Goodreads, Amazon and Overreactions

I usually ignore these sorts of things, but lately this topic has been in my face a lot lately. For those of you who don't know, Amazon recently purchased Goodreads. Goodreads (GR) is a website designed for readers to interact with each other and post reviews of any books they read. Some books you can buy directly from GR, others you can get via links to Amazon, B&N, etc. Either way, it's MOSTLY designed for readers. Authors can get on there too and post their books and advertise (for a price)...bla bla bla doesn't matter. If you're an avid reader, I'd suggest checking out the site, it's pretty solid.

As an author, I have to deal with a lot of info being thrown at me about the business. Lately, because of this acquisition, all I've been reading/seeing is "OMG Amazon is going to ruin GR and monopolize the book industry!" You know what, they might. They might also leave GR the way it is, allow people to enjoy it as they always have, and profit off an already successful site. In either case, who cares.

Why am I saying this (and bothering to blog it)? Mostly, because I'm tired of this sort of constant worry I have to see everywhere. Writing, publishing and everything in between is a business. Some things you control, some things you don't. I cannot control what Amazon does with GR any more than I can control if their KDP select (that's how books become free on Amazon) is going to be around next week. So, why worry about it. 

In business, as in life, you roll with the punches. As Bruce Lee put it, be like water. I cannot control what Amazon, or anyone else does. All I can do is either go with the flow, or find another way to do business. Seeing as Amazon sort of dominates the book industry right now, I suppose it's in my better interest to go with it. 

I did not get into writing to be famous, to be rich, or to take a stance against big and/or corrupt business practices. I got into it because I wanted to see if people liked my ideas and to see if I could handle such a challenge. Readers, for the most part, don't care what's going on behind the scenes of these companies. All they care about is getting a quality product with as little headache as possible. So, to my fellow authors, I simply ask this: can we please stop all this unnecessary banter about business practices and concentrate on what's really important; your stories and the readers who love them?