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More Thoughts on Hachette / Amazon
There's not much I can say about the Hachette/Amazon negotiations that David Gaughran hasn't covered here. David injects some much-needed rationality into what has been a bizarrely irrational debate, especially since we're all simply guessing at what terms Hachette and Amazon are offering one another. Knowing who to blame here is impossible at worst and premature at best.
I'm more interested in what Mark Coker has to say over on the Smashwords blog. I have mad respect for Mark. He gets far more right than wrong, and he's been an excellent spokesman and business leader for the self-publishing movement. If I could sit in a pub with ten publishing peeps and clink drinks, Mark would be near the very top of the list. But as the owner of Smashwords, Mark is Amazon's direct competitor. His post practically concludes with a pitch for his services. That should serve as one warning. The bigger warning is that Mark doesn't seem to understand Amazon's current relationship with Hachette. He states:
If Hachette doesn't have the power to maintain 70% earnings, how will million-copy-selling New York Times bestselling indie authors have any power when Amazon decides to put the squeeze on them? And how about the rest of the indie community which has even less leverage over Amazon?
The problem is, Hachette does not get 70% of the list price the way indies do. Hachette gets paid a set discount on the digital MSRP, just like bookstores pay a set discount for physical books. This is why Hachette sets the MSRP for e-books at crazy prices like $14.99. If Amazon is getting a 40% discount, their wholesale cost for that e-book is $8.99. They then sell the e-book to the customer for $9.99 and make a measly dollar, or 10%. Compare that 10% margin to the 30% they make from indies. Not to mention that Amazon sells a LOT more e-books at indies' reasonable prices.
Now think about how this works for Hachette. They get the full wholesale price of $8.99. The author gets his or her full cut (25% of net), which is a point that many commentators don't seem to understand. Amazon, meanwhile takes the loss! All to provide customers with a better price. Remember, they are paying Hachette and the author the full amount according to the MSRP.
So of course Hachette wants to keep this agreement intact. But there's no way Amazon can allow it. Hachette is basically screwing its authors by pricing its e-books too high and they seem to know it. That's why Hachette and some authors are complaining about Amazon selling its e-books for the full MSRP. Hachette wants that fat check and for Amazon to suffer its thin margins.
Mark also repeats in his post a popular and incorrect jeremiad about the dangers of monopoly and all the power Amazon wields. The purpose here is to terrify indies away from Amazon and presumably toward Smashwords. The problem is that Amazon isn't a monopoly, and even if they were, monopolies don't work with low barriers to entry. One college kid in his or her dorm can start the next e-book sales platform, and since indies own their work, they could flock there in an instant. That's the new reality for tech firms. It's why social media sites pop up every month and snag millions of users. Easy to create, easy for users to migrate.
The reason Amazon has any strength right now to negotiate with the real monopoly, which is Hachette (nobody else can provide their e-books), is because of indie authors and Amazon's own imprints. Here's what I think is going on in these negotiations (since we're all making things up): Amazon is telling Hachette that they can't afford to make 10% or less on e-book sales. Hachette is saying tough luck, sucker. Amazon is asking for them to lower digital MSRP to $9.99, and then let Amazon discount to whatever they see fit and take the hit. Amazon still pays 60% of MSRP. Maybe they're even bumping that up to 70% (it's what I would do).
Hachette is refusing, so Amazon is making their margins by simply stopping the current discounts and selling at the price Hachette stipulates to begin with. Amazon can afford to do this because they have plenty of reasonably priced offerings from indies and their own in-house imprints. In fact, higher prices on Hachette books are making Amazon's high-margin indie and A-Pub e-books look more attractive to consumers.
Mark raises the monopoly canard to make indies think they'll be next to incur Amazon's wrath. But indies are already giving Amazon what they want: a healthy 30% wholesale discount (65% discount on many titles) plus reasonable MSRP. What's to fight for? You see, Mark makes the classic mistake of seeing the 70% that authors keep as a royalty. It isn't. Royalties are what authors earn from publishers. But self-published authors are publishers, and they are handing over ready-to-sell products. In exchange, they provide a 30% discount and keep the rest.
So let's assume that Amazon does lower "royalties" in the future. To what? 30% of gross? The worst Amazon might do is still more generous than what the Big 5 currently offers. Why fear a hypothetical bogeyman when there are real ones? Here's what would happen if Amazon demanded a 70% discount on wholesale from indies instead of the current 30% discount: Indies would concentrate all their promotion efforts on Kobo, the iBookstore, and Google Play. They would at the same time raise their e-book prices on Amazon so a sale there netted the same profit. This would keep earnings the same while driving consumers to other retailers. I would price WOOL at $13.99 instead of $5.99 and make my normal $4.20 per sale. I would have fewer sales on Amazon, but those I did get would pay the same. Most customers would go get it elsewhere. I would start linking primarily to other stores, blogging about how awesome some competitor is, and never promote or deal with Amazon again.
Despite what Mark Coker and others think, Amazon isn't this stupid. If you ask me, Hachette is bungling the hell out of these negotiations. They are harming their authors, first by not informing them of these negotiations back in November when they started, and more recently by not providing information to authors like Michael Sullivan, who wants to know details about book shipments.
Hachette may even be fighting for the agency pricing scheme that landed them and others in hot water with the DOJ. That's where they set the retail price, and Amazon isn't allowed to discount. You know, like practically no other retail agreement in any other industry. The reason Hachette wants this? To protect their relationship with bookstore chains, namely Barnes & Noble. I have spoken with publishing heads who have admitted to me that they can't lower their e-book prices without damaging relationships with brick and mortar stores. Those stores will cease ordering books.
There's a whole lot more to this game than most people realize. Me? I'm pulling for Amazon as an e-book customer. I hope they win the right to continue to be able to discount e-books so they remain less expensive than paperbacks. Hachette doesn't want this. Hachette wants higher prices (or at least, for Amazon to take the hit instead of them).
As an indie author, however, I wouldn't be upset if Hachette got what it wanted. Yeah, price those e-books at $14.99. I'll keep your readers busy with my books until you come to your senses.
Fantastic post, Hugh. You speak sense and I like that.
A great writeup. For the past couple of years now I have pretty much only read indie authors because they write some great stuff and they price a book fairly. These retail ebook prices can be ridiculous. And when you have authors like Hugh Howey, Michael Bunker, Nathan Lowel, Mark Cooper, Randolph Lalonde, Michael Hicks, B V Larson, and Thomas Deprima to name a few, there is plenty of good reading to be had at good prices. What I love is that a majority of the proceeds go to the author directly.
You make an excellent point about the nature of a monopoly. A large market-share (like Amazon's) does not automatically imply a monopoly. There has to be barriers to entry. Otherwise, regardless of market share, the company is powerless to raise prices. As you point out, when a kid in a dorm can make an ebook selling platform, how much power can Amazon really have? Not much, I agree.
But while Amazon doesn't have a lot of power, it does have some. And it comes primarily from the extensive reviews it has collected from users. That's the one thing that the kid in the dorm together with all the publishers in the world cannot replicate overnight. The only source of extensive reader reviews besides Amazon is Goodreads. And Amazon up and bought it. What is Amazon doing with Goodreads? I see no changes to the Goodreads site design, no evidence of new synergies, nothing. It's simply a precautionary move, in case the kid in the dorm got any ideas…
I've noticed some very small improvements to the Goodreads site. Things so small that I can't now remember exactly what they were. (I have a terrible memory.) But as I've listed giveaways, added books, and (simply) signed in, I've encountered minute changes that make all of those tasks easier. Much appreciated by me.
Anyone here with a better memory than mine who noticed and remembers some of these niggling details?
Of course, the changes might just be ordinary site maintenance and improvement initiated by the Goodreads staff. I'm not in a position to know the origin of the changes. :D
Amazon bought Goodreads a while back. There's the origin of the changes at Goodreads, J.M..
I love that Hachette getting upset about Amazon pushing prices up to *their* recommended price. It's all a bit bonkers.
