--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't like Amazon (wearing my author…" description: "\"I don't like Amazon (wearing my author hat, not my customer hat).\" — Charles Stross" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/344/charles-stross-896_amazon_i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-ha_85713.png" --- # I don't like Amazon (wearing my author hat, not my… ![“I don't like Amazon (wearing my author hat, not my customer hat).” quote by Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/344/charles-stross-896_amazon_i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-ha_85713.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/344/charles-stross-896_amazon_i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-ha_85713.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/344/charles-stross-896_amazon_i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-ha_85713.png) > “I don't like Amazon (wearing my author hat, not my customer hat).” [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expresses discomfort with being viewed primarily as a seller rather than a creator, highlighting the tension between commercial expectations and artistic identity. **In simple terms:** Creator vs. commercial role conflict. Key Takeaway Maintain creative integrity over profit motives. Themes Identity Commerce Creativity Self-perception Mood Reflective Defiant Type Personal Professional When to use this quote - An author negotiating publishing contracts - A developer balancing open-source contributions with corporate work Key Concepts Authorial authenticity Market pressure Practical Applications - Guidance on setting professional boundaries Questions to Reflect On - How can creators protect their artistic voice in commercial settings? - What strategies help reconcile personal identity with market demands? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amazon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amazon/) [Amazon Wearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amazon-wearing-1077584/) [Author Hat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author-hat-1077586/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Customer Hat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer-hat-1077587/) [Customers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customers/) [Hat Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hat-customer-1077585/) [Hats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hats/) [Like Amazon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-amazon-242735/) ## Related quotes > [Companies that are terrifying to a writer are companies like Amazon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/companies-that-are-terrifying-to-a-writer-are-companies-like-amazon/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [If we don't do our job well, then there's no doubt that big, strong companies like Amazon will look into whether they can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-skou/if-we-don-t-do-our-job-well-then-there-s-no-doubt-that-big-strong/) [Soren Skou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-skou/) > [I was like, Amazon Prime? Who has Amazon Prime? It turns out everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/i-was-like-amazon-prime-who-has-amazon-prime-it-turns-out-everybody/) [Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/) > [I'd really like to go down the Amazon in some capacity. I've spent time in the Congo, so I love the jungle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-pertwee/i-d-really-like-to-go-down-the-amazon-in-some-capacity-i-ve-spent/) [Sean Pertwee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-pertwee/) > [When you look at a company like Amazon, one of the reasons that Amazon is one of the most powerful companies in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-ruhle/when-you-look-at-a-company-like-amazon-one-of-the-reasons-that-amazon/) [Stephanie Ruhle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-ruhle/) > [“The electronics effort faced even greater challenges. To launch that category, David Risher tapped a Dartmouth alum named Chris Payne who had previously worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stone/the-electronics-effort-faced-even-greater-challenges-to-launch-that/) [Brad Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stone/) > [Xiaomi looks a bit like Apple but is really more like Amazon with some elements of Google.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lei-jun/xiaomi-looks-a-bit-like-apple-but-is-really-more-like-amazon-with/) [Lei Jun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lei-jun/) > [One of the important lessons of the Internet is, how easy it is to get things done completely shapes what gets created. For that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-collison/one-of-the-important-lessons-of-the-internet-is-how-easy-it-is-to-get/) [Patrick Collison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-collison/) > [All these big corporations like Amazon, those places have great distribution arms, but they can't create content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-b-sweeney/all-these-big-corporations-like-amazon-those-places-have-great/) [D. B. Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-b-sweeney/) > [My feeling was, "This is the future." And what's great about a place like Amazon is they really give the creators of their shows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-vack/my-feeling-was-this-is-the-future-and-what-s-great-about-a-place-like/) [Peter Vack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-vack/) > [We all remember the tech bubble of the late '90s, but companies like Amazon survived. Wherever there's strong, enduring value, it can last through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sweeney/we-all-remember-the-tech-bubble-of-the-late-90s-but-companies-like/) [Tim Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sweeney/) > [“You had a duty not to squander your human potential. You were supposed to go out and shape the world in your image. Just—”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dexter-palmer/you-had-a-duty-not-to-squander-your-human-potential-you-were-supposed/) [Dexter Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dexter-palmer/) > [We spend a lot of time looking at the things we like: Amazon, Google, Facebook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aneel-bhusri/we-spend-a-lot-of-time-looking-at-the-things-we-like-amazon-google/) [Aneel Bhusri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aneel-bhusri/) > [“There was little science to Amazon’s earliest distribution methods. The company held no inventory itself at first. When a customer bought a book, Amazon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stone/there-was-little-science-to-amazon-s-earliest-distribution-methods/) [Brad Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stone/) > [“If Amazon’s dream of a world without gatekeepers becomes reality, then the company itself will become a powerful gatekeeper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/if-amazon-s-dream-of-a-world-without-gatekeepers-becomes-reality-then/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) ## More by Charles Stross > [We are Bay Aryans from Berkeley: prepare to be reengineered in an attractive range of color schemes for your safety and comfort!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/we-are-bay-aryans-from-berkeley-prepare-to-be-reengineered-in-an/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Shut up. Stand up. Put this on. That’s right . . . if you were the kind of man who found it easy to do that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/shut-up-stand-up-put-this-on-that-s-right-if-you-were-the-kind-of-man/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Generating ideas isn't some mystical talent that you have to be born with: it's a skill you can develop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/generating-ideas-isn-t-some-mystical-talent-that-you-have-to-be-born/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Any replacement to the current copyright position (life plus 70 years) needs to have an answer lined up for this, and similar, messy edge cases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/any-replacement-to-the-current-copyright-position-life-plus-70-years/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“- Toma un puro, Sherlock. - Lo siento; sólo echo humo cuando me enchufan a la red eléctrica.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/toma-un-puro-sherlock-lo-siento-s-lo-echo-humo-cuando-me-enchufan-a/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I have no policy, for or against: only a personal style. Which is to say, I use them when I think it's appropriate to;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-have-no-policy-for-or-against-only-a-personal-style-which-is-to-say/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“To boldly go where no uploaded metahuman colony has gone before”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/to-boldly-go-where-no-uploaded-metahuman-colony-has-gone-before/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [I was raised thinking that moral and ethical standards are universals that apply equally to everyone. And these values aren't easily compatible with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-was-raised-thinking-that-moral-and-ethical-standards-are-universals/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Some say the Internet is for porn but you know that in truth the Internet is for spam.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/some-say-the-internet-is-for-porn-but-you-know-that-in-truth-the/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [If I forget, then it might as well never have happened. Memory is liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/if-i-forget-then-it-might-as-well-never-have-happened-memory-is/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“If he wakes the ancient sleeping horrors I am going to have to brief the private secretary and the Joint Intelligence Oversight Committee so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/if-he-wakes-the-ancient-sleeping-horrors-i-am-going-to-have-to-brief/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“Crawling eldritch horrors don’t get planning permission unless they’re Trump’s hairpiece.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/crawling-eldritch-horrors-don-t-get-planning-permission-unless-they/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“A historian who works for a bank: That’s not the most likely background for someone who capers around the cosmos having adventures, is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/a-historian-who-works-for-a-bank-that-s-not-the-most-likely/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [“MONDAY DAWNS BRIGHT AND HOT AND EARLY, AND I FIND MY SELF waking to the happy knowledge that I can go back to work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/monday-dawns-bright-and-hot-and-early-and-i-find-my-self-waking-to/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) [Explore all 331 Charles Stross quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) ## More Amazon quotes > [“If Amazon’s dream of a world without gatekeepers becomes reality, then the company itself will become a powerful gatekeeper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/if-amazon-s-dream-of-a-world-without-gatekeepers-becomes-reality-then/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [“There was little science to Amazon’s earliest distribution methods. The