Best Selling Author Actively Pirating His Own Book -- Finds It Helps Sales Tremendously
from the the-benefits-of-free dept
We've been seeing more and more examples lately of content creators recognizing how they benefit from giving away their content for free. What's most amusing, however, is that every time we point out an example, people work extra hard explaining why that case is a special case. When we discussed less-well-known musicians giving away music, we were told that it would never work for megastars. When we discussed megastars giving away music, we were told it would never work for indie musicians. The same is true in other areas as well. When we recently wrote about an author giving his book away for free, someone angrily emailed to let us know that this only made sense because no one had ever heard of that author -- so it was purely a promotional effort by a new author.Yet, apparently, it also works for well-known authors. TorrentFreak points us to the news that Paulo Coelho is such a fan of giving his book away for free that he's even set up his own blog called Pirate Coehlo where he points to where you can download various translations of his best selling book The Alchemist. Coelho explained all of this in a recent talk he gave:
Link: sevenload.com
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Filed Under: authors, books, downloads, free content, paulo coelho
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pffft....
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http://www.brandonsanderson.com/book/Warbreaker/
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Re: pffft....
It should be.
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Haaaaaaand......Salute!
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just a thought
I can see that this structure works quite well for authors as the majority of people absorb the content through reading of an actual book. So, people find the author online, view the pirated material, realize that they would like to read the book at their own leisure (and not tied to the screen) and then purchase it.
As I have been typing this and thinking it through further, I wonder how much the model benefits musicians. Does one side of the business model (electronic distribution) get hampered while helping the other side (cd sales)? Or are both helped by the process?
--Joey
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Re: just a thought
With music, they need to adopt a somewhat different set of business models, as we've described.
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time for a new arguement?
It's a bit like arguing with creationists, really..
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Baen Free Library
SF/Fantasy book publisher Baen seems to understand this, and they have for a while. For just over 7 years now they have hosted some of their own books as free downloads in the Baen Free Library.
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Re: just a thought
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Baen Free Library
I personally read a lot of books on my PDA as do many of my friends - and, no, we are not "youngsters" per se, as we're in our 40's & 50's.
As a consequence of reading several of the free books and getting exposed to some different authors, we have all purchased quite a few books.
I have found myself doing something similar with music sites that let me listen to free samples and list suggestions of similar music.
The model really does work.
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Agreed, here's a usecase...
During my search, I was a little dissappointed when I found that Apple had posted the audio version of it online for free for a week or two.
The process that ensued thereafter was interesting- I bought the audio version, and also picked up the print version (to proudly display on my desk at work next to my growing library of HBR-published works.)
So yes, it worked out well as a promotional item. Probably better than any other way...
I can't wait until the Writer's Strike Ends. Neither can Colbert.
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Why books will always reign...
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I too went the Free Book route
Last month I began giving away the digital version of my search engine book, Confidential SEO Secrets. I have been quite happily surprised at the number of voluntary domains I have received. I made it very easy for visitors to download the book (no registration) and it is the complete book, not just a couple of chapters. Allen
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Re: time for a new arguement?
Actually it's worse. Because
"widespread and open P2P sharing across all forms of media would almost certainly be detrimental"
is already here.
That's what I don't get about idiots touting they can't compete with free. You're doing it right now every day.
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Is free a business model? Of course it is, many have been using it for years. Hell, there is a famous razor company that gave away the shaver while selling the blades. Free is nothing new.
I have no problem with the free issue, I do have a problem with taking the content of those that choose to not go with that business model. Techdirt does seem to support the taking of that content.
I look at it like this. Walmart has a business strategy of selling at low prices. Nordstroms doesn't. There may be the exact same items in both stores (although I doubt it) but do I have a right to walk out of Nordstroms while only paying Walmart prices? Seems to me that could get you thrown in jail.
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Books and Music
The simplest reason being books are still typically enjoyed most in their paper form than an electric form by the typical person, for a variety of reasons. (Light reflecting off paper is easier on the eyes than a screen, can't carry the computer to bed for a quick read before sleep or to the breakfast table, etc..)
Music on the other hand has only gotten better and more popular with the advent of recent technologies making it more mobile. Its carrying cases (MP3 players vs. CDs or tapes, etc..) are smaller, lighter, more organized, hold more, etc..
Even if you got a copy of a book for free on the web, most people would still be motivated to go buy the physical books to enjoy the rest of the story or others by that Author.
