Quote:
Originally Posted by igorsk
Here's a quote from one of the emails with free books.
I don't see why one couldn't assume that "and more" part meant that more ebooks will be available where this one came from.
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One could certainly infer (not 'assume'--I've already been corrected on that point!
) pretty much anything as the teaser you quote is quite vague. But given the general bloggish character of the other items in this list ("news, commentary, original stories and art, your own comments and conversations,
and ____"), if this were a bonus Match Game question, I don't think Fannie Flagg
or Charles Nelson Reilly would be filling that blank in with "more e-books"!
I certainly understand the misunderstanding and misplaced inferences on both sides (recipients of the announcements/e-books and Tor people). But I honestly think that stating one was "screwed" or "fooled" or "misled" by Tor in this situation is a stretch. Some people who are very focused on their own worldview of e-books made an inference that was a bit of a leap, and on which the Tor.com people were not trying or intending to make. They were starting a bit of an online presence, and promoted it (rather generously, IMO) with a large number of free books distributed in a consistent and cost-effective manner (i.e., in electronic form).
Anyone who complained (yes,
complained) that they were suckered in by the teaser and that more books were not available was
wrong. For example, from the OP (unedited):
"First, it was Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Free e-book download. Great book, I want more from this author! Sorry, Tor doesn't publish e-books.
I'm screwed out of the rest of the series.
This time it was Orphans of Chaos, by John C. Wright. Free e-book. I failed to note the page numbers progressing ever closer to the end, asynchronously to the plot. So yep, the book ended before the story did. Hey, get the next in the series, right? Sorry, Tor doesn't publish e-books.
I'm screwed out of the rest of the series."
Ummm, no. Many of the follow-up books
are available--just not in electronic form. What, did people all of a sudden become allergic to paper, or forget how to turn pages? No one was 'screwed' or 'fooled.' Many people discovered new authors and series from the freebies.
And anyone who did is perfectly capable of buying more books that are in the series, which are available. So what if they're not in e-format right now. Many other books aren't either. Even if 1 or 2 in a series might be. That's like complaining that you can't read a series of books because the first volume you have is in paperback and the rest are only out in hardcover!