Three Hundred Dollars to Upload a Book

 ??

Spending far too much time on social media can turn a person cynical. I have a curated list on X that includes only those users I consider the best. But lately, those folks aren't talking about what I'm currently interested in, so I've gravitated over to the "For You" section. While it presents a wide variety of viewpoints, some posts are clearly clickbait, so I scroll past them, even if they're mildly intriguing. Because once you engage with those, they're all you're going to see from that point on.

Anyway...there's a Substack I began following recently, only because it was recommended by another Substack, which is how I find these things. I'm not about to scroll through thousands of accounts to try to find something interesting. This guy is purportedly a book marketer/writer. He recently posited that (to combat AI-written books) KDP should start charging authors $300 to upload a book. This proposal is so "out there" that I began to suspect it was clickbait. But I'm fairly certain the guy is serious. He states that the $300 would be refundable once a title earns $500 in royalties.

Needless to say, his post garnered a lot of comments---none positive. I even commented, and I never comment on Substack posts.

The way I see it, he cavalierly wants to punish indie writers for the fact that AI books are so prevalent. Is it possible he's a bit too overly concerned with AI? I'm not seeing AI stealing sales from me. My sales are putrid, regardless of whether machine-written books exist or not. Plus, readers are not stupid. (Well, they're stupid for not buying my books, but...) 😎

The ability to relate to people in lesser circumstances is sorely lacking among a certain class. Three hundred dollars is (almost) an entire car payment for me. So, sure! Let me throw away hundreds of dollars that I need to maintain my meager existence on a flash in the pan book that's only going to net me about $100, lifetime. If I'm not willing to do that, why, I have no business writing at all! How dare I! Silly Poor!

Now, after the pushback, he's doubling down. He claims that the negative comments came from AI publishers (thanks), and that his article "sent many authors into a panic". Do I look panicky? Pissed off, sure. 

In essence, the guy is stating that because KDP isn't gatekeeping the way he wants it to, he's appointing himself the new gatekeeper. Next time I (hypothetically) write a book, I'll be sure to run the manuscript past him to find out if it's worth parting with my non-existent $300.

I don't know that I'm even understanding the point he's trying to make. Is it actually condescension disguised as concern? His follow-up post didn't erase my confusion. He did note that he was "taking names" of the respondents, and that his proposal was really for us, you see. If I'm misunderstanding him, that's his fault. As a writer, which he claims to be, he needs to delineate his ideas more clearly. As for his Excel sheet of names, hey, you do you, guy! 

Perhaps he's a sincere broker who's troubled by the glut of AI books. That's fine. I'm personally not going to lose any sleep over them, but maybe I'm the one who's wrong. But looking at the issue as a book buyer, if I was fooled into purchasing an AI-written book, I'd be furious...and much more cautious next time around.

But you see, we little people aren't smart enough to figure things out on our own.