RE: free information

From: Damien Broderick (thespike@earthlink.net)
Date: Wed Jan 15 2003 - 11:01:56 MST


avatar says:

< Low cost titles ($1 or $2) through direct download to blank (digital
paper) books from personal or small organization websites offer the same
moneys for authors presently published but otherwise disenfranchised. It is
conceivable after the introduction of digital paper/ink books by eink etc.
that individual authors such as Damien Broderick might get buyers in the
order of 100s or 1,000s and be in a position to more fully support
themselves as such downloads will be ongoing. >

While it's true that I don't want people to steal my livelihood, I'm very
eager to see them get hold of my writing cheaply while still passing along a
modest, reasonable payment to me and anyone essential to the publication
loop. Once we have digital paper and easy downloads, all this will be made
much easier--except that few people will be inclined to pay the producers of
the information or entertainment they can have for nothing by stealing it.

I'm making my first moves in this e-book direction very soon, by releasing a
new novel (co-authored by Rory Barnes) on Richard Curtis's E-Reads, which
provides both downloads and Print on Demand copies.

http://www.ereads.com/index.asp

This full length novel, FOREVER, is a Singularity-lite romp, and I hope
plenty of people download it for the modest charge E-Reads will levy. At the
moment, I have a few out-of-print novels and stories available via
Fictionwise.com, so far selling a maximum of less than 500 copies (cumulated
over several years to date), and while that's a nice start it isn't nearly
enough to live on. If FOREVER had been released in print, it'd cost you $26
or so (like TRANSCENSION last year, hard cover from Tor); from E-Reads I
expect it to be considerably less expensive. Of course if everyone just
*steals* it, Rory and I will've worked hard without pay, and we'll have to
go into a different line of work to feed and house ourselves. Too bad for
anyone who likes reading our stuff.

More news on that e-novel when it happens.

Damien Broderick



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