Thread: Shades of 1984
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Old 03-09-2015, 02:50 PM   #45
eschwartz
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks View Post
Here's a real life author scenario. I'll use me, because it turns out, that is who I know most about. I wrote two short stories and offered them as a "package" in one purchase for 99 cents. Well, one of the stories had a lot of requests for a full novel. I never intended to write a full novel at the time I "sold" the short story. It was meant as a little short into one of my series and nothing more. Probably a year later, the current novel I was working on happened to fit that short story. That short story became the prologue.

When the Full Novel came out, I deleted the "short story" from the two-pack, made the remaining short free on outlets that allowed it and pulled it from the outlet that does not easily allow free stories. There was no nefarious deed intended. I have no idea if some feel it is unethical. As far as I'm concerned the "market" changed for that short story and there was no point in leaving what became the "prologue" up for sale.

Those who purchased it on Amazon can still access it, so far as I know. I have no idea what happens with B&N buyers. Those who purchased it on Kobo can still access their "old" copy. They probably can't buy the new copy since it's the same listing (It's free, but I'm guessing they can't download it as it probably shows as already purchased."

I did the best I could with a given situation when I finished writing a novel that happened to incorporate the short. I'm sure some will find it beyond the pale, but the technology today makes some things possible and I took advantage of that.
IMHO you should have pulled the bundle entirely, and left it up to the retailer to Do The Right Thing (Amazon will). Then republished the remaining short story as a separate ebook instead of an updated version.

As it is, people who bought (with *actual money* ) an ebook will now find their book disappearing out from under them. Even on Amazon, trusting fools who enabled autoupdates will find their book is no longer the one they bought.

You might think "oh, no real harm done" becase after all they'd just be buying the full novel and the newly-free short, but... maybe not.

You haven't gained yourself any great benefits I can see, and you have undoubtedly left people confused and annoyed.

Don't change the product.
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