Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
Author support of the free ebook helps; there are people who won't pirate books, and others who will download but not share, if they think the author (and attached publishers lawyers) might come after them. Whether or not you directly offer it for free, a public announcement of "I'm not worried about free copies" works as a promotion.
|
Thanks for all the great input, Elfwreck. You've been very, very helpful since I introduced myself here, and I really appreciate it.
I had actually already studied DRM before I came to this forum and decided it wasn't for me. Given popular input about it, I guess I'm a little surprised (not a lot) that traditional publishers are still so resistant to the idea of going without it. Fear does strange things to people, and I'm sure that's the root of the matter.
I've been thinking about an alternative way to offer e-books. I ran it past my brother, who is very net-literate, and he tells me he's never heard of anyone doing something like it.
I'm thinking of putting up the e-books in five formats: pdf, epub, lrf, mobi, and ereader on a web page on my website that allows people to download them without interference but states that they're expected to pay for it on "The Honor System." In other words, I'll have no way to check up on anyone, but I expect to be paid for my work, either before or after the person reads the novel. As you suggested, I thought I'd also include a payment link at the end of the novel itself.
What I'm trying to do is to make the payment strictly voluntary, but remind people that they have an obligation to the author for enjoying his/her story.
What do you think of this idea?