company held no inventory itself at first. When a customer bought a book, Amazon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stone/there-was-little-science-to-amazon-s-earliest-distribution-methods/) [Brad Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stone/) > [I don't know anything about Amazon's culture; I've never worked there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-conrad/i-don-t-know-anything-about-amazon-s-culture-i-ve-never-worked-there/) [Parker Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-conrad/) > [“A responsible woman doesn’t see opportunities and needs and look the other way pretending not to see them rather she gets to work to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agu-jaachynma-n-e/a-responsible-woman-doesn-t-see-opportunities-and-needs-and-look-the/) [Agu Jaachynma N.E](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agu-jaachynma-n-e/) > [“Jeff Bezos is famous for his “2 Pizza Rule” at Amazon: no meeting is to take place if the number of participants is too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-rogers/jeff-bezos-is-famous-for-his-2-pizza-rule-at-amazon-no-meeting-is-to/) [David L Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-rogers/) > [“The first week after the official launch, they took $12,000 in orders and shipped $846 worth of books, according to Eric Dillon, one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stone/the-first-week-after-the-official-launch-they-took-12-000-in-orders/) [Brad Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stone/) > [“ Programs has a temporary results leading to nothingness, and the Gospel the brings the result of Eternal life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommie-scott/programs-has-a-temporary-results-leading-to-nothingness-and-the/) [Tommie Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommie-scott/) > [The digital revolution is forever. They put importance on that option as well. With Amazon, you're getting the best of both worlds, with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-winding-refn/the-digital-revolution-is-forever-they-put-importance-on-that-option/) [Nicolas Winding Refn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-winding-refn/) > [The next time you're looking at a charity, don't ask about the rate of their overhead; ask about the scale of their dreams -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pallotta/the-next-time-you-re-looking-at-a-charity-don-t-ask-about-the-rate-of-2/) [Dan Pallotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pallotta/) > [“Sure we do," said Theo, swatting at a branch. "We get to the spring, Alia gets cured. We argue over the best choice for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/sure-we-do-said-theo-swatting-at-a-branch-we-get-to-the-spring-alia/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [Wonder Woman isn't even American; she's an Amazon princess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lee/wonder-woman-isn-t-even-american-she-s-an-amazon-princess/) [Jim Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lee/) > [Alternative services would mean that there would be services available to compete with Google, Facebook, Amazon, Dropbox, Skype, etc., and they would be run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikko-hypponen/alternative-services-would-mean-that-there-would-be-services/) [Mikko Hypponen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikko-hypponen/) > [“I'd disagree with the characterisations of him as competitive (which I think was just misinterpretation of his ambition) or secretive (which I think is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brandt/i-d-disagree-with-the-characterisations-of-him-as-competitive-which-i/) [Richard Brandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brandt/) > [We got latched together and I was hoping you could separate us? (Amanda) They were made by your stepfather. Any chance you have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/we-got-latched-together-and-i-was-hoping-you-could-separate-us-amanda/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Groceries, TV shows, and shoes are a few categories Amazon has been willing to hang onto for years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-lashinsky/groceries-tv-shows-and-shoes-are-a-few-categories-amazon-has-been/) [Adam Lashinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-lashinsky/) [Browse all 434 Amazon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amazon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't like Amazon (wearing my author hat, not my customer hat).", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Stross" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-hat-not-my-customer-hat/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Amazon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-hat-not-my-customer-hat/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/344/charles-stross-896_amazon_i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-ha_85713.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/344/charles-stross-896_amazon_i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-ha_85713.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/344/charles-stross-896_amazon_i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-ha_85713.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't like Amazon (wearing my author hat, not my customer hat).” — Charles Stross", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charles Stross", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't like Amazon (wearing my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-hat-not-my-customer-hat/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-don-t-like-amazon-wearing-my-author-hat-not-my-customer-hat/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```