Shareware ebooks - Page 4

Xenophon · 09-17-2008, 11:22 AM

And, indeed, the site was back up. So I dumped a tip in the jar for the Pagans series.

Do you know how long the site was down? That may, perhaps, have something to do with the thinness of the tip stream.

Xenophon

Richard Herley · 09-18-2008, 05:03 AM

Thanks for the payment, Xenophon! The site had been offline since May, then I had a change of heart and decided to continue. I'm revising the HTML at the moment to encourage visitors to look a little more deeply into the content on offer, rather than just grabbing the downloads and departing. I'm also in the final stages of preparing a new novel, Refuge, which should be available within the week. I'm also working on a book for release in the spring, so you can see I'm in this now for the long term.

With the rise of the internet and the spread of ever more reasonably priced and attractive ebook displays (e.g. the new iPod Touch), I'm convinced that e is the future of fiction, and probably of many other sorts of books too. My site may take a few years to start generating anything like the income I could hope for now from a conventional publishing house, but I think it's worth getting in on the ground floor.

Xenophon · 09-18-2008, 10:08 AM

May I suggest that you try to reach an arrangement with Baen/WebScriptions for selling your eBooks? At least the historical fiction should be "close enough" to their core audience for them to be interested. That way they'd do the fulfillment, web-site, accounting, advertising (at least to the tune of their e-newsletter) etc. They're the "ultimate good-guys" in the ebook world. And, they go for non-exclusive rights on ebooks. I think it would be worth your time to at least check into it.

Xenophon

Richard Herley · 09-18-2008, 04:03 PM

I've already released them under a Creative Commons licence, so Baen are unlikely to be interested, but I'll certainly investigate when I have a chance -- snowed under at the moment with the new book.

slayda · 09-18-2008, 04:31 PM

Richard, I'm one who downloaded & didn't pay. Couldn't really get into the book. Not necessarily your fault or bad writing. I just have peculiar taste. E.G. the very popular "Lonesome Dove" for me was a very poor read (even though I did read it through because it was so highly recommended). Also I can't get into any of the very popular Harry Potter books. So don't stop writing because of my lack of enjoyment of your writing. You're in good company.

Sorry

Richard Herley · 09-19-2008, 08:01 AM

That's a respectable position -- everyone has different tastes, and I'm glad you didn't pay for something you didn't want. "Try before you buy" is the beauty of shareware anything, ebooks included.

Incidentally, if any other authors are reading this and would like to give the shareware model a try, please get in touch. Maybe you have out-of-print titles which are unlikely ever to be republished, such is the state of the industry; or maybe you are an established author whose work is now rejected by publishers not because it's bad, but simply because they don't foresee the massive sales most of them seem to be chasing these days; or maybe you are a talented newcomer who is finding it impossible to break in. Whatever your circumstances, the e-reading market might offer an opportunity.

At the moment I feel like a voice in the wilderness, and am keen to help others who might want to release their books as shareware.

zelda_pinwheel · 09-19-2008, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Herley

At the moment I feel like a voice in the wilderness, and am keen to help others who might want to release their books as shareware.

well it does get pretty wild around here sometimes but just try to keep the sun to your left.

more seriously, i think your experimental new business model is really interesting and we are at a time when with ebooks we need to be open to neww ideas.

as you've noted yourself here you have an amazing ressource of a community who not only loves to read and really wants ebooks *and* *authors* to succeed but has some really helpful and innovative ideas.

you idea to associate with other authors using the same model is good ; you might be more visible as a group. asking the members (users) around here how the shareware experience can be improved is also i think a great idea ; they are in a good position to know what works for them as readers and consumers and can give you the complementary perspective to your own.

good luck ! and stick with it !

pilotbob · 09-19-2008, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Herley

At the moment I feel like a voice in the wilderness, and am keen to help others who might want to release their books as shareware.

Wasn't this tried by Steven King and some other popular author recently who's named escaped me? In both cases the "purchases" were not made. I'm not sure if they said you were "expected" to pay for the book if you enjoyed it.

BOb

nekokami · 09-19-2008, 01:44 PM

Do keep in mind that lots of people download files and then never look at them. There's a sort of "hoarding" mentality at work. So it's not necessarily the case that all those people read your book and then decided not to pay.

Richard Herley · 09-19-2008, 03:25 PM

zelda, thanks for the encouragement. All a would-be shareware author needs is a blog, a PayPal button, and his/her books available from Feedbooks or manybooks.net. A personal website isn't necessary, though server space is getting cheaper and cheaper, and there are some excellent freeware HTML editors available, like KompoZer. If such authors could be located from a central, classifying site (this could even be another blog), it would help a great deal with the main problem -- promotion.

pilotbob, if my memory serves I believe Stephen King tried to get people to pay on a per-chapter basis -- not a good approach. I don't know about the other writer.

neko, this is the very argument, put forward by my better half, which finally persuaded me to give it another shot. I've revamped the website to dissuade visitors from doing this:

home page > downloads page > exit

I'm hoping they'll now connect a little more with the content and then decide whether they really want to download. At the same time I've tried not to make it hard to find the download links.

pilotbob · 09-19-2008, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Herley

pilotbob, if my memory serves I believe Stephen King tried to get people to pay on a per-chapter basis -- not a good approach. I don't know about the other writer.

