Tor's latest free book also available from Baen

JohnnyD · 03-28-2008, 03:35 AM

Just to let you know, if you like Tor's latest free novel (Lord of the Isles by David Drake), you can buy the first six volumes in this series as a bundle at Baen: Lord of the Isles Bundle Volumes I=VI and Volume I of Crown of the Isles. This bundle comes at only $15, which makes it a very nice buy in my opinion.

On the other hand: is it allright to promote a discount bundle by Baen in reaction to a free offering by Tor? This is not very gratefull towards Tor... Or is it?

Nate the great · 03-28-2008, 07:17 AM

It's also freely available from:

http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/

NatCh · 03-28-2008, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

On the other hand: is it allright to promote a discount bundle by Baen in reaction to a free offering by Tor? This is not very gratefull towards Tor... Or is it?

Don't worry: TOR gets their cut of the sale, I'm sure.

Xenophon · 03-28-2008, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatCh

Don't worry: TOR gets their cut of the sale, I'm sure.

They sure do. I think that their cut of the sale, however, is... um... nothing. The reason the eBooks are at Baen is that David Drake successfully negotiated to get the eBook rights back from TOR during his last contract negotiations. He argued that TOR wasn't doing anything with them anyway, so...

David didn't disclose the details of this return of rights, so perhaps Tor is getting a non-zero cut. I suspect, however, that he argued for the model that Baen has been using -- non-exclusive eRights. That would let Tor sell the books (paying royalties to David Drake, of course), but it would also let David sell eRights elsewhere on whatever terms he wanted. It's worked well for Baen, so...

Xenophon

NatCh · 03-28-2008, 10:49 AM

Sounds like TOR's cut is about right for their contribution, then.

Nate the great · 03-28-2008, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatCh

Don't worry: TOR gets their cut of the sale, I'm sure.

I doubt it. Consider the TOR ebook Off Armageddon Reef. It's on webscription, and cost $18.00.

I believe the author controls the ebook rights. David Drake probably never sold them to TOR. ALso, do you really think TOR's corporate parent would let Baen put an ebook on a CD and give it away?

JSWolf · 03-28-2008, 11:38 AM

Since this is already a free eBook from Baen, why would Tor give it away? Seems like a bad idea to me.

plantedbypiggies · 03-28-2008, 11:53 AM

I know, that doesn't make much sense. However, if you look at the authors that Tor is releasing this way, all of them have released works for free before. Mercedes Lackey and David Drake both through Baen, Walton and Scalzi through their own web pages (Old Man's War was originally an online free e-book that Patrick Nielsen Hayden liked), Robert Charles Wilson released Spin as a free download to Hugo voters, and Buckell has the first third of Crystal Rain up for free on his web page. So, there's no new players, just a different avenue.

DaleDe · 03-28-2008, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plantedbypiggies

I know, that doesn't make much sense. However, if you look at the authors that Tor is releasing this way, all of them have released works for free before. Mercedes Lackey and David Drake both through Baen, Walton and Scalzi through their own web pages (Old Man's War was originally an online free e-book that Patrick Nielsen Hayden liked), Robert Charles Wilson released Spin as a free download to Hugo voters, and Buckell has the first third of Crystal Rain up for free on his web page. So, there's no new players, just a different avenue.

Yea, it makes a lot of sense for TOR if they cause people to look to their site in the future for that type of book. Not everyone knows where else it might be available. Isn't that why they are doing it in the first place?

Dale

JSWolf · 03-28-2008, 01:48 PM

But for the people who know and are some of the biggest word of mouth advertisers, it makes no sense.

DaleDe · 03-28-2008, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But for the people who know and are some of the biggest word of mouth advertisers, it makes no sense.

In advertising even bad news is news. There is a school of thought that says getting the name out is what it is all about. Many people may not even had heard of TOR.

Dale

plantedbypiggies · 03-28-2008, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Many people may not even had heard of TOR.

