The Authors Guild has released statement of support for Macmillan in its ongoing war with Amazon.com, saying Macmillan’s stance against Amazon was “a necessary one for the industry” and that, “if Macmillan prevails, the eventual payoff for its authors (and all authors, if a successful result ripples through the industry) is likely to be significant and lasting.”

It’s an interesting statement in the way it attempts to contextualize the fight in a greater “ecosystem” of publishing, and in that it also seems to hint at the fact that this isn’t the first time Amazon has done this sort of thing:

This was a bold move by Macmillan. Amazon has a well-deserved reputation for playing hardball. When it doesn’t get its way with publishers, Amazon tends to start removing “buy buttons” from the publisher’s titles. It’s a harsh tactic, by which Amazon uses its dominance of online bookselling to punish publishers who fail to fall in line with Amazon’s business plans. Collateral damage in these scuffles, of course, are authors and readers. Authors lose their access to millions of readers who shop at Amazon; readers find some of their favorite authors’ works unavailable. Generally, the ending is not a good one for the publisher or its authors — Amazon’s hold on the industry, controlling an estimated 75% of online trade book print sales in the U.S., is too strong for a publisher to withstand. The publisher caves, and yet more industry revenues are diverted to Amazon. This isn’t good for those who care about books. Without a healthy ecosystem in publishing, one in which authors and publishers are fairly compensated for their work, the quality and variety of books available to readers will inevitably suffer.

The statement comes a day after a similar statement of support for Macmillan was issued by the Association of Authors’ Representatives.