I enjoy the fact I can release an eBook of equivalent quality, set the price at $2.99, and pocket as much as a much higher priced Hachette book. I win and my readers win. Sounds good to me.
If Hachette is that upset, they can always set up their own distribution network for their e-books. However, something tells me they know that their stuff wouldn't sell at those ridiculous prices, and having an already established distributor – Amazon – is in their best interest. Amazon discounts the e-books to reasonable, and Hachette gets to gripe about it while secretly enjoying having someone else set the price to consumers.
Oh boy. When will we wake up and see the big publishers for what they are? Of course they are huge businesses and of course they are governed by seeking to maximise their profit margins.
As readers and writers, books are special to us and we like to picture Dickensian gentlemen in frock coats fussing over a manuscript for the good of humankind. But it's time to throw that image away.
Yes, Amazon is a huge business too and not without fault, but to survive in the cut-throat world of ecommerce, it must constantly innovate and find new ways to offer value to customers and authors. Amazon disrupts the marketplace in order to create opportunities. Trad publishers try to maintain the status quo.
I know which I prefer.
Mark Coker had done a lot of great things for indies. But it often times seems like his best argument to use Smashwords is, "Hey, We're not Amazon."
I think we've got a better argument than that. :) The best argument to use Smashwords is because we help you sell more books. I've always advocated that every author should be on Amazon. I advocate *against* exclusivity. Too many authors treat their choice of retailer like their choice of sports team or religion. You don't need to choose only one. Play the field. Diversify. That's all.
Yeah! This isn't The Highlander, where "There can be only one."
Agreed. Over-dependance by writers on any link in the services providing chain (editing, cover design, distribution, etc…) is always a strategic mistake (just ask any Hachette author). I'm an Amazon fan, but they still are just another link in that chain, so the rule applies to them too. Smashwords is one way to mitigate that risk.
Hugh, brilliant insights. Learning about the MSRP changes things considerably. And Amazon deliberately kicked off the indie revolution by launching KDP at the same time as the Kindle. They've always supported indies. I can't see that changing. They're too smart to do something that dumb.
As always Hugh, thank you for being the lighthouse for the rest of the indies to navigate by.
@Hugh Great post.
I'm actually surprised Mark was the one who said this. If Amazon did drop it's royalty down to 30%, it'd be GREAT for sites like Smashwords and Amazon competitors. They still offer authors 65-75% of their cover price, which would drive more authors to use those alternative distribution sites and in turn encourage their readers to use those sites.
What Mark really should be afraid of, is the exact OPPOSITE of what he is describing here.
If I were Amazon and I wanted to eliminate my competition (not saying they are), I'd simply give authors a % cut that my competitors couldn't compete with. Imagine if Amazon gave an author "royalty" of 95%. Would Smashwords meet it? It would pretty much have to, don't you think? And that's a huge bite of Smashwords revenue.
And if Amazon really wanted to play hardball — it could give author's 100% "royalty" sit on its deep pockets (weird mixed metaphor) and just wait for its competitors to be unable to cover operational costs.
That's what I'd be more afraid of. The race to the bottom, isn't a race to the bottom for authors. He's looking at it upside down imo.
"They would at the same time raise their e-book prices on Amazon so a sale there netted the same profit. This would keep earnings the same while driving consumers to other retailers. I would price WOOL at $13.99 instead of $5.99 and make my normal $4.20 per sale."
You also hit the nail on the head with what would happen for authors who want to continue making the same amount if Amazon dropped their royalty. The funny thing here is that in addition to helping digital eBook distributors, Amazon dropping the author royalty would actually be helping brick and mortar stores and traditional publishers as the price differential would be much smaller between current Indie cover prices and traditional publishers MSRP.
But it will never swing that far. As long as someone can always make a platform to distribute eBooks, Amazon will never be able to force people to accept a bad %. The market will correct itself. (Wow, can't believe I actually said that, as I'm not a firm believer in the market correcting itself because it is so prone to manipulation). But in this case — it would. Amazon always has to be somewhere between the two extremes of: 1) Publishers being able to physically distribute and place their product in physical stores and 2) Entrepreneurs being able to create a startup online eBook distribution platform.
Again, I'm flummoxed that Mark took that stance. That dude is so on the money about so much.
Amazon would add exclusivity like they do with Kindle Select to make your idea more successful.
Agree. Imagine this announcement: 'Enroll in KDP Select and you'll receive a 90% royalty rate.' KDP would crash with all the authors signing up.
Amazon's terms of service state that the price you list your book on Amazon at must not be higher than where you list any other book, though. So instead of pricing higher at the Zon, we would have to pull our books off the Zon, for the scenario to play out that way.
That's what I was wondering about. I do know that authors of Hugh's stature have different deals with Amazon than smaller time folks, so maybe they can price high at Amazon and lower everywhere else. But for small time folks, I remember there being some sort of term saying you can't price higher at the 'Zon than elsewhere.
I'm not so sure.
I've learned long ago that you should never underestimate either what a massive corporation is capable of or what they're willing to do. They will push the envelope as far as they can and then push it some more if they see potential profit in it.
In your scenario, that's exactly how Amazon could eliminate the competition. In several international markets, Amazon already says "if you want 70%, you have to enroll in Select. Otherwise you only get 35%." Imagine they did this in all markets. Or, as Greg said, if they offered a higher royalty for enrolling in Select. I think the vast majority of indies make more money from Amazon than from all other markets combined.
Now imagine this strategy enables Amazon to successfully eliminate or severely marginalize those other publishers. Suddenly it's a lot easier to say, "y'know what, we're going to drop that royalty."
I've got no love for the traditional publishers, and the only reason I have a writing career is because of Amazon. But I don't believe for a second that they're the good guys.
I think you're giving Amazon too much credit. Remember, the only reason they give indie authors 70% now is because they feared competition from Apple. Without real competition amazon will start treating authors like they do all their employees (see The Internet for examples).
I agree.
Amazon is a business. They're not your friend. At the moment, indies and Amazon are heading in the same direction, so everything works fine. But if the time ever comes, where there is little or no competition Amazon will do what is best for Amazon.
The thing is — you aren't beholden to Amazon. If they screw with their %s to the detriment of the author, it opens up a revenue stream for some go-getters to start a eBook distribution system/platform that offers a better %.
Amazon also tends to use game theory quite extensively in their business operations. They WANT competitors. Because competitors help their business as well. What they don't want are competitors to try and take their #1 spot — so they'll do what's necessary to stay on top.
Smashwords has been very smart in this respect. Smashwords hasn't tried to go toe to toe with Amazon. It hasn't tried to drop its %s to favor Smashwords over Amazon. It's a non-threat to Amazon, so Amazon shares the marketspace.
If Smashwords dropped their % to say 95% author share, you can bet Amazon will respond. And most likely it would respond in a way that would make it painful for Smashwords to keep doing business. So instead of direct competition, both keep the status quo. And both are happy.
And honestly, I think that's what Mark Coker is more worried about. Amazon's muscle to push businesses around. They can and do.
Great post, Hugh. The free market always works. If Amazon becomes greedy then another company will seize the initiative and provide a better service for authors and readers, and we'll all jump ship and go there. It's as easy as tapping fingers on a keyboard.
I think that's why large companies become cozy with government regulators, so they can keep their dinosaur firms going and not get eaten by the furry little mammals scurrying around their feet. Go mammals, I say. Let the dinosaurs adapt, or die.
Okay, I didn't think much on this post when it was originally posted. But something happened and a piece of the puzzled automatically in place. First let's get it out of the way that Amazon is not a monopoly. If anyone can't understand why they need to go back to school. Amazon is a leading Distributor (retailer, whatever you wanna call it) and it continues to innovate and experiment which positions it miles ahead of its competitors. But Amazon is not just a distributor. It is so much more. Countless other businesses rely on Amazon for a lot more than just distribution.
