International Forum Author Promos

GeoffC · 07-22-2010, 04:15 AM

I know this may be contentious, but I, for one, am getting a little irritated by Author promotions that are Geographically Restricted .... Whether these are free, or by payment ..... !!!!

As we are an International Site, perhaps we ought to restrict promotions accordingly !!!!!

[Sorry, I'll get back into my 'cage'] .....

neilmarr · 07-22-2010, 08:07 AM

I've noticed this, too, Geoff. As part of a community (at least I hope that's why they're posting here), authors who promote their work in the forums should warn us of geographical restrictions on their work. They should also strive to do something about it. I don't know the US-'foreigner' ratio at MR, but there's at least a hugely significant minority of non-US residents who would apprectiate this simple courtesy. Cheers. Neil

HarryT · 07-22-2010, 08:51 AM

I agree that it's a simple matter of courtesy for an author to indicate when their book is restricted in some way.

suecsi · 07-22-2010, 09:07 AM

Geoff C and HarryT. I'm getting annoyed with all the Kindle freebies that are geo-restricted - if it is in the title I won't bother wasting my time to click through .....

GeoffC · 07-22-2010, 09:13 AM

Beloved of prefixes, is there a possibility of highlighting limitations with prefixes ....

Geo - for geographic restrictions
drm - for the obvious
dev - for device specific (ie Kindle)

and any others anyone else can think of ....

hopefully not too many Authors are using mobileread solely to plug their wares and are, at least, making other contributions ....

hidari · 07-22-2010, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Beloved of prefixes, is there a possibility of highlighting limitations with prefixes ....

Geo - for geographic restrictions
drm - for the obvious
dev - for device specific (ie Kindle)

and any others anyone else can think of ....

hopefully not too many Authors are using mobileread solely to plug their wares and are, at least, making other contributions ....

hopefully, they will contribute but I would not hold your cyberbreath too long.....

Worldwalker · 07-22-2010, 10:21 AM

I like that idea, especially the DRM part of it. If I can't tell right away whether a book is DRM-restricted or not, I usually won't even follow up on it. My TBR list is already out of control, and I'm not going to buy something that requires advance research just to make it longer.

I don't know about anyone else, but for me, most fiction is an impulse purchase. Make me do too much (read: any) research on whether or not I can actually use the book, and the impulse passes before I'm done.

If the book is DRM-restricted, I'm not going to buy it under any circumstances (you're not a better writer than Tolkien, and I won't buy LotR because of DRM) so you might as well tell me up front, and save the loss of goodwill that comes about when I waste my time finding out. I'm sure that's equally true for the people who have to deal with geo restrictions, device limitations, etc.

montsnmags · 07-27-2010, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Beloved of prefixes, is there a possibility of highlighting limitations with prefixes ....

Geo - for geographic restrictions
drm - for the obvious
dev - for device specific (ie Kindle)

and any others anyone else can think of ....

hopefully not too many Authors are using mobileread solely to plug their wares and are, at least, making other contributions ....

Just off the top of my own head (no Moderator hat), how about the same but opposite, similar to that thing Neil sometimes adds to his sig'. That is, only create prefixes for "DRMFREE" and "WORLDWIDE" and other positive attributes. Give authors something to aim for?

Cheers,
Marc

GeoffC · 07-27-2010, 04:16 AM

Anything that is simple for them to use, and explanatory for the rest of us ....

montsnmags · 07-27-2010, 04:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Anything that is simple for them to use, and explanatory for the rest of us ....

I like stuff like "DRMFREE" because it adds that little, extra coloured "flag-waving" tag to a post, and in the author promo forum any extra visibility is good, especially when so many potential readers are looking for that particular type, for instance.

That is to say, Geoff, I think you're idea is a good one...I just turned it on its head a little.

Cheers,
Marc

GeoffC · 07-27-2010, 04:28 AM

Okay, I'll certainly buy the "drmfree" prefix - and also "worldwide" - yes - your suggestion is more positive than my original one was ....

ps have you noticed how many freebies seems to be only for the Kindle .... !!!!!

poohbear_nc · 07-27-2010, 09:13 AM

We are encouraging posters to add more info to thread titles in the "Deals, Freebies" section - koland in particular is trying to squeeze as much as she can, and other posters seem to be following her lead. See here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...33&postcount=1

Will this type of thread title be workable for you?
Adding prefixes can be challenging and time-consuming to apply & keep current, esp. for a forum in which threads for deals/offers appear & age off quickly.

