More than 900 authors are appealing publicly to Amazon asking it to end its dispute the Hachette, one of the world’s largest publishers.
The rift concerns the terms of Amazon’s e-book sales.
The authors said their books had been "taken hostage" by Amazon's tactics.
They believe that some of them have been singled out for “selective retaliation”, such as blocking pre-orders, removing discounts and delaying delivery.
"Many of us have supported Amazon since it was a struggling start-up," the letter continued.
"Our books launched Amazon on the road to selling everything and becoming one of the world's largest corporations.
"We have made Amazon many millions of dollars and over the years have contributed so much, free of charge, to the company by way of co-operation, joint promotions, reviews and blogs.
"This is no way to treat a business partner. Nor is it the right way to treat your friends.
"Without taking sides on the contractual dispute between Hachette and Amazon, we encourage Amazon in the strongest possible terms to stop harming the livelihood of the authors on whom it has built its business."
The letter is due to be published as a full-page ad in the New York Times on Sunday.
Amazon said in a blog that most e-books should cost $9.99 (£5.95) rather than the current $14.99 (£8.92) or £19.99 (£11.90).
"With an e-book, there's no printing, no over-printing, no need to forecast, no returns, no lost sales due to out-of-stock, no warehousing costs, no transportation costs, and there is no secondary market - e-books cannot be resold as used books. E-books can be and should be less expensive."
Amazon believes that lower prices would mean greater sales.
At the same time, a petition supporting Amazon has obtained 7,600 signatures. It claims that Hachette wants to keep the prices “artificially high”.
