Once Again... FREE BOOKS FROM TOR

[Mitchll]

They're back...........

New giveaway e-books

More details next week--but yes, we plan to resume giving away selected e-books on Tor.com, at least one title per month. To download them you’ll need to not just visit Tor.com but register as a user; the downloads won’t be accessible until you do. Registering on the site takes maybe thirty seconds if you type particularly slowly...so Act Now, Act Without Thinking, get over to Tor.com and create yourself a user account today.

[Dr. Drib]

Well, for me personally, this is good news.

I hope all egos (and hurt feelings) can now be restored to a healthy equilibrium...

Thanks,
Don

[RWood]

I just got the email too. Some of their prior free books did inspire me to seek out the rest of the series, I look forward to the time when they will offer ebooks for sale.

What they did offer for free were some of the best formatted and most error free fiction ebooks I have found from commercial publishers.

[Elsi]

Originally Posted by Mitchll

They're back...........

New giveaway e-books

More details next week--but yes, we plan to resume giving away selected e-books on Tor.com, at least one title per month. To download them you’ll need to not just visit Tor.com but register as a user; the downloads won’t be accessible until you do. Registering on the site takes maybe thirty seconds if you type particularly slowly...so Act Now, Act Without Thinking, get over to Tor.com and create yourself a user account today.

Thank you very much. I've never turned down a freebie when it was something that I wanted. But, please keep working toward providing a means of SELLING electronic copies of books that you don't want to give away. I'm a fan. I'd like to be a customer.

Keep in mind that free eBooks are *NOT* going to be a come-on to buy other books in paper format. At least, not for me.

In his introduction to the electronic version of Little Brother, Cory Doctorow explained the thoughts behind giving away eBooks:

Originally Posted by Cory Doctorow

What's more, I don't see ebooks as substitute for paper books for most people. It's not that the screens aren't good enough, either: if you're anything like me, you already spend every hour you can get in front of the screen, reading text. But the more computer-literate you are, the less likely you are to be reading long-form works on those screens — that's because computer-literate people do more things with their computers. We run IM and email and we use the browser in a million diverse ways. We have games running in the background, and endless opportunities to tinker with our music libraries. The more you do with your computer, the more likely it is that you'll be interrupted after five to seven minutes to do something else. That makes the computer extremely poorly suited to reading long-form works off of, unless you have the iron self-discipline of a monk.
...
So ebooks sell print books. Every writer I've heard of who's tried giving away ebooks to promote paper books has come back to do it again. That's the commercial case for doing free ebooks.

And, if I only had a PC on which to read electronic books, I'd agree with Doctorow. But, technology has come up with a viable substitute for paper with the hand-held readers. Those of us who have adopted this technology now look at free eBooks differently. For us, they aren't a come-on to the print/paper books. For us, they *can* be a come-on to purchasing books in electronic formats -- if they are available. So it's encumbent upon the authors and publishers to see that among the other formats -- hardback, trade paperback, mass-market paperback -- they bring books out for the electronic readers.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Well, for me personally, this is good news.

I hope all egos (and hurt feelings) can now be restored to a healthy equilibrium...

Thanks,
Don

This post makes me wonder f you understand what the gripe was. Many people here annoyed/irritated/pissed because TOR gave away the first title in a number of different series and then neglected to follow through on the rest of the titles in a series.

It wasn't that we wanted the sequels for nothing; I specifically said that I wanted to buy them. The problem is that TOR won't release them as ebooks at all.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Well, for me personally, this is good news.

I hope all egos (and hurt feelings) can now be restored to a healthy equilibrium...

Thanks,
Don

Ego?? Hurt feelings??

Neither ever even entered into the equation.

Should I assume that the whole "free books" thing is yet another attempt to get me hooked on series that I can't actually purchase in an ebook format??

Fool me once .... as they say.

I'll pass.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

This post makes me wonder f you understand what the gripe was. Many people here annoyed/irritated/pissed because TOR gave away the first title in a number of different series and then neglected to follow through on the rest of the titles in a series.

It wasn't that we wanted the sequels for nothing; I specifically said that I wanted to buy them. The problem is that TOR won't release them as ebooks at all.

Nate:

I feel that I thoroughly understand the complaints, and that my understanding is as competent as yours or of any other person who posted -- either on this site or postings from the TOR side.

I read every single post on that site and then I read every one of the posts on our site (many of them twice).

Don

[Amalthia]

it looks like they took down the previously avaliable free books. I don't suppose anyone has a list of what they had? It never occurred to me to write it down because I figured they'd keep the books available a bit longer.

[VillageReader]

I got the e-mail today too. I have read a number of them. One that I think was free that I skipped was the fourth in a series (???).

One hopes they will start to put the series in e-book format for purchase. I have no longer have room for books unless they are byte size.

[Oh, Why Not?]

Great . . . I assume this is a prelude to the, uh, real thing.

[nekokami]

I would say this is a holdover until they get their actual shop arrangements made. They've said quite definitely that they will offer ebooks in the future, and we have confirmation from some actual authors who are part of the move. If you don't trust them, or don't want to wait for the sequels to be available as commercial ebooks, don't download these free books.

[carld]

I wish I could buy (free is acceptable) book two of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series in eBook form. I got it in hardback on interlibrary loan, but it's a fairly hefty book, and the small print just caused me too much eye strain. I turned it back in after reading the first chapter.

Maybe if I'm really lucky book two will be on their new list.

[etitameh]

Originally Posted by VillageReader

no longer have room for books unless they are byte size.

LOVE this... i may just have to start using it myself

[HappyMartin]

Thanks but no thanks. I have free books coming out of my ears at the moment. Free books where the rest of the authors books are for sale in a form I can access. I will focus on those. As soon as Tor gets its eloctronic book sales sorted out I will have another look at it.

[wayrad]

I registered as a user at Tor.com in order to continue receiving free ebooks, and was startled to find that my full name (required fields in the registration procedure) appeared in my public profile! When I click on other recently registered usernames, it appears that the same thing has happened to other people.

I couldn't find an option to turn this off, but name fields can be edited. I'd suggest just not using your real name if you wish to keep it private. I've also emailed Tor to suggest they fix the problem.