Over in the neighboring blog, Joe Konrath is "fisking" some author named Charlie. Mr Charlie had complained that his readers will suffer because his publisher cannot print the books because they cannot be pre-ordered on Amazon. And that got me thinking. The print-runs (production schedules) of traditional publishers rely heavily on information provided by Amazon. Pre-orders on Amazon provide the BEST sales forecasts for new books. Until recently, Amazon was providing market forecasts for free. But it doesn't have to, does it? It can charge a premium (over and above distribution) for forecasting sales of goods with RELATIVELY thin profit margins.
Information is power. The entire financial sector makes money from information asymmetries.
I meant "a piece of the puzzle clicked in"
Hachette is most definitely negotiating for agency and no discounting. The Big 5 told us that one of them was going to do that. Check out Konrath's latest post for my explanation.
Yes, that was the assumption I made, that they're fighting for agency. I could be wrong.
The one concern I have is that you couldn't raise your price on only Amazon to compensate for the lower percentage (if things did suddenly take a change for the worst). I've heard they do a price match and lower your price down to match other places.
I'm new so please let me know if I'm mistaken on this.
Thanks, Hugh, for some much needed common sense. I agree with you–those of us who can write good books and sell them at affordable prices are not going away any time soon.
I think there may be a key point either missing or muddied here, but before I start, let me make clear that both parties are captaining their own douche-canoes.
Hachette is failing to adjust its business model to remain profitable at lower retail prices and refusing to be attractively competitive to its suppliers (authors).
Amazon is both distributor and competitor here, and people seem to be responding to the actions it is taking that more closely align it with Wal-Mart than Barnes & Noble. Wally-world leaned on its suppliers so effectively that it changed the landscape of manufacturing, and drove a lot of suppliers under because they couldn't sacrifice quality to meet the wholesale needs of the biggest retailer on the planet (which is also not technically a monopoly, but try buying bananas somewhere else in rural USA). There are, of course, differences, but there is also the uncomfortable notion that by substituting one book for another that Amazon, that great champion of books, is treating them like interchangeable widgets, which is what the big pubs do.
Um, given the history of our noble host, his paper publisher's dealings with Barnes and Noble, and the effect it had on sales of his books when they came out, that might not be the strongest line of argument you've got.
Not being familiar with these things, I would have to agree with you. But I'm not here to present a strong line of argument, but rather some possible insight into why this particular battle is so…odd. The public discussion is played out on an emotional field much more so than a logical one, because the players don't seem to be engaged in moves that can be purely attributed to business, and the spectators watching it all unfold are also not responding to moves in a purely business-oriented manner.
Reading articles and blog posts, I feel like I'm watching a play with about fifteen different roles, but only two actors playing he parts, and most of the roles are the alternate personalities of one character, and M. Night Shyamalan wrote the screenplay, so I'm caught up in looking for the symbolism and the big shocking twist.
"both parties are captaining their own douche-canoes."
Laughed so hard.
"One college kid in his or her dorm can start the next e-book sales platform, and since indies own their work, they could flock there in an instant. "
Naive. A kid in his dorm room can build a nationwide network of warehousing, a deep database of millions of books, a community of reviewers, negotiate the ability to offer deep discounts, build the ereader / book publishing infrastructure and challenge Amazon.
Give that "kid" $10 million in venture capital and he might start to make an inroad. Then, like Amazon, that "kid" will have to endure years breaking even or losing money for the hope of making a razor thin profit like Amazon.
Where is the incentive in that? Where is the reward? A "kid" in his dorm room would rather make a cheap app and rake in potentially millions.
"But indies are already giving Amazon what they want: a healthy 30% wholesale discount (65% discount on many titles) plus reasonable MSRP. What's to fight for?"
Howey exhibits a fundamental misunderstanding of business relationships. Companies want to make money. They want to make a lot of money. What if Amazon raised the discount to 40%. Are you going to abandon Amazon? Of course not. You're still making money with them. Are you going to drop Amazon and flock to that kid? Not unless that kid demonstrates the ability to compete (and isn't that kid already out there in the form of Mark Coker?)
Amazon has already cut the royalty on its ACX. What's to say they won't do it elsewhere? Why wouldn't they? Why wouldn't they renegotiate its deal with you? What makes you such a special snowflake that you're protected?
A start-up does not have to compete on the whole range of what Amazon is selling. To have a good website, with great algorithms for ebooks, would suffice to draw indies there. If the website was a great experience for readers, they would come, too. More easily said then done, yes, but things can change quickly in a digital world.
Here's the thing. Amazon doesn't need to renegotiate its deal with Indie authors. All they have to do is change their terms. Boom! That's it–take it or leave it.
Dude! I love you Huge and I still maintain that you're one of the smartest guys I know, but calling Hachette THE REAL MONOPOLY is akin to calling Dairy Queen a monopoly.
Sure, they sell their own brand of ice cream and hamburgers, but McDonalds, Wendy's, and Burger King all sell similar products. If the Big 5 were to have an orgy of mergers and become the Big 1, THEN you could say that. Until that happens…
If I wasn't in deadline mode I'd say we should have a public debate for charity, or just for a beer.
Peace, brother.
I couldn't help but think that if Amazon lowered the royalty for self pubbed authors, that would drive UP prices. So many people are failing to see that there end goal is to lower prices. Great post.
Too many words… Hugh, could you tell me if my math is correct?
A book with MSRP of $15 from Hachette: Amazon pays $9(60%), reader pays $10, Amazon gets $1, Hachette gets $6.75(75% of $9) and the author gets $2.25.
A book with MSRP of $6 from Indie: Amazon pays $4.2(70%), reader pays $6, Amazon gets $1.8, and the author gets $4.2.
Why on earth do we need Hachette?
If Hachette lowers the MSRP from $15 to $10, and Amazon pays 70% instead of 60%: Amazon pays $7, reader pays $8(My assumption), Amazon get $1, Hachette get $4.9 and the author gets $2.1. Now I can see why Hachette doesn't want it.
Too many words… Hugh, could you tell me if my math is correct?
A book with MSRP of $15 from Hachette: Amazon pays $9(60%), reader pays $10, Amazon gets $1, Hachette gets $6.75(75% of $9) and the author gets $2.25.
No. Your math is flawed because you're confusing the Amazon sales price and MSRP.
Amazon pays 60% of $15 (MSRP) to Hachette. So Hachette receives $9 from Amazon. Hachette gets $9 no matter what Amazon does with the book.
Hachette then pays 25% of net to the author. Let's assume there aren't any other commissions and deductions.
So out of the $9 from Amazon, Hachette keeps $6.75, and the author gets $2.25.
Thanks for checking my math… but I think what you said is exactly what I calculated. :)
Nailed it. Again.
I had to look up "jeremiad." Thanks for the new word! That's a good one. :-)
Thank you for this post. I saw Mark Coker's post earlier today and knew it was biased against Amazon (the nature of competitors) but with the deluge of news about the Hachette-Amazon melee, there was no way to know what's true and what's not. Thanks for explaining it much more clearly.
Hugh, right back at you with the beer and respect. I'll have to go back and read what I wrote, but I don't think I mentioned the monopoly word once. A company without a monopoly can wield enormous power. Based on the numbers I referenced, they control 1/3 of the market. That's enough to give them the advantage over Hachette. My primary point of the piece was what the end of agency could mean for authors, publishers and retailers. I'm fascinated by Amazon's moves and have nothing but awe for their scary smarts. I don't like their tactics, but like I said in the post, that's beside the point. They can do what they want.
Excellent post, Hugh.
We keep hearing what Amazon can do, what it will do, and how we will all be in a tub of stink then they do it.
So, who has already done it? Anyone have an example of a retail monopoly? If not, maybe there is a fundamental reason why not?
People have recently started talking about a monopsony. That is when there is only a single buyer. It's good to talk about them because a retail monopoly also has to be a retail monopsony. If you can sell your book to another company, then they can sell it to the public, and there is no monopoly. Monopolies have to control production. Anyone have any examples? Again, maybe there is a fundamntal reason why not.
Coker tells us agency pricing is great. From the perspective of the total economy, is there some reason we should side with a small group of producers against retailers and consumers? What is it? If so, is that the recommended course for everything? If not, are books special? Why? What makes them special?
