Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
Based on articles about the "Plant" experiment, I have these observations:
People were buying the book chapter by chapter, as they came out. As chapters came out, fewer paid, including those who continued to download. Sure, some people dropped out of succeeding chapters, but the experiment was never about how many downloaded... just about how many downloaders paid. That indicates that downloaders wanted the book, but they believed they had paid enough after 3-4 chapters and refused to pay more, suggesting a pricing issue (the cost was a bit high, equivalent to new hardback pricing, for an e-book).
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People download things just because they can be downloaded. Just because something is downloaded does not mean that it is read.
Quote:
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But the raw numbers say it all: People downloaded, but they didn't want to pay for it, and by the established rules of the experiment, the project was halted. And I don't believe King saw an increased response after the end, with a significant number of non-payers finally ponying up and begging for him to continue. They were done. They did not respond to the voluntary payment method... they cheated, they skimped, and they lost.
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And they were right not to pay. Of course they do not want to pay for a book that is not finished. I think the whole setup was stupid and no valid conclusions can be drawn.
The comment from
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1...2082851,00.htm was interesting:
Quote:
Although The Plant was a significant experiment within the publishing industry, analysts said the test was not earth shattering.
"I think that whole motto of sort of nickel-and-diming people of this per chapter basis was a mistake," said Forrester analyst Dan O'Brien. "Every chapter was another test of whether people would pay the threshold that [King] determined. I thought it got in the way of the relationship between the writer and audience -- it was too mercantile."
O'Brien said that an alternative model could have been used, such as one similar to a magazine subscription. Readers would pay up front and receive 12 issues or 24 issues through a contract between the publisher and reader.
"I think a writer who had a track record and reputation and a fan base could reasonable try that," O'Brien said. "Give me $15, and I will write a book in chapters -- but that's not what Stephen King did."
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That the relationship was to mercantile is what I think also. A reader also spends his time so the relationship between a reader and a writer is not a simple producer/consumer-relationship.