Sort of interesting. Apparently he first tested the waters by putting his back catalog up on Amazon and B&N via their self-publishing programs (helped by using pirate scanned copies). But now he's going to try putting out a semi-new novel that way.
Okay, to be honest, he's not the biggest author around, but I certainly have heard of him, he's probably most famous for writing an episode of the original Star Trek ("The Doomsday Machine").
http://normanspinradatlarge.blogspot...ks-is-now.html
Quote:
Now I’m trying a quantum jump experiment. As far as I know, the first time that a writer of reputation has launched a self-published ebook original first American edition of a major novel.
The novel is MEXICA. The definitive story of Cortes’ conquest of Mexico. The novel was published in Spanish in Mexico where it’s been a best seller. There is a film adaptation in the works in English by El Uno productions in Los Angeles. The novel was written under contract to a British publisher and published in the British rights area, but it bounced all over New York, and I and my agent were unable to find an American publisher, the general rejections being on the grounds that American readers wouldn’t be interested in an historical novel about the key event in Mexican history, this in a country where there are at least 40 or 50 million Mexican-Americans fluent in English whose very culture and ethnic identity were the result.
Finally, in angry desperation, I allowed the Brits to export small numbers their edition to the US. And the novel is now completely out of print in English, including an ebook version done by the British publisher and reverted.
So now I’m offering a first American edition as an ebook on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and maybe, as warranted, elsewhere. I’m pricing it at $9, way below the purchase price of what was the disappeared British ebook.
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Anyway, interesting contrast between him and Charlie Stross, (whose blog is where I heard about this first). Some of Stross's work isn't available (including a gap in a series), so someone suggested why not simply have his publisher post the pirate copies. But he didn't think much of that idea, then someone pointed out Mr. Spinrad did just that. And I guess worked out well enough for Mr. Spinrad to try it with this book...