Economic fundamentals have not changed. Ebooks and eReaders didn't change them.
And if anyone does have an example of a retail monopoly, let's have it. We could probably learn a lot.
If Hatchett wants better rates, sell the books on his own site. Amazon has a right to create a business model that works for them, while giving their Indie authors/publishers a fair shake.
Amazon is hosting the e-books, distributing them to paying customers, handling merchant fees (costs), dealing with customer service issues, etc… so in my eyes, 30% is fair and reasonable.
I agree with you, when you said, "I'm pulling for Amazon as an e-book customer. I hope they win the right to continue to be able to discount e-books so they remain less expensive than paperbacks."
As an e-book customer, I find it ridiculous to pay the same price for an e-book that you'd pay for a print book. The only time I'd pay more than print prices for an e-book is if it were packaged to include printables, audio files, video files, coaching sessions, etc. or it's in an industry where the topic has yet to be covered in any real detail.
Books are overpriced. Retailers take too much margin. Publishers waste huge amounts on lavish parties and real estate. Most authors are underpaid. Digital offers a new business model that ultimately will be much better for authors and readers. Those in the middle, large publishers and large Barnes & Noble, are in trouble as these revolutionary digital changes wash through. I am proud the small digital publisher I founded, Publerati, pays our authors 80% of the royalty while we also donate from our share to help fund literacy. Controlling costs can allow more good writers to reach more readers eager for high quality and reasonably priced ebooks.
The best/real answer to this is to just go direct. Build your readership/fans and you don't need anyone in the middle.
I have never understood why publishers don't sell mobi format books directly from their websites. Tor even announced that it would start doing so last year but never followed through.
Here in Europe, Amazon are taking advantage of the tax system. It's a market that isn't as open from outside Europe as it seems. On ebooks, Amazon get a huge advantage by having physical servers in Europe.
David Gaughran explains this quite well. Publishers are so scared of piracy they have embraced DRM with a passion, even though it in ineffective, and that's their problem. Here's what David says:
While there are no restrictions on anyone selling mobi files, Kindle DRM is proprietary software, owned by Amazon. If publishers wish to place DRM on Kindle-compatible books, they can only sell those files in the Kindle Store.
Publishers' fear of piracy was so great that they chose not to sell direct to Kindle owners or indeed sell Kindle-compatible books through any non-Amazon retailer. In other words, it's publishers who are building the high walls around Amazon's garden through their insistence on DRM (applying it as a choice when selling on Amazon, not a requirement). This DRM-centric approach prevents publishers from doing all sorts of other things too, such as bundling print and digital, and it often leads them to place ridiculous restrictions on their authors who want (and need) to give free copies to reviewers.
The usual argument is that a lot of costs of producing a book, rather than a manuscript, are the same whatever form it is sold in. Printing does cost money. but it isn't the only cost.
And, however you look at it, self-publishing has to cope with Adam Smith's pin factory. Self-publishing gets in the way of writing. Which are you good at?
I am inclined to the view that the publisher has a place getting from manuscript to book, and there are several problems lurking behind this affair. Since the authors are not interchangable some generic management solutions may not work. Whatever Hachette are saying to Amazon, is the argument at one of those non-working scales? There are smaller organisations which have their label on the book. It isn't Hachette which deals with authors
But can you negotiate with Amazon if you're not the size Hachette is?
Hachette is the wholesaler, not a publisher.
Hugh, great post.
Agency didn't land the big publishers in trouble with the DOJ. Collusion/ price fixing got them into trouble. The DOJ made clear there is nothing wrong with agency. So this could still be what Hachette wants.
Another fantastic post. After being berated by Kensington and few literary agents on the PW website for voicing my opinion (which by the way is the same as your). I'm happy to know that I'm not the only one who thinks Hachette should have kept the bickering behind closed doors for their own sake. Demonizing Amazon only brings to light the publishing industries own questionable practices. The whole thing comes off like a really messy divorce and the Hachette authors are the kids watching the whole thing unfold.
Well, of course Hachette wants a return to the agency plan! It's also the only way of keeping an even playing field with Apple, Google, and other e-book retailers. You say the agency plan is like "practically no other retail agreement in any other industry." You ought to get out more. It's typical of the software industry. It's the way everything is done in the iTunes store: music, apps, books. And enforcing MRSP in retail is hardly uncommon. Look at the narrow band of prices that Apple enforces at its retailers. That was the approach that numerous industries took toward Amazon. Read Brad Stone's book. Publishers had bush league contract lawyers from the get-go, that's all.
Hugh, we are normally in agreement on most things, but I do want to address one things you said: "They would at the same time raise their e-book prices on Amazon so a sale there netted the same profit. This would keep earnings the same while driving consumers to other retailers."
You forget that indie authors can't do this. Amazon will price match any lower price at another retailer, so indies can't have a low price on google and a higher price at Amazon. I do agree they will find other avenues. In particular selling direct to their readers as indies are more engaged with their readership. But I just wanted to point out what I saw as a slight flaw.
Your argument seems largely centered around the idea that Amazon isn't a monopoly. Agreed. It is not a monopoly. It doesn't produce all of the books in the world. Heck, it barely produces any (and it does almost no work on those it does produce).
However, Amazon _is_ a monopsony. It is becoming a singular entity through which people purchase books. This is precisely why they can force publishers to push prices down with the tactics being used right now. Publishers can't go to another retailer to make up for sales lost through Amazon.
None of this is to say that big publishers are wonderful and helpful. They are also huge and terrible beasts that are harmful to authors. But with them, there is at least some modicum of competition. If Amazon is allowed to continue to grow like this, the only people who will win will be Amazon. It's foolish to think that customers or authors will benefit from having only one place from which books can be purchased.
Sorry Hugh – I think your insight and experience have been valuable contributions to the field, but I believe you are missing the point here.
(Since we're all speculating) my speculation is that Amazon couldn't care less about the details of any particular deal because the ONLY thing Amazon cares about is market share.
When indies – the group with the least negotiating clout – rally to the cause of a monopolist, you have to know that the monopolist has achieved market domination in deed if not in word. I've seen this dynamic in two other industries (well outside of publishing) and the end result is always the same: the market leader attains a position that allows them to effectively control and influence everything in that market, to the point where the vast majority of consumers don't even know that alternatives to the monopolist exist.
On the other side of the coin: those suppliers and content creators who are favored by the monopolist exist, those that fight "the good fight" are equally non-existent. They simply can not penetrate the market deeply enough to represent any real sense of competition.
Suppliers (authors in this case) getting "squeezed" is an inevitable consequence of the game plan Amazon seems to be embarked on. Once they have achieved market domination (according to their own internal definition of what that means), there are only (only) two ways for the company to continue to increase their profits: 1 – raise prices. 2 – lower costs.
Given the past history of such things, it's not unreasonable to assume that they aren't going to raise prices.
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text:
Sysload SP Analyst offers powerful means to control and analyze server performance. It provides real-time, continuous, fine-grained resource monitoring across Windows, Solaris, AIX, HP/UX, Linux, I-series, Citrix, Netware, and virtual machines (VMware Vi, IBM LPARs, Solaris X, I5 OS LPARs). It also provides incident and failure risk prediction and immediate analysis of the root cause of problems, allowing you to pinpoint the application(s) or user(s) responsible for server load increases.
MailCorral is a robust, high-performance virus/spam filter program that runs as part of sendmail using the milter interface. It handles all currently known malicious attachment types including HTML. It can be left running unattended, removing harmful attachments and notifying recipients by inserting text into processed messages. A backup copy of the original message is also kept for a fixed length of time. Spam identification is accomplished through connections to popular spam recognition packages.
GraphPak is a programming library of 2D and 3D charting objects for the Qt toolkit. It provides software developers with a set of C++ objects to easily create charts or graphs that aid in the visual presentation of technical and business data. This release includes Bar, Line, Pie, Ring, Area, Hi-Lo, Box and Whisker, and Polar charts. It is based on the KD Chart product from Klar�lvdalens Datakonsult AB.