Turns out the other writer I had heard had tried this and gave up was, erm, Richard Herley. So, um, nevermind on that one.

BOb

nekokami · 09-19-2008, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Herley

neko, this is the very argument, put forward by my better half, which finally persuaded me to give it another shot. I've revamped the website to dissuade visitors from doing this:

home page > downloads page > exit

I'm hoping they'll now connect a little more with the content and then decide whether they really want to download. At the same time I've tried not to make it hard to find the download links.

I think this is a good strategy.

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09-17-2008, 11:22 AM	#46
Xenophon curmudgeon Posts: 1,487 Karma: 5748190 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Redwood City, CA USA Device: Kobo Aura HD, (ex)nook, (ex)PRS-700, (ex)PRS-500	And, indeed, the site was back up. So I dumped a tip in the jar for the Pagans series. Do you know how long the site was down? That may, perhaps, have something to do with the thinness of the tip stream. Xenophon

09-18-2008, 05:03 AM	#47
Richard Herley Author Posts: 203 Karma: 1164907 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Thanks for the payment, Xenophon! The site had been offline since May, then I had a change of heart and decided to continue. I'm revising the HTML at the moment to encourage visitors to look a little more deeply into the content on offer, rather than just grabbing the downloads and departing. I'm also in the final stages of preparing a new novel, Refuge, which should be available within the week. I'm also working on a book for release in the spring, so you can see I'm in this now for the long term. With the rise of the internet and the spread of ever more reasonably priced and attractive ebook displays (e.g. the new iPod Touch), I'm convinced that e is the future of fiction, and probably of many other sorts of books too. My site may take a few years to start generating anything like the income I could hope for now from a conventional publishing house, but I think it's worth getting in on the ground floor.

09-18-2008, 10:08 AM	#48
Xenophon curmudgeon Posts: 1,487 Karma: 5748190 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Redwood City, CA USA Device: Kobo Aura HD, (ex)nook, (ex)PRS-700, (ex)PRS-500	May I suggest that you try to reach an arrangement with Baen/WebScriptions for selling your eBooks? At least the historical fiction should be "close enough" to their core audience for them to be interested. That way they'd do the fulfillment, web-site, accounting, advertising (at least to the tune of their e-newsletter) etc. They're the "ultimate good-guys" in the ebook world. And, they go for non-exclusive rights on ebooks. I think it would be worth your time to at least check into it. Xenophon

09-18-2008, 04:03 PM	#49
Richard Herley Author Posts: 203 Karma: 1164907 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	I've already released them under a Creative Commons licence, so Baen are unlikely to be interested, but I'll certainly investigate when I have a chance -- snowed under at the moment with the new book.

09-18-2008, 04:31 PM	#50
slayda Retired & reading more! Posts: 2,764 Karma: 1884247 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North Alabama, USA Device: Kindle 1, iPad Air 2, iPhone 6S+, Kobo Aura One	Richard, I'm one who downloaded & didn't pay. Couldn't really get into the book. Not necessarily your fault or bad writing. I just have peculiar taste. E.G. the very popular "Lonesome Dove" for me was a very poor read (even though I did read it through because it was so highly recommended). Also I can't get into any of the very popular Harry Potter books. So don't stop writing because of my lack of enjoyment of your writing. You're in good company. Sorry

09-19-2008, 08:01 AM	#51
Richard Herley Author Posts: 203 Karma: 1164907 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	That's a respectable position -- everyone has different tastes, and I'm glad you didn't pay for something you didn't want. "Try before you buy" is the beauty of shareware anything, ebooks included. Incidentally, if any other authors are reading this and would like to give the shareware model a try, please get in touch. Maybe you have out-of-print titles which are unlikely ever to be republished, such is the state of the industry; or maybe you are an established author whose work is now rejected by publishers not because it's bad, but simply because they don't foresee the massive sales most of them seem to be chasing these days; or maybe you are a talented newcomer who is finding it impossible to break in. Whatever your circumstances, the e-reading market might offer an opportunity. At the moment I feel like a voice in the wilderness, and am keen to help others who might want to release their books as shareware.

09-19-2008, 01:44 PM	#54
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	Do keep in mind that lots of people download files and then never look at them. There's a sort of "hoarding" mentality at work. So it's not necessarily the case that all those people read your book and then decided not to pay.

09-19-2008, 03:25 PM	#55
Richard Herley Author Posts: 203 Karma: 1164907 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	zelda, thanks for the encouragement. All a would-be shareware author needs is a blog, a PayPal button, and his/her books available from Feedbooks or manybooks.net. A personal website isn't necessary, though server space is getting cheaper and cheaper, and there are some excellent freeware HTML editors available, like KompoZer. If such authors could be located from a central, classifying site (this could even be another blog), it would help a great deal with the main problem -- promotion. pilotbob, if my memory serves I believe Stephen King tried to get people to pay on a per-chapter basis -- not a good approach. I don't know about the other writer. neko, this is the very argument, put forward by my better half, which finally persuaded me to give it another shot. I've revamped the website to dissuade visitors from doing this: home page > downloads page > exit I'm hoping they'll now connect a little more with the content and then decide whether they really want to download. At the same time I've tried not to make it hard to find the download links.