Self-published, Creative Commons books

[arjaybe]

(This topic is open to everyone. You don't have to be a writer of self-published, Creative Commons licensed books.)

Since this is what I've done with my books, I'm wondering if anyone else has gone the same way. What inspired you to do it? How has it gone? Did you have any expectations? Were they met? Would you do it again?

Please feel free to add any further questions you think are important, as well as any observations. Also, I think recommendations wouldn't be out of order. If you know any books or authors that fit these criteria and impressed you, talk about them here.

I think we'd all be interested in the impressions and opinions of readers, too. How does this look from your perspective?

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by arjaybe

(This topic is open to everyone. You don't have to be a writer of self-published, Creative Commons licensed books.)

Since this is what I've done with my books, I'm wondering if anyone else has gone the same way. What inspired you to do it? How has it gone? Did you have any expectations? Were they met? Would you do it again?

Please feel free to add any further questions you think are important, as well as any observations. Also, I think recommendations wouldn't be out of order. If you know any books or authors that fit these criteria and impressed you, talk about them here.

I think we'd all be interested in the impressions and opinions of readers, too. How does this look from your perspective?

RJB,

This may not be the purpose of your post but I've often wondered why you do the Creative Commons license. Could you answer your own questions?

[arjaybe]

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

RJB,

This may not be the purpose of your post but I've often wondered why you do the Creative Commons license. Could you answer your own questions?

I'll just quote the post I made on my blog at the time, called Why I Freed Green Comet.

While I was writing Green Comet I learned about Sita Sings the Blues, an animated movie created by Nina Paley. I immediately downloaded it and watched it. I enjoyed it so much that I told everyone about it and have continued seeding the torrent ever since. I was amazed by the troubles Ms Paley had getting the rights to use the songs of Annette Hanshaw, which are almost a hundred years old now, and intrigued by her use of the Creative Commons to make her work as free as possible.

The way Nina Paley freed Sita inspired me to release Green Comet under a Creative Commons Attribution and ShareAlike license (CC-BY-SA) as well. So, enjoy the novel and use it to create your own story. And watch Sita Sings the Blues. You’ll be glad you did.

Where to download Sita Sings the Blues: http://archive.org/details/Sita_Sings_the_Blues

I don't want to run the risk of self-promotion. I'm a-scared of the mods.-)

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by arjaybe

I'll just quote the post I made on my blog at the time, called Why I Freed Green Comet.



Where to download Sita Sings the Blues: http://archive.org/details/Sita_Sings_the_Blues

I don't want to run the risk of self-promotion. I'm a-scared of the mods.-)

Thanks RJB. Very interesting. And very generous of you. I've heard of such stories. Inspiring stuff.

P.S. Yeah, you've got to watch out for the mods!

[Dr. Drib]

We're dangerous critters, all right, keeping the world safe from those dangerous spammers who seem to breed as fast as Tribbles.


Don
(Moderator)

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

We're dangerous critters, all right, keeping the world safe from those dangerous spammers who seem to breed as fast as Tribbles.


Don
(Moderator)

You need sensitivity training. MR should be a safe zone.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

You need sensitivity training. MR should be a safe zone.

I suffer bouts of diarrhea when I encounter a spammer, especially the kind who wish to sell passports and Visa cards.

No spammer is safe here......

[arjaybe]

There is comfort in the knowledge that we have a snarling junkyard dog guarding the fence.-)

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by arjaybe

There is comfort in the knowledge that we have a snarling junkyard dog guarding the fence.-)

[gmw]

At the risk of re-opening an old argument (but, of course, we won't do that ), I see Creative Commons as an entirely a creator thing. Most readers won't care beyond the fact that they can read it for free.

This creator's perspective: I personally have little interest in trying to expand on other people's creative works*. This probably explains why I have never given something like the Creative Commons licence much thought.

But now, having thought about it for a while since you started this thread, I still don't find it an attractive option. Even if someone else wanted to build on my work, I don't think I'd encourage them.

I think it would be different if it was a deliberate collaboration: lots of discussion and give and take, getting a feel for what was being created and having some control over it. But just opening it up to anyone? Not for me. After I'm dead, fine. I won't care. But while I'm alive I want my worlds to remain my territory. I don't really want anyone else messing around in there. It's personal.


* Which is not being critical of those that enjoy such activity. I have read some excellent fan-fiction and some of it is extremely clever. It's just not something that interests me very much. I have done some collaborative work in software development, but I much prefer to work on my own. You can imagine my report card from school: Not a team player; doesn't work well with others.

[arjaybe]

Originally Posted by gmw

At the risk of re-opening an old argument (but, of course, we won't do that ), I see Creative Commons as an entirely a creator thing. Most readers won't care beyond the fact that they can read it for free.

This creator's perspective: I personally have little interest in trying to expand on other people's creative works*. This probably explains why I have never given something like the Creative Commons licence much thought.

But now, having thought about it for a while since you started this thread, I still don't find it an attractive option. Even if someone else wanted to build on my work, I don't think I'd encourage them.

