Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenMonkey
I'd be all over a Netflix-for-books style model if they had all of the major publishers. So far no one has pulled that off.
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This could be a windfall for new/undiscovered writers. Since I've started coming to MobileRead, my emphasis on reading has shifted from reading only authors I've heard of, but to one of reading authors I've heard about either in the free and bargain forum or in the self promotion forum.
Finding authors new to me has been a lot of fun. I look for free or VERY cheap give-away prices. Sure, I read a lot of dreck, but when I find someone new that is GOOD, it is a special kind of joy. I rarely read "best sellers" any more.
That $120/year (US dollars) could be a way not only to allow self published and unknown authors to make some money, but a way to judge their relative economic value to the book market.
Authors offer a book for free, either on Amazon, Smashwords, or someplace else. They may know how many downloads of their book has occurred, but that is about all they know if the readers don't offer a review.
But as I understand it, under an "all-you-can-eat" subscription model, they get nothing when the book is downloaded, but they get PAID when a certain percentage has actually been read. This tells them the ratio of how many downloads actually result in people reading the book enough to generate a royalty payment to them. I should think that would be VERY useful information whe trying to judge your effectiveness!
And while the money would be nice, I doubt any self published or new author REALLY expects to make significant amounts of money off of their work. (They hope for more, but expect less)
I say, Amazon, bring it on! And if you can figure out some sort of cross licensing plan with Smashwords, and other self publishing sites, you should look into that as well. That only adds value to the program for me.