Open Systems Accounting Software (OSAS) is an accounting and business management system. It is designed to be easy to learn and use. It is best suited for companies ranging in size from small companies with 12 users or less to mid-market companies. It comes with many modules for accounting, distribution, and reporting.
A micro Linux distribution for securely hosting a Tor server.
An IDE for Python.

subset: commoncrawl


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WatchTime Middle East is the local edition of America's most respected watch magazine and brings readers in the region the world of fine watches with thorough watch reports, hands-on reviews, in-depth features and collector, watchmaker and industry leader profiles making it a must-read for any discerning watch aficionado in the GCC. The English-language magazine is published 4 times a year in February, May, September and November.
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Fourche Valley High School Alumni
Briggsville, Arkansas (AR)
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Randy Defoor, '93
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Jerry Williams, '93
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Rebecca Newton (Thompson), '94
Jerry Garner (Ferguson), '58
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Gary Ashlock, '64
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So you caught up with some of our Indians at this years class reunion, don't lose touch again until the next get together! Take advantage of the upcoming holiday season and reach out to them. It can even be something as simple as wishing them "Happy Holidays"! Use the tools on this page to search for classmates that you have lost touch with over the years!
If you are searching for an old friend or your class list, enter in as much information as possible to receive the best search results. If you don't see people listed, send them an email or find them on other social sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and invite them to join our Fourche Valley High School Indians Alumni Site. We respect the privacy of our users and require people to sign in or sign up to see the list of our Fourche Valley High School alumni. Signing up is free and allows you more access to pages you weren't able to view before.
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Afternoon analysis 16.03.2016:
Rising inflation supports a tightening scenario in the US. Solid data from the Polish labor market. The zloty extended losses.
Today's report on inflation supported the tightening scenario in the US. In February, the price index increased 1 percent on an annual basis - more than the 0.9 percent forecast. In the prior month it stood at 1.4 percent. Moreover, the core inflation rate (a measure excluding volatile prices of food and energy) was higher than expected. The gauge stood at 2.3 percent against the 2.2 percent forecast. In the prior month the inflation rate stood at 2.2 percent.
The inflation numbers are very important for the Federal Reserve. As a result, the report supported the case for higher interest rates. Currently, the market consensus is for three hikes within the current year. However, just after the Fed raised rates in December 2015, the expectations were for four hikes.
The other reports were rather neutral. The number of building permits stood at 1167k against the 1200k forecast. The number of residential new-build permits increased to 1178k against the 1150k expected. Readings showed an ongoing expansion in the housing market.
However, a few parameters of the labor market still don't satisfy the Fed. The latest report on wages was disappointing. It showed a drop of the average wage in February. In addition, the data on consumption is weak. Retail sales dropped in February after negative revision in the prior month. Cited reports may negatively affect the inflation rate in the longer term.
Today's reports supported the dollar. The move may be strengthened if the Fed shows a more hawkish stance. A similar scenario may negatively affect the demand for risky assets.
Zloty declined
The labor market expansion is still very strong. Employment increased 2.5 percent on a yearly basis - more than 2.3 percent in the prior month. Moreover, the forecast was for 2.4 percent. Wages also exceeded the expectations. The average wage increased 3.9 percent against 4 percent in the last month. The forecast was for positive 3.8 percent. Today's data showed that the economic growth remains strong.
However, the core inflation data surprised. In February, the gauge that excludes volatile prices of food and energy, dropped 0.1 percent on a yearly basis. The expectations were from positive 0.1 percent. In the last month the core inflation stood at minus 0.1 percent. Yesterday's data on consumer prices also missed the forecast. The price index dropped 0.8 percent on a yearly basis against the negative 0.7 percent forecast. Moreover, the prior month data was revised down to 0.9 percent.
The latest inflation data was negative for the zloty. Yesterday's data spurred a broad decline of the zloty. The move continued today. Low inflation may resume the discussion on interest rate cuts in the short term. Moreover, if the Fed signals more hawkish stance, the demand for risky assets may falter. As a result, the zloty may decline even further.
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See also:
Alternative scenarios for today's Federal Reserve meeting and the hypothetical impact of this mee...
US households are still reluctant to spend money. The dollar dropped after the report on retail s...
Investors are preparing for the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday. The first phone survey, whi...
Solid numbers from the eurozone industry. The oil price resumed declines. The zloty is stronger a...


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If you're hunting for free birthday stuff, be sure you join the EZ's Brick Oven & Grill e-list.
They will send you a birthday coupon good for a free gourmet burger of your choice with any drink purchase!
You can use your birthday freebie either the week before or after your birthday for extra scheduling flexibility.
Join the EZ's Brick Oven & Grill e-list here.
Check out more great deals at San Antonio restaurants.


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"In my quest to find a frozen treat that was lighter on sugar and had whole fruits in it as well as being low in calories I started experimenting. I didn't want to use juice or kool-aid, I wanted the fiber from the fruit and a smooth creaminess in texture. An excellent snack."
Whole Fruit Berry-Lime Popsicles
0 recipe photos
READY IN:10hrs 10mins
YIELD:6 popsicles
Ingredients Nutrition
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 3 tablespoons organic sugar
- 1 1⁄4 cups thawed unsweetened strawberries
- 1 cup frozen unsweetened pineapple chunks
- 1 cup frozen unsweetened raspberries
- Have whatever you're going to make your popsicles in ready, I use little 5 ounce paper cups and popsicles sticks from the craft store.
- Measure and thaw out your strawberries for a minute and a half in the microwave. You want them to give to the touch but not be cooked.
- Put the sugar, lime juice, and strawberries in a blender and start it up on low speed.
- Quarter your pineapple chunks while it's blending.
- Once it's all mixed don't stop your blender, open up the little cap on the top and add a few pieces of pineapple letting them blend in a few seconds before adding more. You want it to incorporate, adding it all at once won't give you a smooth texture. Oh, you might want to put the lid back on quick after each time, it has a tendency to shoot up when you start… but that's part of the fun, right?.
- After all the pineapple is thoroughly blended in add a half a handful of raspberries at a time until blended in, repeat until they're all in, your mixture will start to get thick being semi-frozen… you may have to let it sit and warm up a little as you add the raspberries. Make sure your mixture is blended well before you turn off and taste it. This is key, if it's too tart for you or too sweet you want to adjust it now. A little more sugar or lime juice, you want to barely taste the lime. If your strawberries are tart this can mean putting in a little sugar for that as well.
- Pour equal amounts into five paper cups, if your mixture is pretty thick you can push in the sticks and they'll hold themselves up and put in the freezer. If not freeze them for half an hour to an hour until the sticks will hold up themselves.
- I let them sit overnight so I know they're completely frozen but you can judge for yourself when they're done.
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Home > Regions > Western & Pacific Region Industrial Directory > Industrial Automation & Controls - West
Industrial Automation & Controls - West
Assembly equipment, assembly lines, conveyor systems, assembly machinery, automation systems, custom automation machinery, factory automation equipment, machine automation, robotic cells, robotics, robotic automation & systems integration, actuators, load cells, sensors, etc. The Western & Pacific region includes CA, AZ, NV, UT, OR, WA, AK, HI.
Links to external, or third party websites, are provided solely for visitors' convenience. Links to other websites on this page do not imply either an endorsement nor an approval of those websites, of their content, or of the company or organization publishing at that website. Links taken to other sites are done so at your own risk and this site accepts no liability for any linked sites, for their content nor for their policies. This site does not give any representation regarding the quality, safety, suitability, or reliability of any external websites or any of the content or materials contained in them. It is important for users to take necessary precautions, especially to ensure appropriate safety from viruses, worms, Trojan horses and other potentially destructive items.
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To the editor: Sara Horowitz's opinion piece about freelancers seemed too good to be true. That's because it is.