One other thought would be to somewhat emulate the Kindle "Free Books" sticky thread - have 1 thread/month extensively labeled: "DRMFree Kindle SciFi Freebies", "DRM US-Only Kindle Romance" - and restart a new thread monthly.

Any way you go will be labor intensive.

GeoffC · 07-28-2010, 05:03 AM

yes i've certainly noticed more useful info being added to titles which is good and welcome.

the forum as a whole is going to get very long, i like your idea of monthly threads which may go some way towards making it more administratively manageable.

07-22-2010, 04:15 AM	#1
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	International Forum Author Promos I know this may be contentious, but I, for one, am getting a little irritated by Author promotions that are Geographically Restricted .... Whether these are free, or by payment ..... !!!! As we are an International Site, perhaps we ought to restrict promotions accordingly !!!!! [Sorry, I'll get back into my 'cage'] .....

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07-22-2010, 08:07 AM	#2
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	I've noticed this, too, Geoff. As part of a community (at least I hope that's why they're posting here), authors who promote their work in the forums should warn us of geographical restrictions on their work. They should also strive to do something about it. I don't know the US-'foreigner' ratio at MR, but there's at least a hugely significant minority of non-US residents who would apprectiate this simple courtesy. Cheers. Neil

07-22-2010, 08:51 AM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I agree that it's a simple matter of courtesy for an author to indicate when their book is restricted in some way.

07-22-2010, 09:07 AM	#4
suecsi Rock Chick Posts: 429 Karma: 4965 Join Date: May 2009 Location: near Heathrow Device: Kindle 2i, Kindle DX, Kindle 3G	Geoff C and HarryT. I'm getting annoyed with all the Kindle freebies that are geo-restricted - if it is in the title I won't bother wasting my time to click through .....

07-22-2010, 09:13 AM	#5
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Beloved of prefixes, is there a possibility of highlighting limitations with prefixes .... Geo - for geographic restrictions drm - for the obvious dev - for device specific (ie Kindle) and any others anyone else can think of .... hopefully not too many Authors are using mobileread solely to plug their wares and are, at least, making other contributions ....

07-22-2010, 10:21 AM	#7
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	I like that idea, especially the DRM part of it. If I can't tell right away whether a book is DRM-restricted or not, I usually won't even follow up on it. My TBR list is already out of control, and I'm not going to buy something that requires advance research just to make it longer. I don't know about anyone else, but for me, most fiction is an impulse purchase. Make me do too much (read: any) research on whether or not I can actually use the book, and the impulse passes before I'm done. If the book is DRM-restricted, I'm not going to buy it under any circumstances (you're not a better writer than Tolkien, and I won't buy LotR because of DRM) so you might as well tell me up front, and save the loss of goodwill that comes about when I waste my time finding out. I'm sure that's equally true for the people who have to deal with geo restrictions, device limitations, etc.

07-27-2010, 04:16 AM	#9
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Anything that is simple for them to use, and explanatory for the rest of us ....

07-27-2010, 04:28 AM	#11
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	Okay, I'll certainly buy the "drmfree" prefix - and also "worldwide" - yes - your suggestion is more positive than my original one was .... ps have you noticed how many freebies seems to be only for the Kindle .... !!!!!

07-27-2010, 09:13 AM	#12
poohbear_nc Now what? Posts: 58,797 Karma: 135181808 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	We are encouraging posters to add more info to thread titles in the "Deals, Freebies" section - koland in particular is trying to squeeze as much as she can, and other posters seem to be following her lead. See here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...33&postcount=1 Will this type of thread title be workable for you? Adding prefixes can be challenging and time-consuming to apply & keep current, esp. for a forum in which threads for deals/offers appear & age off quickly. One other thought would be to somewhat emulate the Kindle "Free Books" sticky thread - have 1 thread/month extensively labeled: "DRMFree Kindle SciFi Freebies", "DRM US-Only Kindle Romance" - and restart a new thread monthly. Any way you go will be labor intensive.

07-28-2010, 05:03 AM	#13
GeoffC Chocolate Grasshopper ... Posts: 27,600 Karma: 20821184 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Scotland Device: Muse HD , Cybook Gen3 , Pocketbook 302 (Black) , Nexus 10: wife has PW	yes i've certainly noticed more useful info being added to titles which is good and welcome. the forum as a whole is going to get very long, i like your idea of monthly threads which may go some way towards making it more administratively manageable.