Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
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Or they are to the digital publishing industry as used bookstores and rummage sales are to the physical one... not directly financially beneficial, and sometimes detrimental because someone who buys a $1 book at a yard sale probably won't be buying the new version, but they promote an interest in books, and they introduce many readers to new authors they might not have been willing to take a full-price risk on.
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YES!
For example, on a whim based on Amazon's recommendation engine, I picked up Elizabeth Haydon's
Rhapsody: Child of Blood used at a bookstore for like $2 or something. I really enjoyed it so I picked up the rest of her books. Since the e-books were not available at all, and then later only with DRM from Kobo - I picked up the remaining books from a used bookstore in hardcover for about $11 each (I grabbed one more from the Amazon marketplace for cheap). When she FINALLY writes the next book in the series, I'll probably buy the hardcover ASAP.
Same thing for me for George RR Martin - I've got A Dance With Dragons preordered because it's now my second favorite series.
In the video game world, used game sales promote people to take risk and buy new games (they can sell if they don't like - and they trade in old games towards new ones). It has been shown that the used market does actually trickle up and help the new market, there.
Books have an even better advantage there. Get someone interested in a series and they might become a fan and start buying the books new.
I just had something similiar occur with C.S. Friedman's Magister trilogy. Read the first two not through new-purchasing channels (DRM epub or Kindle is $8...pfft) and I'll surely be picking up the hardcover when book 3 comes out. In fact, I started reading Friedman the same way - I picked up Black Sun Rising used for a couple of bucks.