With music however, you get the song you want, then you've got it. Done. Like an artist specifically? You can typically download the entire album of a popular star near effortlessly a week after its released, maybe earlier.
I don't even know anyone personally that actually buys CDs anymore.
I think the small time artists are the musicians that can really benefit from doing the releasing of some tracks to the public for them to sample.
Music for small time artists is harder for to find. You find one track they're spreading but not the rest. What do you do? Go buy the CD.
It won't even come with the stigma of Metallica whining about not making as many millions as they used to.
Free Sharing:
Megastars: Bad idea.
Small bands: Good idea till their mega stars.
Books: Good idea.
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Not sure what the point is
So if it's not another in the litany of stories here written to say "stop trying to control your works and stop trying to prevent stealing," then I don't know what this story is other than about a decade old news.
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Pirating own content
Regards, Keith Johnson, Author "365 Great Affirmations"
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pirating ur book
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pirating ur book
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Free Ebooks are my fav
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RE:Pro Writer: Paulo Cuelho,Matt Groening's "Simpson's" Cartoon Series, & N.A.S.A.'s science symposium on recent discoveries on Saturn's moons
Paulo Cuelho's "The Alchemist" marketing of e-books and general sales statistics on an international scale.
It seems to me that the book business can get " very hairy
(complex) very quickly" when dealing with the legal realm
of copyright law and DRM [digital rights management] while
dealing simultaneously with translator's pay percentages on
the overseas sales.
The Paulo Cuelho pointed out a remarkable phenomena that
I would like to call the 'avarice & apathy' factor of the
market place. He mentioned casually the fact that people by
the thousands were downloading his e-books ,yet apparently
NOT READING THEM!!...since there had been NO COMMENTS,CRITICISM, OR COMMENDATION of his literary work!!!!
P.S.:
- Go into all the world & preach The Gospel of CHRIST
to all!
-Your Fellow Keeper of Torch of Truth,
The Holy Grail, The Holy Double-Edged Sword,
The Holy Arc of the Covenants, & other various
assorted objects d'art!!,
s. c. n. ... d.b.online as
mastertech37@yahoo.com
stevenier74127@gmail.com
snier@stx.rr.com ... while owning & operating
two websites:
http://nierenergy.igniteinc.biz
http://steveniersdesignservices.biz
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This doesn't work for audio/video
With music and movies the situation is different - once people download and listen to the song or watch a movie, they most likely will not buy the original product, unless they absolutely loved it.
Just my two cents based on personal experience.
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Re: just a thought
The internet is a terrific tool for undermining the parasitic shitbags who interpose themselves between creators of content and viewers of content.
Every industry, every political system has a layer of bullshit artists - parasites whose job is to raise prices in order that they can pocket the difference between the cost of production and the (rigged) final price.
There are any number of examples of musicians who create content, provide it at whatever price the viewer is willing to pay (including "zero"), and make more than enough to cover their expenses (Nine Inch Nails are the most-cited example).
The marginal cost of a digital copy of a CD or DVD is ZERO, or as near to zero as makes no odds. Under a competitive system, prices equal marginal costs.
If artists can find people who are prepared to pay more than marginal cost, then that is perfectly alright - effectively, some consumers are prepared to voluntarily donate some of their 'consumer surplus' to the artists as a gesture of goodwill.
That is fine (noble, even) and I have done that myself from time to time. But I understood what I was doing: paying more than marginal cost, and giving up (part of) my subjective evaluation of how much it was worth TO ME.
To insist that everyone pays more than marginal cost undermines the fabric of a genuinely competitive economic system. It is the behaviour of monopolists, and monopoly is always and everywhere subject to being 'undermined' by the market... which is why the first port of call for any monopolist (when they face market pressure) is to call in the state and its goon squads.
Caedite Eos.
Cheers
GT
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Re: Re: just a thought
What is needed is a revolutionary concept, one centralized online market place where artists can sell their work. This place must be free or based on donations.
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Literary investigation
paulo coelho is a publishing phenomenan. but he is not an original writer. his magnum opus 'the alchemist' itself is a stolen treasure. he knows from where to stela and how to hide. please read the blog www.literaryinvestigation.blogspot.com to find out from where he copied and created 'the alchemist'.
truth is always bitter...
premji, india
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Re: Re: just a thought
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Re: Re: just a thought
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Re: Literary investigation
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