As writers--most of us not published by Hachette--we feel strongly that no bookseller should block the sale of books or otherwise prevent or discourage customers from ordering or receiving the books they want. It is not right for Amazon to single out a group of authors, who are not involved in the dispute, for selective retaliation. Moreover, by inconveniencing and misleading its own customers with unfair pricing and delayed delivery, Amazon is contradicting its own written promise to be "Earth's most customer-centric company."

Last week Stephen Colbert jumped into the Amazon vs. Hachette fray and took aim at tech giant Amazon for hurting authors — including himself. Amazon is delaying shipments of books, or removing preorder buttons for certain Hachette books: A ruthless tactic in price negotiations.

Colbert didn’t just rant about the “scorched-earth tactics,” he decided to use the “Colbert Bump” to help out a first-time author Edan Lepucki, whose preorder button was removed, and hit Amazon where it hurts — the wallet. He urged viewers to preorder Lepucki’s “California” on Powell’s. (The book is now No. 1 on Powell’s, and a cursory glance at the comments shows a lot of folks purchased at Colbert’s urging.)

“Because of Amazon’s scorched-earth tactics,” Colbert quipped. “More people are getting screwed than in ‘Fifty Shades of Grey.’”

The response among publishers has been more expansive, and a lot more emotional. Speaking at BookExpo on Thursday morning, James Patterson, the author who composes about one out of 17 hardcover books bought in the United States, all but called for lanterns and pitchforks.

“If Amazon’s not a monopoly, it’s the beginning of one,” he said as he accepted an award from independent booksellers. “If this is to be the new American way, this has to be changed, by law if necessary.”