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 Free ebooks???

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Ian Weaver
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Ian Weaver


Number of posts : 40
Registration date : 2010-04-05
Age : 64
Location : Lincoln, UK

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PostSubject: Free ebooks???   Free ebooks??? EmptyTue Apr 13, 2010 2:20 pm

My son (22), also into writing and a computer wizz, tells me that quite a few authors are making ebooks available FREE online, along side sales of the same book in hard copy form. These authors have reported much higher sales than on books produced only in hard copy, and that it also boosting copies of previous books. Has anyone had any experiences of this or heard anything similar that might back it up?

Ian
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Shelagh
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Shelagh


Number of posts : 12662
Registration date : 2008-01-11
Location : UK

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PostSubject: Re: Free ebooks???   Free ebooks??? EmptyTue Apr 13, 2010 2:30 pm

You can put your book on Smashwords and join the e-book drop programme for troops overseas. The e-books are available in a number of formats and you can give away the book for free or use coupons to give selective free copies.

http://smashwords.com
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lin
Five Star Member
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lin


Number of posts : 2753
Registration date : 2008-03-20
Location : Mexico

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PostSubject: Re: Free ebooks???   Free ebooks??? EmptyTue Apr 13, 2010 2:35 pm

It's pretty much accepted reality in a lot of circles, Ian.

Just as writers tend to find that having free books in the library helps their sales.

There are a lot of theories as to why (people get the ebooks as samplers, then buy the books. They read on their Kindle, but get the book to give as a gift. Etc, etc.

But it seems to be part of the way things are going.

You want to read a REALLY wild extension on all this, that is also a major tenet in the new way of thinking, take a look at this, where a major writer, and major icon in the new drift publishing is taking offers his book in various forms at prices ranging from free to $10.000.

DOCTOROW'S EXPERIMENT
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Ian Weaver
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Ian Weaver


Number of posts : 40
Registration date : 2010-04-05
Age : 64
Location : Lincoln, UK

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PostSubject: Re: Free ebooks???   Free ebooks??? EmptyTue Apr 13, 2010 2:52 pm

Thanks Lin

Just what I have been looking for over the last hour or so. So what do you think - works or not? He puts forward a good case but I'm not sure many authors/publishers would go for it. would you - or indeed have you? I understand about the library thing but to make it universaly available free is a big step and as he says it's "hard to prove".

Ian
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lin
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lin


Number of posts : 2753
Registration date : 2008-03-20
Location : Mexico

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PostSubject: Re: Free ebooks???   Free ebooks??? EmptyTue Apr 13, 2010 6:52 pm

Well, Doctorow started out giving his stuff away. And ended up being a best-seller.
And he has never had a book published that didn't contrctually allow him to simulataneously make it avaiable on Creative Commons for free.

I're read quite a bit of his last two books as free serials on the Tor.com website. (Tor is the publisher) both were best-sellers.

So, I gotta think he's got something going on.
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Malcolm
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Malcolm


Number of posts : 1504
Registration date : 2008-01-11
Location : Georgia

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PostSubject: Re: Free ebooks???   Free ebooks??? EmptyWed Apr 14, 2010 7:51 am

I hope the process also works with unknown writers. We shall see. Smashwords provides samplers of the books on their site so people can do what they'd normally do in a bookstore, browse a little before buying.

Malcolm
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lin
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lin


Number of posts : 2753
Registration date : 2008-03-20
Location : Mexico

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PostSubject: Re: Free ebooks???   Free ebooks??? EmptyWed Apr 14, 2010 7:56 am

Doctorow was an unknown writer when he started out doing that.
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Malcolm
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Malcolm


Number of posts : 1504
Registration date : 2008-01-11
Location : Georgia

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PostSubject: Re: Free ebooks???   Free ebooks??? EmptyWed Apr 14, 2010 12:41 pm

Well, that must have been 40 years ago, then.
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lin
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lin


Number of posts : 2753
Registration date : 2008-03-20
Location : Mexico

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PostSubject: Re: Free ebooks???   Free ebooks??? EmptyWed Apr 14, 2010 1:19 pm

Well, he was born in 1971. This is Cory, wrote "Little Brother", not the "Book of Daniel" guy.
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Malcolm
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Malcolm


Number of posts : 1504
Registration date : 2008-01-11
Location : Georgia

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PostSubject: Re: Free ebooks???   Free ebooks??? EmptyThu Apr 15, 2010 7:33 am

Oh, well, you and I aren't talking about the same Doctorow. I've heard of Cory, of course, but I was talking about E. L. Doctorow, the old master.

Malcolm
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lin
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lin


Number of posts : 2753
Registration date : 2008-03-20
Location : Mexico

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PostSubject: Re: Free ebooks???   Free ebooks??? EmptyThu Apr 15, 2010 7:49 am

I'd idly wondered if they were related, but this made me actually go look it up. Turns out there not, other than in the extremely diffuse sense of tracing both family roots way back to the same area in Europe.
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lin
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lin


Number of posts : 2753
Registration date : 2008-03-20
Location : Mexico

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PostSubject: Re: Free ebooks???   Free ebooks??? EmptyThu Apr 15, 2010 7:51 am

Which I assume was also as sincere and full-hearted as he deserves.
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