I have a bunch of messages asking me to weigh in on the Amazon-Hachette squabble. Well, I would if I felt I understood it well enough to have a firm opinion. I do note that most of my author friends are siding with Hatchette so that might well be where I'd land…but that's only if I really felt I had a grasp of the issues, which I don't. Yet. So far, I like the analogy where you're standing on the street watching King Kong and Godzilla fighting to the death atop some skyscrapers and someone comes up to you and asks, "Which side are you rooting for?"
The correct answer is, "Neither! I'm just hoping neither one crushes me."
I read the latest Amazon statement and taken just by itself, it seems to make a lot of sense except where it tries to invoke and misquote George Orwell. And then I read the latest Hachette statement and taken just by itself, it seems to make a lot of sense. When taken together, you find yourself thinking the truth is somewhere in the middle…and that's not necessarily right, either.
I think it's a natural human trait to seek truth in the center but it's not always there. If Stanley thinks Oliver owes him $300 and Oliver thinks he owes Stanley $100, the truth is not automatically $200. One of those guys may just be totally wrong. People try to settle disputes like that all the time and it's sometimes applicable…but not always. Imagine we were arguing over when Abraham Lincoln was born and I said 1809 and you said 1813. That would not mean Honest Abe was born in 1811.
I'm going to wait and see if (a) I learn enough about what this is all about to have an opinion or (b) I don't have to because it gets settled soon. The latter would be nice for all concerned and it would save me the time 'n' trouble of understanding it all.