to be notified of a books existence. So I sat back and waited, and sure enough, it wasn't long before Amazon wrote and told me that they were interested and would soon be placing an order. And I, trembling at the though of celebrity, sat back and waited. Well, when the great day dawned, Amazon wanted 1, (one) copy, which I was to send to their warehouse; and here's the bit that made me cry. They wanted to keep, for themselves, 60 per cent of the cover price. Well it didn't take me long to work out, that in adding in the cost of posting and packaging, I would have to provide the book to Amazon at a loss. So I wrote and explained my predicament, and they wrote back and told me that that was how they do business. And I wrote back (with some difficulty on account of their over automated processes), and asked them to remove the book from their website, which they did.

Well, some time later, I wrote again to Amazon.co.uk, pointing out that despite the fact that I had asked them to remove the book from their website, it was still showing on Amazon.com with a misleading statement to the effect that the book was out of print. Not unreasonably, Amazon wrote back, pointing out that they had no control over Amazon.com, and that if I wanted the book removed from their website, I would have to write directly to them; and very kindly they provided the relevant address. So I wrote to Amazon.com and the letter went like this:

Dear Sir.

I have just received an email from Amazon.co.uk, who have told me to write to you, etc. etc:

And Amazon.com wrote back:

Dear Mr McCloskey

As you have just received an email from Amazon.co.uk you need to write to Amazon.co.uk

at which point, and deciding that I had better things to do with my time, I gave up.

Well this morning, and perhaps because it is cold and wet, and I am getting off to a slower start than usual, I have discovered that my book is advertised on Amazon in Canada, with the same misleading information. And likewise on Google books. And you can even find it here, at books.com, and at deastore.com, who are  asking £1.48 more than the cover price.

So here's the deal.

Though the book has gone global, and I have sold quite a few, I still have copies left; and as they would be much happier out in the fresh air rather than sitting on a shelf here in the study, there is still time, if you are thinking of your Christmas shopping. Or better still. If you are seeking to raise money for a charitable cause, and would like a few to raffle, let me know at cormace.mccloskey@yahoo.com, and provided you don't live on Mars I will send them postage free. And don't forget to tell me something about the charity that you have in mind.

And here's something to cheer you up; click on the link