MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Baen Re-evaluating their Free Library

fjtorres · 10-19-2012, 07:19 AM

I love their Library. I think it is a great risk-free way to meet new (to you) authors.
But I have no problem with Baen and/or the authors reevaluating the Library.
In fact, I've been expecting this for a couple years now.

Go back to the library and read a few of Flint's comments, the Palavers...
The ebooks in the library (and the promo CDs) were intended as sales promoters for print books with any added ebook sales as sweetener. When the library started (and for years since) ebook sales would be just a small fraction of the book's sales and the writer's income. The ebook edition was secondary.

Things have changed.
Print sales are dropping, especially in paperback format.
We've been told that in some genres like romance ebook sales constitute well over 50% of a sales. SF may be that way and if so, BAEN is likely in the lead in ebook/pbook ratio because of their policies.

For some of the lesser-known authors, it is quite possible that the monthly ebook bundle alone constitutes a significant portion of their sales. Certainly, ebooks are no longer a sweetener or a secondary edition. eBooks are quite possibly the main product for some.

So it is reasonable for authors without a deep catalog or long series to reevaluate their library presence. The trade-off between the promo value and the "lost" sales. After all, BAEN obviously knows how many downloads each library title gets and they probably have no problem reporting those numbers to the authors. Faced with a changing marketplace it is only a matter of due dilligence to consider the possibility that for some authors the library promotion may have outlived its usefulness for *them*. The library isn't all that different from pricing ebooks as free at the big ebookstores, except those are usually temporary promos.

The free library is ten years old by now; a lot of things have changed.
The library may have outlived its usefulness in its current form.
It really was just a matter of time.
Hopefully most library contributors will keep their books in it but it wouldn't surprise me if some titles move to a rotation system where they are only free for a few months out of the year. Some authors might choose to offer different titles at different times. Others might come and go entirely.
New times, new rules.
Nothing good lasts forever.

10-19-2012, 07:19 AM	#8
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	I love their Library. I think it is a great risk-free way to meet new (to you) authors. But I have no problem with Baen and/or the authors reevaluating the Library. In fact, I've been expecting this for a couple years now. Go back to the library and read a few of Flint's comments, the Palavers... The ebooks in the library (and the promo CDs) were intended as sales promoters for print books with any added ebook sales as sweetener. When the library started (and for years since) ebook sales would be just a small fraction of the book's sales and the writer's income. The ebook edition was secondary. Things have changed. Print sales are dropping, especially in paperback format. We've been told that in some genres like romance ebook sales constitute well over 50% of a sales. SF may be that way and if so, BAEN is likely in the lead in ebook/pbook ratio because of their policies. For some of the lesser-known authors, it is quite possible that the monthly ebook bundle alone constitutes a significant portion of their sales. Certainly, ebooks are no longer a sweetener or a secondary edition. eBooks are quite possibly the main product for some. So it is reasonable for authors without a deep catalog or long series to reevaluate their library presence. The trade-off between the promo value and the "lost" sales. After all, BAEN obviously knows how many downloads each library title gets and they probably have no problem reporting those numbers to the authors. Faced with a changing marketplace it is only a matter of due dilligence to consider the possibility that for some authors the library promotion may have outlived its usefulness for them. The library isn't all that different from pricing ebooks as free at the big ebookstores, except those are usually temporary promos. The free library is ten years old by now; a lot of things have changed. The library may have outlived its usefulness in its current form. It really was just a matter of time. Hopefully most library contributors will keep their books in it but it wouldn't surprise me if some titles move to a rotation system where they are only free for a few months out of the year. Some authors might choose to offer different titles at different times. Others might come and go entirely. New times, new rules. Nothing good lasts forever.