Indie booksellers are in a rage after the title “Obama’s Challenge” was released exclusively at Amazon before anyone else could get their hands on it. Some were more outspoken than others attacking publisher Chelsea Green with reasonable ire, but others took it to a whole other level. B&N actually canceled their 10,000 copy order [that’s going to hurt the sales team at CG] in protest, basically boycotting what will be a successful book as punishment for CG’s backhanded dealings.
This won’t affect us TOO much so the vitriol is dialed down, but this kind of exclusivity, should it become more commonplace, won’t exactly make booksellers love Chelsea Green. For that matter, with B&N leading the way, it would be surprising if other booksellers didn’t take the hint and get on board for next time.
The reason this is such a problem is that this book is poised to make some noise in the book market. This summer, two of the 5 bestsellers in this area (hardcover non-fiction) have been Obama bashing books, namely, current #1 seller Obama Nation and current #6 The Case Against Barack Obama. With the wild popularity of this polarizing figure, the time for a well-written positive book to come out is now, where sales will be massive in counter to these bashing books sales. The lucrative nature of this means that Amazon paid a premium for this exclusivity and that it hurts local and indie stores even more on a guaranteed success.