First, not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. It takes a special breed of individual. Simply being out of a job is not a qualification. (Re "America's new way of work," Opinion, Aug. 26)
The millennials whom Horowitz so reverently chronicles as "freelancers" are likely still living with their parents, have little or no responsibilities and have had great trouble finding real work.
Horowitz states that millennials tend to value experiences more than things. I suspect that's mainly because they have no other choice.
As for the Bureau of Labor Statistics' failure to track freelancers, it actually does have a category -- it's called "unemployed."
In a perfect world, we could all be freelancers and never have to worry about where our next meal is coming from. As most of us who are grounded in reality already know, this is not a perfect world.
Charles Reilly, Manhattan Beach
Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion


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GREATER NEWBURYPORT, MA – Field of Honor – 2012
September 7-11, 2012 – Bartlet Mall (Greenleaf St.)
Greater Newburyport 2012 Field of Honor Flag Sales and Information Booth Volunteer Sign Up
The Exchange Club of Greater Newburyport
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Many of you Saw the Spectacular display of Flags at the Bartlet Mall last September and were touched by the sight and the emotional response felt as you viewed or walked through the field of flags. I personally was touched by the people that visited the Field of Honor and the stories about the person they were buying a flag in honor or memory of. It was by far the most meaningful event I've ever been involved with.
This year, The Exchange Club of Greater Newburyport will proudly present the 3rd annual Greater Newburyport Field of Honor. I am the volunteer chair for the flag and information booth at the Bartlet Mall during this years event September 7th through September 11th and I am looking for volunteers to man the booth with me during the event.
The dates and times are available as tickets so when you click on a date and time it will "sell" you a ticket at no cost, after you register, you will receive a confirmation email with the date and time you have chosen. It will say that you should print out your "ticket" and bring it with you on the day or days you are volunteering, there is no need to do this just make a note of it on your calendar.
Please pass this on to anyone you know that may also be interested in volunteering for this event.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at email@example.com
Thank you and I hope to see you at The Field of Honor.
Deb Zoltai
September 7-11, 2012 – Bartlet Mall (Greenleaf St.)
Event Schedule:
September 7th at 8:00am - Posting of Flags
September 9th at 12:00 Noon - Field of Honor Dedication Program
September 11th at 8:00am - Removal of Field
Flags must be picked up
Monday, September 10th from 5:00 – 8:00pm OR
Tuesday, September 11th from 8:00am – 1:30pm
What is Exchange?
Exchange is an all-volunteer national service organization for men and women who want to serve their communities, develop leadership skills, and enjoy new friendships. The first formal club was organized in 1911 by Charles A. Berkey, a Detroit wholesale jeweler. Four existing Exchange Clubs were incorporated into the National Exchange Club in 1917 in Toledo, Ohio. Today, Exchange is made up of some 800 clubs and 28,000 members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
The New England District Exchange Club was formed in 1966, and the Exchange Club of Greater Newburyport was re-founded by the Haverhill club in 1976 (an earlier club having been disbanded after WWII). The club meets twice a month for dinner meetings at the Starboard Galley. The Board of Directors meets once a month to conduct club business. The cost of Exchange, after an initial $20 initiation fee, is $35 a month, which includes the two dinner meals and both District and National dues.
The focus of Exchange is the prevention of child abuse, through both financial support and direct service. Exchange also provides other community services as local clubs see the need. In addition, Exchange celebrates the spirit and ideals of American citizenship.
Join millions of people on Eventbrite.
In order to purchase these tickets in installments, you'll need an Eventbrite account. Log in or sign up for a free account to continue.


text:
The chamber will host the "Voice of Business" show on Business RadioX
Wilmington | The Wilmington Chamber of Commerce has launched its own monthly radio show.
Once a month, the chamber will host the "Voice of Business" show on Business RadioX
Chamber officials said the show offers members of the business community and general public a new way to learn about important business issues, the chamber's work and area businesses.
The show on the Internet radio station will air live at 3 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month.
It also can be heard anytime at http://wilmington.businessradiox.com.
– Staff reports
Wells Fargo profit soars in 1st quarter
San Francisco | First-quarter profit for Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, surged 14 percent in the latest quarter as the bank continued to trim its losses on soured loans.
Net income after dividends on preferred stock rose to $5.6 billion in the January-March period from $4.9 billion a year earlier, the bank reported early Friday.
On a per-share basis, earnings were $1.05, well above the 97 cents forecast by Wall Street analysts.
Revenue in the first quarter fell to $20.6 billion from $21.3 billion a year earlier, in line with analysts' estimates.
Wells Fargo's East Coast division is headquartered in Charlotte.
– The Associated Press


text:
Diego Costa & Pedro train with Chelsea ahead of PSG clash
The two attackers were both present on Tuesday and appear likely to feature against the French champions at Stamford Bridge in a vital encounter for both sides
Chelsea have been handed a boost ahead of their Champions League last-16 second-leg fixture against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday as both Pedro and Diego Costa were able to take part in training.
The Blues trail 2-1 from the first leg, but after overcoming a 3-1 deficit against the same opponents two seasons ago can still harbour hopes of progression.
And those hopes have been boosted with the encouraging signs on the training ground, which suggest both of the forwards will be ready to play at Stamford Bridge.
Pedro went off early on during Saturday's 1-1 draw against Stoke in the Premier League having signalled to the bench discomfort with his hamstring.
Meanwhile, Spain striker Diego Costa, who this week has been linked with a potential transfer to the French champions, missed out entirely at the weekend as a precautionary measure due to a minor tendon injury.
The visitors went through on away goals after securing a 2-2 draw at this stadium in last season's round of 16, and you can get odds of 12/5 (3.40) on them progressing to the quarter-finals via another stalemate this time out.
With an entertaining encounter in prospect, bet365 are making matters even more exciting by offering to match all pre-game wagers of up to £50 on the game with a risk-free bet of the same stake to be used on any in-play market.
While they may have succumbed to a late Edinson Cavani winner, the Blues will have been relatively happy with a first-leg performance that leaves everything to play for in this return encounter.
Having achieved what every other Champions League visitor (including Real Madrid) had failed to accomplish in French capital this season by finding the net, the Premier League outfit now need just a 1-0 victory to progress.


text:
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
Will all worlds have nether fortresses?
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- Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
- Will all worlds have nether fortresses?
imthestuntman 4 years ago#1
just wondering if this is because im not finding them or because there arent any in the world...
if anyone has a sort of nether fortress finder i could try or any tips that would also be appreciated
Hawkeye485 4 years ago#2
Nopers, it's a randomly generated structure, not every world will have one. As for finding them, I can't really give anything ^_^" But it's the only building that'll be in the Nether so... There's that :3
GT: EclipseRider485
imthestuntman (Topic Creator)4 years ago#3
thats what i was afraid of :/ it sucks not being guaranteed the ability to make potions. It seems like we should be guaranteed at least 1 per seed :(
ZosKiaCultus 4 years ago#4
We definitely need a bit of an increase in map size to help boost our chances of finding stuff like this and biomes. Nothing crazy huge, but any increase would be nice.
http://i.minus.com/iyi2ItPQPd3Pm.gif Marn liiiiike
http://last.fm/user/AnathemaOfZos Gamertag: aGeorgeDivided
Atomic_Porkchop 4 years ago#5
Agreed, increased map size is a must. It's not challenging and I have very little fear when I can cruise across the map and make it just about anywhere when dusk hits in time.
GT5_Lover_JC 4 years ago#6
I've always relied to simple seeds for my gaming in minecraft,and here's a good one!
just enter the seed 1 and when you'll get to the nether,there's a large fortress inside!! :3
Another good idea to find these fortresses is to go on creative mode,create a nether portal on the start,then explore the nether.
If there's none,you can always alter one of your seeds' number and do the same,until there's one.
Once you'll find one,create the same map (same seed) then go on survival,and you're ready for some super awesomeness!! ^^
Hope that'll help! :D
I like GT5 mainly,but i also play lots of other games,including it's rival Forza,which i think is equally as awesome. I love racing,FPS,RPG,and SRPG games! :D
Nevermind. Third times a charm. And considering the size of the fortress the third attempt found, there's no way the first one had one. Way too much open area to hide it. Now to just find a stronghold. On a map that's half water, so no ravines to help the search.
