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Ten years ago, on November 19th, 2007, Amazon introduced Kindle to the world, for US$399. It sold out in five and a half hours, even though there were just 88,000 books available for download. The device remained out of stock for five months until late April 2008. Today, the store has over 7 million e-books available in the United States.
However, that’s hardly Kindle’s greatest success: that honor goes to the fact it released the creativity of millions of writers, allowing them to publish their manuscripts directly on Amazon’s store without having to wait for a publisher’s approval.
Standing On The Shoulders Of Sony
The Kindle’s development started in 2004 when Jeff Bezos tasked his employees to build the world’s best e-reader before Amazon’s competitors could. He had good reason to be wary, as Sony had already released Librie and the long-forgotten Rocket eBook was starting to gain traction with a lightweight and portable device that used an innovative “electronic ink” display to take the pain out of reading books on a screen.
More importantly, it was affordable and subsequent iterations got progressively cheaper, culminating with the ad-supported Kindle 5 in 2012, which sold for just US$70.
Putting extra pressure on print books was the fact that, before Kindle, one might have to wait weeks for a new hardback to be delivered to them. The Kindle reduced that wait to seconds. At last, innovation had come to the book business.
The Indie Revolution
I always wonder if Amazon knew that the Kindle would spark a self-publishing revolution that would change how the books are created, distributed, and sold. For the first time, Kindle Direct Publishing allowed writers to skip publishers and sell their works straight to consumers. E-books could be sold for as low as 99 cents, with Amazon keeping just a small cut rather than the lion’s share, as publishers generally do.
Low prices and the fact that Kindle was able to protect the copyright of the author may be why, unlike TV, games, or movies, the book industry has sailed through the age of piracy with comparative ease. Amazon established, fairly quickly, that customers were willing to pay to legally enjoy a new work of fiction.
Many well-known writers were happy to exchange restrictive contracts for the Indie’s freedom, while many more – not having to go through a publisher gatekeeper – got themselves discovered. A lucky few even became overnight self-publishing sensations. Authors also experimented with new storytelling formats and business models, including shorter works and serialized chapters released at regular intervals, with various payment options.
So, let’s raise a toast to Kindle and wish it many happy returns!
The Story Reading Ape said:
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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Toni Pike said:
Incredible have far things have come in ten short years. Thanks, as always, for posting this interesting article, Nicholas.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you, Toni! Our generation has lived through more changes than others could only dream of!
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Alexis Rose said:
This is so interesting! Im very grateful for Kindle. The majority of my books sell from their platform.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Same here 🙂
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Marcia said:
Very interesting, Nicholas. I’m raising a cup of Earl Grey to Kindle, even as I type. (And don’t think that isn’t tricky!) Even though I still buy a ton of print books for my library, and so I can pet the pretty covers, I read almost exclusively on my Kindle, and love it! And without KDP, I’d still be spending my days gardening. I am very grateful for the opportunity to realize my dream of writing–and selling!–books. Hooray for Kindle! 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – just be careful you don’t spill some of that Earl Grey on your keyboard 😀
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Marcia said:
Reblogged this on The Write Stuff and commented:
Happy Birthday, Kindle! A very interesting post from Nicholas Rossis. Check it out. 🙂
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OIKOS™-Redaktion said:
Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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tidalscribe said:
Thanks, I think you have summed it up very well and for me I’ve just realised it coincides with my ten years of serious writing. Being a technophobe, actually publishing on Amazon Kindle seemd like a dream, but I published a novel in 2012, now have eight books on Kindle and I am busy publishing them as paperbacks through Amazon Kindle.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Woot–congrats 😀
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Pingback: Amazon Kindle Is 10-Years-Old Today | Campbells World
tidalscribe said:
Reblogged this on Times and Tides of a Beachwriter and commented:
Nicholas sums up perfectly what Amazon Kindle means for readers and writers. It’s my fifth anniversary of publishing on Kindle.
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maliaann said:
Reblogged this on Writing for the Whole Darn Universe.
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Mary Smith said:
Happy Birthday, Kindle. It has certainly changed my life as both a writer and a reader.
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tidalscribe said:
Yes indeed and the latest book I read on my Kindle was ‘No More Mulberries’ which I loved and reviewed on Goodreads and Amazon.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I’ve bought it and am looking forward to reading it!
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Mary Smith said:
So pleased you enjoyed No More Mulberries and thank you for the review. .
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
And many happy returns 🙂
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Bette A. Stevens said:
Three Cheers to Kindle! 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Hip hip!
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kimwrtr said:
Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Blog.
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Don Massenzio said:
Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
Happy Birthday, Amazon Kindle. Check out the details in this post from Nicholas Rossis’ blog
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Matthew C Seufer said:
People seem to like my (Ebook) due to the book is all inspirational color photos
witnessed,dated,and taken by only one individual. I am so blessed. Thank You Amazon!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I’m glad to hear it. And yes, thank you, Amazon 🙂
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