Networked Books

Barry Eisler here again, fresh from a long post on The Roots of Arab Muslim Sickness on HOTM.  Okay, back to business...

Jeffrey Trachtenberg has a fascinating piece in Monday's Wall Street Journal called Boundless Possibilities.  If you have a subscription to the Journal, you can read it here.

The general idea is to give books away, in whole or in part, over the Internet.  Readers comment on the posted content and, in some cases, propose and even implement changes.

The approach is more of a natural for nonfiction than it is for fiction, but in either case it raises a recurring question:  when you give someone a free product, are you cannibalizing your sales, or growing your market?

There are no easy answers, but the principle is this.  If giving away a free sample creates enough new customers to cover the cost of the sample and the opportunity you lost for a sale because you gave away the one sample for free, give those samples away.

What would happen if, simultaneously with the publication of a quality suspense book, the author started posting a chapter every other day (or at some other, possibly slowing, interval) on her website?  If each chapter ended in a ferocious cliffhanger, would readers get hooked online and then swallow the bait by purchasing the book (at the end of each chapter posting, there would be a link to an online bookseller)? If so, how many?  How many readers who would have bought the book would instead choose to read it piecemeal online?  And how many new customers would the online promotion create through web presence and word of mouth?

Beware -- your answers to these questions function like responses to an inkblot test.  Some people believe in a zero sum universe -- your win is my loss, a resource used is a resource cannibalized, scarcity is the natural condition of things.  Others believe in synergy, win-win, a resource used is a resource invested, abundance is the natural order of things.  In many ways, your outlook will determine your marketing.

Me, I give away a lot of Rain books, especially to people who've demonstrated their enthusiasm for the series and willingness to get out the word.  Some of these people would have bought the book if I hadn't given them a copy.  I'm betting they bring in enough new readers to make the give-aways worth while.  What do you do?

BTW, anybody out there like Morcheeba?  Been listening to their stuff and like it a lot, especially the album Big Calm.

Comments

[spyscribbler]

Morcheeba ... hmmm. I checked her out because I'm looking to start listening to music for fun again, after a long addiction to silence. (Music's my day job.) I absolutely hate some of it. And then other songs? Whew. I love when she sings with that sexy, hot tone. Sounds like she's found her voice.

All my novellas get published in serial form, but then readers pay for that. (I'm just small-time published, so I don't know if I count in this discussion, LOL.) I've had a couple readers mention that they hated to wait that long to see what happens, and that they wish they could spend extra and buy the whole novella at once. But they're in the minority. :)

I think if you posted the whole novel in serial form on the internet for free, you'd lose a lot of paying readers.

To be honest, I can't afford all the books that I want to read, and even if the Nora offered her next book serialized online for free, I would probably use the money reserved for her book towards another book (maybe one of her backlist that I don't have, though).

But if you gave away three or four or five chapters, that would be a great way to hook potential new readers.

I had a bad summer this year and one very nice author gave me her book for free; it was the nicest thing. I've been tripping over myself to rave about her book whenever I get the chance. I'm sure she didn't do it for entirely unselfish reasons, but it doesn't matter. Anytime I see another book published by her, I can guarantee that I'll buy it on the Tuesday it's released.

Like you said, it's win-win.

I do love how some publishers are offering really cheap ($2.99) backlist books to recruit new readers. It's definitely worked on me. I bet posting a back-listed novel online would get an author a few more readers!

[ellie]

giving away books is generous and readers like us greatly appreciate it. This type of promotion can also generate more sales and give the author much more marketability through word of mouth and more contacts online. I know that I love new books especially free ones, it is a rare treat that I can savour.

[Sammy Conner]

I'm serializing my humorous novel, "The Dirty Parts of the Bible," on my blog in hopes of finding an audience. After months of writing agents and publishers, with some bites but no takers, I decided not to wait for a contract before publicizing the book. If folks like it, they'll want a hard copy someday. http://sammyconner.blogspot.com

[Deborah Chaney]

I think giving away chapters is an excellent idea - although I'd like control of people buying my work. I've found a way to do that. With a taste, people can decide to bite or move on. I like it.

I haven't been published, but a lot of visitors to (my old) website asked if I was going to publish my poetry and short stories. What I've decided to do is set up a website that is perpetual - I only have to pay once and its there forever. This way, I can do the serial poetry thing, without having to print it, my readers do. I will never go out of print - plus my family will be haunted by my site for generations! lol

The company I am building my website with is Arkhold.com, who endows my fee. I can set up a store without worrying about monthly fees - wish me luck.

I'm going to check out Morcheeba. Big fan of Ari Hest