Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Why do you think that lending someone a book is unlikely to result in a lost sale?
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Because most of the time when I lend someone a book, it's because the person I'm lending it to has never heard of the author or the book. They wouldn't be buying it
at all if I wasn't trying to turn them on to it. And even if you see the fact that I didn't buy a gift copy for them (instead of lending) as a "loss of sale" (again ... highly speculative), it doesn't a take into account the future sales that might be generated if I'm successful in pairing a book/author with a new fan who will very likely buy all of their future works (and in turn introduce others to it--unless the draconian pay "per/read" hopes publishers have for DRM succeeds in stopping altogether the
pro bono marketing strategy that has worked well for centuries). I believe lending quite often results in a net
gain of sales in the long run.
Of course I can't
prove that book lending ultimately "pays it forward" -- any more than anyone can prove it results in lost sales -- but I know in my heart that it does. Probably in buckets if people would just relax and let it (especially if they're any good).
The only authors who would be hurt are the ones readers don't feel very compelled to turn others onto (who probably had no realistic hopes for a solid fanbase in the first place). *shrugs*