So I saw Sherman Alexie on Colbert. He is a great writer with more guts in him than just about anyone I can think of, and if you don't believe me find his ten minute lecture on you tube from 2001, you'll see an example of the courage of a Native American. It is unfortunate he seems to be loosing some of his splendid Northwestern Indigenous patois, but that is beside the point. He doesn't allow his new book to be sold on Kindle. For him, it's about digital privacy and royalty payments for the most part, but here's another scary little gem I came across.
Say there is a "mistake" in the "first printing" of your book. Kindle plans on always selling the latest version. That's right...without the permanence of the paper page they will be continuously selling the um..."corrected" version.
When I was young, like all boys, I was mesmerized by the Hardy Boys. GAWD, I was horrified to find 30 years later while browsing the same book I had owned that the fellows had joined a ROCK BAND! In a book with the same title! Cripes...nothing is sacred. I don't remember if they had their fat friend Chet playing the drums, but I think so. I shudder. I didn't want my heroes to be practicing in the garage in a lousy group that probably sounded like the Monkees or the Jonas Brothers or whoever...I wanted them chasing scoundrels in outdated language and wearing outdated knickers while they chased them. It was atmospheric and exciting.
Use a Nancy Drew analogy if you like.
So what's to prevent Kindle from "correcting" something stupid a stupid politician says in a subsequent "edition" of the one for sale today. Or changing (they'll call it "updating") a statistic to more "accurately" reflect a situation?
There is a REASON books on paper stay the same. Because they are BOOKS.
