How much would you pay for a classics subscription?

[vividread]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The price I would pay is nothing. I don't want eBooks I can get for free to be read only on my phone/tablet. Also, how do I know that your code is good and your formatting is good?

You would have to post a sample eBook (in ePub) to show off what you are doing. You have to make these eBooks available such that they can be read on a Reader such as Kobo. And what would be different about your copies compared tot he ones already available for free right here at Mobileread?

I hadn't known MR too has people uploading eBooks. That makes me ask, what's the purpose of doing that? Isn't Gutenberg already having ePubs and PDFs available?

Are books on MR

- different formats than Gutenberg?
- of more in quantity / variety than Gutenberg?

Honestly I am genuinely curious why people upload here...

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by vividread

- different formats than Gutenberg?
- of more in quantity / variety than Gutenberg?

Honestly I am genuinely curious why people upload here...

Proof read
lovingly formatted
images added

see https://www.mobileread.com/forums/eb...hp?forumid=130

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Proof read
lovingly formatted
images added

see https://www.mobileread.com/forums/eb...hp?forumid=130

And even if not proofread because PG has proofreaders, the code is a lot better then the machine generate ePub code.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by vividread

I hadn't known MR too has people uploading eBooks. That makes me ask, what's the purpose of doing that? Isn't Gutenberg already having ePubs and PDFs available?

Are books on MR

- different formats than Gutenberg?
- of more in quantity / variety than Gutenberg?

Honestly I am genuinely curious why people upload here...

Not all of the eBooks here are available on PG. Some are Creative Commons. Some are collections. Some have the images found and added back in.

[vividread]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Not all of the eBooks here are available on PG. Some are Creative Commons. Some are collections. Some have the images found and added back in.

Wow, I hadn't known such an enthusiastic community helping each others!

So to address device choice, what seems to be rational strategy for me is to

- allow them to read my own format on iOS device
- allow sharing in ePub / mobi format so that other devices could be used for reading

Would that be the desired path?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by vividread

Wow, I hadn't known such an enthusiastic community helping each others!

So to address device choice, what seems to be rational strategy for me is to

- allow them to read my own format on iOS device
- allow sharing in ePub / mobi format so that other devices could be used for reading

Would that be the desired path?

Forget Mobi. Use KF8 (AZW3). Yes, that would be the desired path to allow reading outside of your app. So ePub and KF8 would be good.

[Bookstooge]

As a 100+ book a year reader and a dedicated e-ink reader, your plan isn't for me.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by vividread

I hadn't known MR too has people uploading eBooks. That makes me ask, what's the purpose of doing that? Isn't Gutenberg already having ePubs and PDFs available?

Are books on MR

- different formats than Gutenberg?
- of more in quantity / variety than Gutenberg?

Honestly I am genuinely curious why people upload here...

I downloaded a copy of Kim from here that has illustrations by Kipling's father. As far as I know, it's not available anywhere else.

[hobnail]

Delphi already does this, or something similar to what you're thinking:

https://www.delphiclassics.com/

[MGlitch]

Honestly I doubt most parents would shell out that much for this service when any tablet can get public domain books for free.

You’re aiming at an extremely niche market which is already saturated with options from bigger and arguably more dependable sources. They will after all have dev teams to work on their app while you’re just one person.

You’re also fighting against laziness which is a proven benefit to ereaders and tablets with built in ebook services. People generally look for the most immediate option.

And before folks here jump on that with “I don’t”, MR folks aren’t typical ereaders. We’re the fanatics.

[hildea]

Originally Posted by vividread

My original target was children who have just learned to read, but do not take off because of some inherent barriers in reading habits and reading training.

The app would do read-aloud + word highlight in a sort-of-immersive mode.

That, combined with gamification about the reading stats.

Hm, those features might be useful for people learning a second or third language. I might be willing to pay for this kind of service if I ever decide to rekindle my very rusty German, provided it was available in that language.

I've tried Duolingo, but found it too boring. But I love reading, so language training centered around that sounds more tempting.

I'd want to be able to pause my subscription, but keep my reading stats when/if I returned, because I might not always have the time and energy for studying.

Although in that case the classics might be a problem -- I tried to read one on my favourite children's books in German ("Heidi" by Spyri), and found that 1880s German had some unexpected grammar and vocabulary that I can't remember ever coming across at school. So if you're going this way, you should probably get advice from a language teacher about good books to choose for language students.

For price, Sirtel's suggestion of a couple of euro per month seems right. I'd also suggest a free demo, so people can find out how good your service is before they pay.


Added: I see this kind of service exists already, for instance https://www.languagereadingbooks.com/. So you'd have to do something they don't or do whatever it is better.

[svenlind]

In addition to all the books here on MR there is also this site that publish well taken cared of classics in the PD. Highly recommended especially for those for whom English is the second language:

https://standardebooks.org/about

[Dr. Drib]

I wouldn't pay a penny or a sole for this service.

The fact that you come here asking for advice without having first looked through our site and then at our Library of FREE ebooks shows that you haven't really invested your time in thinking through this whole process.

Too, when you are through with your questions and your PRODUCT becomes available, and then you actually start to promote and ask for MONEY, then you would need to read Mobileread's POSTING GUIDELINES to get informed of what your responsibilities are when using our free service for promotional purposes.

[vividread]

Originally Posted by hobnail

Delphi already does this, or something similar to what you're thinking:

https://www.delphiclassics.com/

Great resource, thanks!

[vividread]

Originally Posted by svenlind

In addition to all the books here on MR there is also this site that publish well taken cared of classics in the PD. Highly recommended especially for those for whom English is the second language:

https://standardebooks.org/about

Such a great initiative! There is a lot of selfless curation effort here and this community (just like MR) is a goldmine...someone with a commercial intent needs to beat that thrice...