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that know binary, and those that don't.
Gamertag: Talon Omega
guitarman169420 4 years ago#9
Talon5967 posted...
Is there a tool that would help with finding a Nether Fortress, like the slime finder tools? I really don't want to give up on my current world. I went all over the Nether using creative mode, but haven't found anything.
What I did before I started my survival world was start a new world in creative mode. I flew around the map to make sure it had everything I wanted first. Then I built a nether portal and flew around the nether until I saw a nether fortress and blaze spawner. This takes about 5 minutes. Then when you find what you're looking for, you just write down the seed and make a new world in survival.
You can do this in reverse for your needs by starting a new world in creative, building a nether portal, and flying around to try and find a fortress.
X-Box 360 Gamertag - Guiitar Man
Currently Playing: Minecraft:360, Left 4 Dead 2, CoD: Black Ops
guitarman169420 posted...
Talon5967 posted...Is there a tool that would help with finding a Nether Fortress, like the slime finder tools? I really don't want to give up on my current world. I went all over the Nether using creative mode, but haven't found anything.
Yeah, like I said above, the first time I found a nether fortress I realized how easy they are to find. I've also figured out the easy way to find a stronghold: the ender eye (I forget exactly how it's worded). Always leads me to one. Now I just have to find a seed that has everything I want.
I had one that a huge nether fortress, but the stronghold I was lead to was the smallest of all the ones I've seen (it had an Ender Portal, but that was it). Another had a massive stronghold (bigger than all the previous ones put together), but no fortress. Every other seed has too few villages (I want at least three, preferably more), or has too much water.
The last one I tried almost covers all the requirements. Six villages, lots of land to work with, almost all biomes (as far as I know) except for mushroom, a gigantic stronghold, and a huge nether fortress. Only the fortress has no netherwart that I can find. And the stronghold looks like an earthquake hit it. Caves punch through in multiple locations. Some rooms are so messed up I'm not even sure what they were supposed to be. Though one of those caves does open it up to what appears to be a large mineshaft network.
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those that know binary, and those that don't.
Gamertag: Talon Omega
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- Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
- Will all worlds have nether fortresses?
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text:
ROB Lakin starred with bat and ball as relegated Snainton's charge to return to the Beckett League Division A at the first attempt gathered pace.
Snainton hammered rock-bottom Cayton 2nds to move top of the table on 38 points following a strong start to their season.
Snainton took first knock and quickly stamped their authority on the Cayton attack.
Jason Oakley notched 54 and and Dave Bell fell just short of his half-century when he was dismissed for 47.
Lakin came to the crease and smashed 85 to put together a stand of 110 with Bell and carry Snainton to 261.
Darren Jones was the main man with the ball for the home side, taking 4-60, while Danny Woodhead (3-51) and Steve Farnaby (3-66) also pitched in with wickets.
Lakin then turned his attentions to the ball, taking 5-34 as Cayton never made Snainton sweat as wickets tumbled at regular intervals.
Paul Kinghorn also got stuck into the Cayton batting line up as his 5-24 helped Snainton skittle out their hosts for just 58 to complete a miserable afternoon for Cayton.


text:
Art Customized for Your Workplace!
A work space reflects the business's personality and culture. Art can enhance the brand as well as productivity. We specialize in custom size, custom color and spot-on artwork to support your branding, enhance work spaces and improve productivity. Whether we are creating new artwork from your Mission Statement or Core Values for all to see on a daily basis, or simply updating existing artwork with new frames to update your look – we can and will solve your art decorating problems.
Local Art / Artists
Adding quality local art to your business truly shows that you value the community where you've chosen to make your presence. We can assist with sourcing pieces from local artists, restoring local historical images, etc. and producing them to be consistent with your theme and decor. This art piece was a small black and white drawing that we color enhanced and made ginormous, printed on canvas and then finished with a custom created frame.
Framing Services:
In 2013 My Favorite Art Place brought quality framing services in house when we joined with Image Creations of Florida (ICF). ICF has been providing quality art and framing nationwide since the late 1980s. Having the framing facility under the same roof allows for quality products with a fast turnaround at an affordable price. Now My Favorite Art Place's clients can have the choice to frame their fine art prints, canvases, collages, etc. all at the same place.
3D Collages
3D Collages are a fun way to show the history of your company, your product line, company activities, etc. We intersperse words, pictures and graphics in an interesting way that will not only engage the viewer but will help to communicate your marketing message. This is a piece we were retained to create for the City of Clearwater's Centennial.
2D Timelines
Do you want to decorate your walls with custom artwork based on your industry and marketing goals? We can help. Here is a timeline of the Milestones in Computer history – that resides in an IT company's lobby – 38″ tall x 72″ long. It showcases everything that was important to the start of this company's industry.
Statement Art
Lobbies, Reception Areas, Conference Rooms, etc often need a Statement Piece designed with the decor style, Mission / Vision of the company to communicate to clients, vendors and employees about the company. We have worked with hundreds of businesses designing the perfect art piece for their highly visible places.
Multi Panel Artwork
Multi Panel Artwork is a great way to have a single image span a very large wall without overwhelming the space. Or, in this case, the wall was not flat but was 3 different levels. We broke up this image of the Bay Bridge so it worked with the space available.
Cluster Artwork
Cluster Artwork is a great way to show multiple images in a collection. Be they funky colored canvas art of local hotspots or traditionally framed historical images that communicate your past, we can design and produce based on the intended mood of your space. This cluster was one of a series for conference rooms of a SF Tech company.
Custom Mirrors
Having your logo within the design of a strategically spaced mirror provides both form and function! This example shows custom metal work to enhance the framing of the logo on the mirror. We created 6 logo styled mirrors for this Mediterranean Restaurant.
Motivational Artwork:
Whether it is traditional Motivational Images or custom created Vision Boards made by your team members, My Favorite Art Place is on board to create the perfect message to motivate and share your company's Corporate Culture. This is the result of a Vision Board exercise with Laser Spine's marketing department. These canvases reside in the corporate office and communicate the goals of the department.
Word Art
Word art is a way of taking your Mission / Vision statements and turning it into artwork for all to see and remember. This piece is part of a collection created for Republic National Distributing Company. Each of the 5 pieces represents one of their Core Values. The background of each piece speaks to the history of the company.
Murals are a great way to fill a large wall while staying true to your corporate theme. This 8ft x 12ft historical art piece resides in a local Starbucks. The tiffany-style clock in the historical mural is still working right outside the window!
Awards & Accolades
Display of Awards & Accolades is a great way to communicate what is important to the company. Here is a custom designed framed series for a local Northwestern Mutual company. As each person reaches a new level in their business, their name and new designation gets added to the "The Wall of Fame. " Motivation? Yes!
Art Prints
Sometimes what is needed in a hallway or a meeting area is simply a fine art print that aligns with the decor and feel for the corporate culture. If this is what is needed, then we can assist. We have literally thousands of art prints in inventory ready to be framed and delivered.
Do We Ship?
Yes – weekly we ship pallets of artwork across the country. We even ship internationally.
For more information, contact us at 727-726-7411 / 844 Art Place or send us an email. We look forward to working with you.


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Is Kylie Jenner still 'heartbroken' over split from Tyga?
Kylie Jenner's rumoured relationship with singer PartyNextDoor, whose real name is Jahron Anthony Brathwaite, is said to be only for a show as she is still "heartbroken" over her split from rapper Tyga.
Kylie Jenner
"Kylie has really been a complete mess this past week. She tries to pretend like she is this fearless human being and that nothing can faze her. But, in reality, she just got her heart broken by the first love of her life," said a source.
The source added, Kylie 'does not know how to handle this, or what to do' but she does know that she never wants anything to do with Tyga again.


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Contact Info / Websites
Recent Movie Reviews
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Even though there are soo many fucking gangnam style parodies this is my favorite, well done.
