Grumpy Old Bookman makes some interesting points in his blog entry about
literature and trash. It all boils down to recognition. Thousands of books are published every year and review space is tight
your chances of being reviewed in any major journal are somewhere between slim and zero, and Slim just left town; and that reviews do not necessarily translate into sales, or anything else of much value.
He also has some sage advice about promoting one's work and avoiding obscurity--
If you must write short stories, or a novel, put the damn thing on the internet, for free. If it's any good, in terms of producing emotion in the reader, word will spread fast enough, you can be sure of that -- ask Cory Doctorow. And if you can find 50,000 readers or so, and prove that you’ve entertained them, then you won’t have to go looking for a publisher, because a whole gang of them will undoubtedly come rushing up the path to your door.
I couldn't agree more.
But how many Cory Doctorow's are there. That method also has a slim chance of success, at best. Whereas just submitting to a press with distribution in place has at least a 1% chance. A higher chance if the level of distribution is a little lower.
ReplyDeleteHow would someone keep track of how many people are free-downloading the work?
ReplyDeleteThere's also the risk (and this was told to me by a small-press publisher) of a publisher not wanting to touch something that's already been available for free. Too many people might have already had access to it, then, so why would they buy it?
I have to agree with the two previous comments. Take Lulu, for example. There are many, many people who offer a free download, yet, none of them make headlines. Giving away your work for free may be good for some, but if someone gives me a free book in a download format, chances are, I won't read it. I tried two last years and I had to put both of them down -- very, very bad.
ReplyDeleteYou can read more about how this is working out for Doctorow here, http://www.forbes.com/2006/11/30/cory-doctorow-copyright-tech-media_cz_cd_books06_1201doctorow.html
ReplyDeleteI think it works for Mr. Doctorow because he writes professional level work. Giving away junk doesn't make you any friends.
ReplyDeleteThe assumption, here, is that those who are writing professional level work but who are having a hard time getting it out there are looking for a good way to get it out there.
ReplyDelete"Giving away junk doesn't make you any friends" isn't necessarily an informative or helpful response. (Most know that first and foremost, one must write something GOOD...but writing something good doesn't ensure success. What works for one won't necessarily work for the other. Sometimes, people are brilliant marketers. Sometimes people get lucky. Sometimes they're both good AND lucky.
And other times, they write junk and DON'T give it away for free, but sell millions and make all kinds of friends.
And other times, they write junk and DON'T give it away for free, but sell millions and make all kinds of friends.
ReplyDeleteThose are the lucky ones.
Maybe.
ReplyDeleteHave to think about that.
Kristen: I'm not certain how other services handle the information, but Lulu provides tabulation of each and every download (most of my individual downloads are free). They show up in a different section marked zero-creator revenues, or something of that nature.
ReplyDeleteAs for the other points raised, both sales of my book and downloads of the individual stories have been healthy, with the latter just slightly edging ahead of the former. Makes sense, of course, as, of the stories, only one carries a charge (a September 11th essay, the proceeds of the sales of which go to the United Way NYC). I talk about my own because, of course, I don't have access to the data of anyone else.
But it's worth noting that, unlike Anonymous, some people will and do download e-books (personally, I think the short form lends itself to such a venture moreso than the long form. I wouldn't want to read a novel by screen, but a short story? Certainly). And if it hadn't been for the e-book option, Entrekin wouldn't have been the first one on an iPhone.
-Will Entrekin
You will also notice that much of what Doctorow 'gives away' has been previously published in major periodical who presumably paid for the first publication rights?
ReplyDeleteI have bought three books (novels and short story collections) after reading them for free online. I have also downloaded about 9 e-books (each under $8.00). Two of those I enjoyed so much that I went back and bought the paperback so I could share it with friends.
ReplyDeleteMichael Allen (Grumpy Old Bookman) has free downloads on his publishing site, and he also posts his stories occasionally on GOB.
After he posted one of his short stories titled Say What You Mean, I enjoyed it so much I purchased a copy of King Albert’s Words of Advice so I could check out the rest of his collection. I wasn’t disappointed.
I can’t explain why I love the way Michael Allen writes. Even if I’m not crazy about the subject he’s chosen to write about, I can’t stop reading once I’ve started. His writing is so smooth and effortless to read that sometimes I get the feeling that I’m not really reading a story, but instead, someone is telling me a story. I guess that doesn’t make much sense.
Anyway, my point is: Just because I read your work for free, doesn’t mean I won’t buy it if I like it.
Nathan Bransford gave you a nice plug in his blog, PODler!
ReplyDelete