I think it would be different if it was a deliberate collaboration: lots of discussion and give and take, getting a feel for what was being created and having some control over it. But just opening it up to anyone? Not for me. After I'm dead, fine. I won't care. But while I'm alive I want my worlds to remain my territory. I don't really want anyone else messing around in there. It's personal.


* Which is not being critical of those that enjoy such activity. I have read some excellent fan-fiction and some of it is extremely clever. It's just not something that interests me very much. I have done some collaborative work in software development, but I much prefer to work on my own. You can imagine my report card from school: Not a team player; doesn't work well with others.

I'd love it if someone wanted to build on Green Comet. It has lots of places that could be expanded into stories that take off in other directions, and I don't have time to write them all.-)

You're right that Creative Commons is a creator thing. The licenses are there to let creators open up the options in their copyright. All the way from locked down to completely open. These are definitely options for the creator. But they also create variably restrictive options for other people, too. Right from the possibility of reading the book without having to pay for it first*, to having the freedom to pass it on, use part or all of it in something of their own, and even make money with it, depending on how open the license is.

I'm giving my work away. That's the thing that most people have trouble with. How can I put all that work into it, and then not try to "monetize" it? In some cases I get the sense that they think there's something wrong with me, or that it's some kind of trick. Very often they think there must be something wrong with the book. If it's free, then it can't be worth anything, right? Kind of like Free Software. Well, there might be something wrong with me. I'd be surprised if there weren't. But it's not a trick. I'm really giving it away, and there's no hidden cost. And I don't think there's anything wrong with Green Comet. Of course, I can't be the judge of that. I have to rely on the praise I've received from readers, and they don't seem to think there's anything wrong with it either.

I'm with you on the matter of not wanting to expand on other people's ideas. I have to write from my own inspirations. I'm not completely closing that door, though. It could happen.

* In the matter of paying for Creative Commons work, see Unglue.it They've set up a place where people can thank creators for their work.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by arjaybe

[...]I'm giving my work away. That's the thing that most people have trouble with. How can I put all that work into it, and then not try to "monetize" it? In some cases I get the sense that they think there's something wrong with me, or that it's some kind of trick. Very often they think there must be something wrong with the book. If it's free, then it can't be worth anything, right?[...]

The money thing is rather odd. Yes, there are many who will say that if it's free it can't be any good. And there are those that advise that you shouldn't sell yourself short. But then there are those who firmly believe that giving away at least your early work is the only way find the readers. It's been a while since I've seen Vincent (vyderscope) on here, but his experience made him a believer of this method ... and my experience does not contradict him.

So I don't don't see anything wrong or peculiar with deciding to give away your work. The means of giving it away is something else, and we all have our differences - hence you chose Creative Commons, where I would not.

[arjaybe]

Just me then, eh? No one else in the vast Mobileread universe publishes their work CC. In retrospect, I suppose that makes sense. Most people here are readers and not writers, after all.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by gmw

The money thing is rather odd. Yes, there are many who will say that if it's free it can't be any good. And there are those that advise that you shouldn't sell yourself short. But then there are those who firmly believe that giving away at least your early work is the only way find the readers. It's been a while since I've seen Vincent (vyderscope) on here, but his experience made him a believer of this method ... and my experience does not contradict him.

So I don't don't see anything wrong or peculiar with deciding to give away your work. The means of giving it away is something else, and we all have our differences - hence you chose Creative Commons, where I would not.

I know Vincent still posts on Facebook.
I can't count the number of authors i have found due to their free works.

There is nothing wrong with free.

I also know why there is a backlash against free.
Back in 2012 or 2013, I did a quick read of many freebies, it was about 25% very good and 75% unreadable for various reasons. I redid the same thing in 2015, and for the worse the tide had changed and 90% were unreadable.

It appeared that in the early days, more authors cared about their books and wanted to make money. I should mention most of the original 25% have gone on to make extremely good money.

If one wants to Google there were two parts to my quick reads. Member of a certain forum or not a certain forum. The first time, there was a 90% success rate with the forum members. 90% failure with non-forum members. But forums change, people leave and attitudes change.
When I redid with the newer authors, I found it was 90% failure across the board.
This new batch was under the impression that errors don't matter. They don't notice them so no one else should either. And yes, dang near every one of them was an attempted serial with first one free.
(Dang it. Resolve something and give me a teaser.)

Hope this helps clear up the free reasoning.

And I refuse to publicly name that forum.

[gmw]

Cinisajoy, I think your post makes a few good points, but one in particular: The self-publishing landscape is still in flux. The crowded Internet with its often mob-like mentality seems likely to keep it that way.

You said:

It appeared that in the early days, more authors cared about their books and wanted to make money. I should mention most of the original 25% have gone on to make extremely good money.

and I notice the link this makes between "cared" and "wanted to make money". This implicit link is one of the reasons why so many readers are wary of trying free books. For good reason, of course, because anyone serious about making money needs to care about the quality of their product. This doesn't mean all people offering free books don't care, but the point is that they don't have to care, so the odds are many won't.