No Service
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Awesome :)
It kind of reminds me of SecretAgentBobs type of animations and voices, and was thought up very well! Just keep doing what you are doing, and don't try to animate something that you wouldn't like yourself. Stick with your gut feeling!
Anyways great job!
Zombie Q
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Did I see a picture of someone flash when he opened one of the doors?Looked like George Bush... Naa, i'm just seeing things. Anyways,nice flash!
Recent Game Reviews
Emo Vs. Happiness
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Good Game
I honestly don't see why everyone hates it I found it really enjoyable!
Thank you, just wish there weren't so many trollers on NG :(
Letz Maek A Flash Gaem
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Sweet game, um.....
I broke my keyboard and mouse while playing the game and was wondering if you could send me some new ones...KTHXBAI.
Jk, great game, great concept, great test, and great time killer. 5/5 10/10 :P
Vuvu Hero
Rated 5 / 5 stars
This made my day
Haha thanks for making this game! And woot I got 2nd in Girl Chan!
Recent Audio Reviews
[GZ] Dream Trance
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Great job! Hope to see you make more!
Thanks so much dude :) thanks for the nice review!
Get Below [Full]
Rated 5 / 5 stars
This deserves more listens than it has, 5/5 10/10
Yep, i know T~T thx!
Song of time test- DJS
Rated 3.5 / 5 stars
That was cool
Song Critiqued By ~Iownyoujk~(Be sure to check out my songs if you aren't busy!)
Rating: 4
Fav Part Of Song: Everything
Part that needs work:Nothing
Extra Comments: Keep up the good work! I don't know what instrument that was,but it sounds awesome.
Recent Art Reviews
Memories of Hiroshima
Rated 4 / 5 stars
Good Picture
I read your description. Nuclear warfare is horrible, but don't forget that pearl harbor was attacked by surprise and innocent people were killed too. The US didn't just bomb Hiroshima for no reason. While it of course wasn't the fault of the innocent people in Hiroshima, it also wasn't the fault of the innocent people in Pearl Harbor.
I'm just gonna leave it like this: yes, the nuclear bomb killed thousands, but don't forget that pearl harbor was bombed first and innocent people were killed there too. You should make a picture of pearl harbor and list some facts there too if you truly have any respect for the innocent and not just Japan.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was in most respects unjustifiable. True, the US at the time was not making attempts to be on the best relations with Japan, but blame in my view does lie on Japan both for being belligerent and not sticking with negotiations, as well as on its ambassadors for their famous mishap in not delivering their ultimatum before the bombing.
Nonetheless, I believe that the bombing of Pearl Harbor cannot approach the devastation of Hiroshima in any way. There were innocent people in each area, yes, but total casualties in Pearl Harbor numbered less than 2500. Only 57 of those were civilians. It was unjustified, but it was largely a military operation. Pearl Harbor was attacked to cripple the american naval and air forces in the Pacific. Hiroshima was attacked to make use of, test out, and to a point - show off a new weapon. The injuries sustained by the survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack were in large part not comparable (in my opinion) to the burns and radiation poisoning inflicted on the citizens of Hiroshima. I find it particularly disturbing that the US was not fully aware of how the bomb would affect humans when it was used.
In any case, I'm glad we could have this discussion, and a Pearl Harbor picture isn't a bad idea at all. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.


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I thought that I had researched the N10 enough to commit to placing an order. Now that I've found this forum, I'm not so sure I should have.
With all the issues of frozen screens and random reboots, is the N10 a good enough tablet to put up with the bugs? Also, can someone confirm whether the micro HDMI to VGA adapter works with a projector? I teach and really wanted to integrate the N10 into my lectures. Bottom line, should I give it a try or should I cancel my order?


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04/07/2014 Other Services
Sponsored Ads
Oforo.com, is a recently launched free classified ad website based in UAE. Posting free classified ads can be really beneficial for your business, as it can advertise your products and services online for free. So, you don't have to worry about the advertising expenses and at the same time, your business gets popular. UAE consists of seven emirates - which includes, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah.
If you are publishing your advertisement in Dubai's newspaper, there are chances that people in Abu Dhabi might not notice it. So, to make your classified ad available to the masses all over UAE, you need to place your classified ad online on a website which is specifically for UAE. Many times it happens that your target market is only UAE and you need not market your localized business out of UAE. In that case, you can post a free classified ad in UAE based website, http://www.oforo.com.
How to Post Free Classified ad on oforo.com?
Just make sure that you have posted your free classified ad in the right category. For example if you are planning to sell your car, then your advertisement should be placed in automobiles category because people wanting to buy new car or used car in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi or finding for cars for sale in Dubai will search in that category only. Similar is for people searching for jobs in UAE. If you have a job vacancy in your company, you can post a classified ad in jobs offered category for jobs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi jobs etc.
As there are many people every year coming to UAE for jobs and business, renting a property is a very common issue over there. Amongst all the emirates of UAE, Dubai is having the best lifestyle and so people search for Dubai property on rent or Dubai property for sale to settle down in Dubai comfortably. Abu Dhabi, being the capital of UAE also attracts many expats who search for Abu Dhabi villas for rent.
No matter whether you need to rent the property in UAE or place ad for bike for sale in Dubai, used furniture for sale in Dubai, baby items for sale in Dubai etc., you need to post a classified ad online which can get you more business.


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Being a parent is hard. It's hard when everything is going well, when there is money in the bank and when the kids are acting like you want them to act.
Being a parent is hard.
But it's really hard when your kid is sick. I don't mean the kind of sickness that goes away in a few days with antibiotics. I mean the kind of sickness that keeps you up through the night, the kind of sickness that makes you feel like your second home is a children's hospital and the kind of sickness that often makes you struggle with trusting God's plan as you push your son's wheelchair past a bunch of healthy kids playing soccer.
Being a parent is hard.
And it's especially hard when you have to be a parent to your parent. It's hard when, instead of going to your dad for a few words of wisdom, you have to somehow find the right balance between honor and firmness so that he'll take his medicine. It's hard when dementia has him thinking that you're stealing all of his money when in reality you're trying to save him from financial ruin. And it's hard when you continually have to pretend to have it all together while one of your greatest examples of human strength slowly withers away.
Being a parent is hard.
When you find yourself in the position of caring for a sick loved one, you are in a constant battle of questioning your decisions. Was it a lack of compassion or was it wisdom to refuse that last treatment? Am I an evil person for looking forward to the end of the day when I can finally unwind? Should I even consider a nursing home?
Through all of the questions, doubts and sleepless nights, there is something that you need to know. You are never more like Jesus than you are when you serve suffering people for the glory of God.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27 (ESV)
If you've spent anytime in a good church, you've heard that verse before. It has been used countless times to motivate Christians to consider orphans and widows around the world. And that's a good thing. But you are not somehow less Christlike when the widow you are ministering to happens to be your own mother. In fact, caring for your those under your care is foundational to what it means to follow Jesus.
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 1 Timothy 5:8 (ESV)
It's hard to be the parent of a sick child. It's hard to be the parent to your parent. And I don't have all of the answers. The Bible doesn't tell us which doctor to choose and which treatment option is best. But God does provide grace and wisdom for those decisions (James 1:5-8). And God is glorified through you as you struggle to wear the many hats of parent, child and primary care physician.
He is glorified through your nights spent comforting your sick mother after that day's cancer treatment did a number on her body.
He is glorified through you when you tie your child's shoes while other kids his age are driving to school.
He is glorified through you when you fix washing machines, cut grass, plunge toilets, balance checkbooks and all of the other things that your dad used to do for your mom before cancer took him away.
He is glorified most through you when you are acting like Jesus.
And there is no better way to act like Jesus than to take care of the suffering people he has put in your life. So don't let discouragement or worry get the best of you.
Keep going.
Keep caring.
Keep serving.
Keep praying.
Keep shining the light of Christ before your suffering relatives who otherwise may never see it.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 (ESV)