Amazon - author's angst over

My book is now back on the online giant's systems

*Update on Monday September 18th.

Over the weekend, Ruskin Park became available again to purchase as a hardback from Amazon, first with a ten day delivery period, now arriving the next day. I know it is working because two copies I ordered for friends last week when the book was out of stock were delivered on Sunday. Although I am still unclear about just what went wrong I am hugely grateful to Amazon, my publisher and the distribution company for sorting things out. Now, please click here to order the book described by the Observer as 'a captivating family detective story - and a poignant social history of Britain.’

Last Friday was the most exciting day in my career as an author. My memoir Ruskin Park, which I wrote about last week, rose as high as 12 on the Amazon bestseller list. It is hard to describe how important Amazon, responsible for around 50% of book sales in the UK, is to the success of any title and how obsessively authors track its  progress on the site.

My first book Dot Bomb;The Rise and Fall of Dot Com Britain was published on September 9th 2001, which turned out to be bad timing, given what happened two days later. My second Always On, published in 2021, did reasonably well, appearing briefly as an Amazon bestseller in some obscure category, but was never going to be a challenger in the charts.

I’m proud of both of those books but Ruskin Park was a far more personal project, so I had a lot more invested in its success. I hoped that plenty of people would connect with the story of my indomitable mother, while fearing that it might sink without trace - “who wants to read about somebody’s old mum?”

Ruskin Park, on its way up to 12 in the Amazon chart

But to my delight, extremely positive reviews in the Times, the Observer, and the Sunday Times helped trigger a wave of pre-orders and when publication day arrived last Thursday the news from my excellent publisher September was encouraging - sales looked very promising. On Friday I was in the  BBC Breakfast studio talking about the book, then sat on the train back looking at what seemed a miracle - a double page spread in the Daily Mail which had named it ‘Book of the Week’.  I  checked my Amazon ranking  and found I was number 30 on their bestseller list - wow, I’d been told that getting into the top 1000 would be an achievement. 

Messages from friends told me Ruskin Park had climbed even higher to number 12. Then that evening, as I checked the Amazon site for the nth time, I noticed something strange. Amazon itself was no longer selling the book, although it was still available from third-party sellers using its platform. Perhaps it is good news, I thought - they’ve run out and are rushing to restock.

But on Saturday, the situation had not changed. My publisher was reassuring - Amazon still had plenty of copies in stock but sometimes there was a wrinkle getting them on the system.

On Sunday, the wrinkle remained - perhaps Amazon’s systems slowed down over the weekend, unlikely as that seemed, and everything would be tickety-boo on Monday.

But no, Monday morning showed no change on the website - Amazon itself was still not selling Ruskin Park, nor even allowing customers to order it. Apparently, third party sales from outlets such as Books Etc were very strong, and plenty of people were buying the audiobook and Kindle versions. But without direct sales from Amazon the book had disappeared from the top 100 list - and that is important. Just appearing  in the chart means people are more likely to notice your book and if it drops out, momentum is lost.

Third party sellers - but no Amazon deals

On Tuesday, still nothing - except the top offer listed was for a “used - like new” copy of Ruskin Park delivered by next Monday, with others offering delivery around the end of the month. But my publisher has encouraging news - Amazon says its latest consignment of the book should be on its system within 24 hours.

At 0345 on Wednesday I am awake - not unusual for me since my Parkinson’s diagnosis - and of course check Amazon on my phone. There is a ray of hope - Ruskin Park is “temporarily out of stock” but available to order. I quickly press “buy” and order a copy for a friend. An email arrives telling me that I will be informed when it is dispatched.

I grab a few hours more sleep but by the time I check again we are back to the status quo ante - you cannot get or even order the book from Amazon, no free delivery for Prime customers, just a few offers with delivery dates  stretching into October.

The latest from the publisher is that there are at least two consignments of Ruskin Park lost somewhere in the Amazon solar system, somehow unable to land. As you can imagine getting information out of the tech giant isn’t easy.

Now elsewhere, from Waterstones to a whole range of independent booksellers, sales have been excellent and many readers have been in touch to say how much they have  enjoyed Ruskin Park.

So why worry about Amazon, I hear you ask. Well, love it or hate it, the tech giant has revolutionised the book industry and is the dominant force within it. Yet any publisher will tell you that stories like mine are not uncommon. Amazon might seem like the most impressive logistical operation on the planet but it still fouls up and is far from transparent. And when that happens we need to call it out.

I have contacted Amazon for comment.