Highly doubtable. They release hundreds of books each year, some of those hugely popular even outside of speculative fiction (which they're most well known for), for example Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. They own both The Wheel of Time and Sword of Truth, both of which are multiple NYT bestselling series. They've also got a huge amount of books that have either been nominated or winners of the Hugo Award, such as Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Blindsight, Hominids, and A Deepness of the Sky. To top it all off, they have ties with General Electric (via the SciFi Channel) to promote their books in the monthly SciFi Essentials line.

For their target audience, Tor is probably the best promoted and known publisher around.

TheLongshot · 03-28-2008, 03:58 PM

Slightly off topic, but Scalzi's "Old Man's War" just made an appearance on Fictionwise. (Secure Mobipocket) I wonder how many they will sell at $14 a pop?

http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook65485.htm?cache

Jason

carandol · 03-28-2008, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plantedbypiggies

For their target audience, Tor is probably the best promoted and known publisher around.

...in the USA. A lot of their authors' books are not published in the UK, by them or anyone else. If this encourages people outside the US to start ordering their books directly, or via other companies on the internet, they're widening their customer base.

plantedbypiggies · 03-29-2008, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carandol

...in the USA. A lot of their authors' books are not published in the UK, by them or anyone else. If this encourages people outside the US to start ordering their books directly, or via other companies on the internet, they're widening their customer base.

I don't think this argument holds much weight. I just did a series of quick searches on amazon.co.uk. Every single one of the books that Tor has released as free downloads are available for sale in the UK from Tor. I read alot of speculative fiction, and I read a lot of reviews about books -- many from international websites like sfcrowsnest.com. They do book reviews for American books, such as Old Man's War.

And I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hijack this thread or anything.

03-28-2008, 03:35 AM	#1
JohnnyD Connoisseur Posts: 95 Karma: 72819 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Drenthe, The Netherlands Device: Cybook Gen3 (cracked screen)/Bebook/Nokia E60/Nokia 5800/Kobo Aura HD	Tor's latest free book also available from Baen Just to let you know, if you like Tor's latest free novel (Lord of the Isles by David Drake), you can buy the first six volumes in this series as a bundle at Baen: Lord of the Isles Bundle Volumes I=VI and Volume I of Crown of the Isles. This bundle comes at only $15, which makes it a very nice buy in my opinion. On the other hand: is it allright to promote a discount bundle by Baen in reaction to a free offering by Tor? This is not very gratefull towards Tor... Or is it?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
One more free book from Baen!	AdamV	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	20	09-30-2010 12:40 PM
Baen Free Library	VillageReader	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	3	12-23-2008 10:57 PM
Which free Baen book would you start with?	GatorDeb	Reading Recommendations	31	09-28-2008 05:15 AM
TOR's free ebooks	Nate the great	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	9	07-31-2008 09:32 AM
Free Books from Baen	cbarnett	Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links)	10	09-25-2003 08:50 PM

03-28-2008, 07:17 AM	#2
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	It's also freely available from: http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/

03-28-2008, 10:49 AM	#5
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Sounds like TOR's cut is about right for their contribution, then.

03-28-2008, 11:38 AM	#7
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,987 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Since this is already a free eBook from Baen, why would Tor give it away? Seems like a bad idea to me.

03-28-2008, 11:53 AM	#8
plantedbypiggies oink! Posts: 44 Karma: 127 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Ebookwise 1150	I know, that doesn't make much sense. However, if you look at the authors that Tor is releasing this way, all of them have released works for free before. Mercedes Lackey and David Drake both through Baen, Walton and Scalzi through their own web pages (Old Man's War was originally an online free e-book that Patrick Nielsen Hayden liked), Robert Charles Wilson released Spin as a free download to Hugo voters, and Buckell has the first third of Crystal Rain up for free on his web page. So, there's no new players, just a different avenue.

03-28-2008, 01:48 PM	#10
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,987 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	But for the people who know and are some of the biggest word of mouth advertisers, it makes no sense.

03-28-2008, 03:58 PM	#13
TheLongshot Groupie Posts: 190 Karma: 7758 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: Sony Reader	Slightly off topic, but Scalzi's "Old Man's War" just made an appearance on Fictionwise. (Secure Mobipocket) I wonder how many they will sell at $14 a pop? http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook65485.htm?cache Jason