Recently there has been quite a movement afoot from people such as Cory Doctorow, Tim O’Reilly, Lawrence Lessig, and others extolling the power of free.
O’Reilly sums it up the theory behind the movement in his important essay “Piracy is Progressive Taxation, and Other Thoughts on the Evolution of Online Distribution“: Obscurity is a far greater threat to authors and creative artists than piracy.
The movement has led an increasing number of authors, including Neil Gaiman and last week’s guest blogger MJ Rose, to offer some of their content for free, whether it’s a free preview or just outright free. In her article in the Huffington Post explaining her decision to offer advance copies of THE REINCARNATIONIST for free, MJ writes: “It’s because trying something for free is the best way of discovering it.”
The most prominent media experiment in free was conducted by Radiohead, who let listeners pay what they wanted to download “In Rainbows.” HarperStudio’s blog noted that they made more money from the preview than they did on their last album.
So what do you make of all this? Does free work? And is it for everyone or for the already-famous and successful, who have other revenue streams? Can authors use free to build their audience?
To be sure, free or almost free has been around for a long time in the publishing industry in the form of used bookstores and libraries. I know a few authors who cringe every time a fan tells them they can’t wait to borrow their next book from the library — if everyone did that, of course, the author would get next to zero royalties.
Should authors be worried as piracy, used books, and free downloads proliferate as the book industry moves electronic? Or should they embrace the free?
Embrace the free. If the writing or whatever product is worth paying for, then the exposure will see it happen eventually.
As you said….obscurity is the artist’s worst enemy.
I find “free” particularly interesting in regards to e-books, as it seems that free e-books lead to paper sales. I think this taps into a key aspect of our culture that lots of people seem to ignore when proclaiming the end of paper books: we are a very possessive culture. We like to own things. We like to put things on shelves and tables. We like to collect things even if they’re useless. It’s satisfying. We get to say “Look, this is mine. My book! My chair! My plastic flower arrangement!”
It’s why e-books on the computer aren’t as popular as they might be… because it’s somehow less satisfying to “own” a bit of encrypted data on a hard drive. It’s so unmaterialistic. But a book! It has nice paper, a glossy image, a booky smell, a phone number from that pretty girl you met at Borders the other day… Even a Kindle, I think, is a step up, because you bought a Kindle. What a nice and shiny thing! And now you want to fill it.
People seem to want things they can touch. We’re tactile. I own this book, and I know this because it’s right here on my shelf and I can pick it up. I’ve read a bit about Gaiman’s experiment with free, and the results are intriguing. It seems people read a part or all of the free download… and then go buy the book. They just spent ten or twenty bucks on something they already had for free… So interesting.
Now, does it change things when you compare a best-selling mega-author and some unheard of debut writer trying to build an audience? Possibly. I’ll be interested to see what people think about this.
Struggling writers have enough trouble getting income–why give the farm away? A preview maybe –but the whole thing??–nuh-uh.
I say, Embrace it, baby. It’s how I’m building an audience, and it’s growing every day. Many of my free e-book readers have gone on to purchase my book in hard copy. Those who haven’t will recognize my name if [when] they see it in a bookstore down the road.
Free as in sample? Or taste test? Absolutely. That’s basic marketing. Giving away the whole cow for free seems counterproductive.
Especially in the publishing world. Can one not already go into a bookstore and browse through the merchandise before buying?
With musicians, this makes more sense. It’s hard to make a purchase without hearing a single song. But you cannot use the music industry as any kind of standard for publishing.
I think, like everything else in the publishing world, it depends. For a famous author, anything works: giving away novels and short stories for free, auctioning off a book for huge sums of money to donate to charity as J.K. Rowling did, or anything in-between. For unknown writers, offering work for free is sometimes looked down upon, as people often place greater value on things that cost more. However, I think getting work out there in any possible way is helpful in launching a writing career – whether it’s through a great publishing contract, self-publishing, or free, but that work needs to be polished.
I agree with Cory Doctorow about the science fiction world and how it’s an incredible social experience, with word spreading like wildfire through conventions when fans like a book. Free would be risky, though, if a book isn’t protected by copyright.
I have to admit that I’m afraid to give away my book for free. I’m wondering if it works better for authors who are already published, and just trying to build their fan based. But for unpublished writers, can we afford to give away whole novels, I just don’t know. Can’t wait to hear more ‘experienced’ writers weight in on this topic.
Free is fine as long as it isn’t perfect. Radiohead gave out so/so audio versions In Rainbows. The people who got it for free and loved it are the ones who bought the CD, too. They wanted better quality.
If I’m reading a free book online and it’s awesome, I’m gonna want a hard copy, and I’ll go buy it (I don’t think anyone wants to read a 300 page book on a computer).
Now, if the Kindle or something else really takes off, and people can get perfect versions of books downloaded to it… then there may be problems.
Worried or not, I don’t think we have much choice but to embrace some degree of “free”–people have just begun to expect it.
I do think that it can work though: I downloaded Charles Bock’s “Beautiful Children” while he was offering it for free. If I’d liked what I read more, I definitely would’ve bought a hard copy…something that I wouldn’t have even considered without the free preview.
Of course he already had tons of publicity behind him. Making it work as an unknown would certainly be harder.
I don’t like it. I feel it makes the ‘value’ of writing ancillary to the publicity surrounding it. This is why this has been more successful with sci-fi authors with major platforms or that Beautiful Children book that came out earlier this year.
With 10% of free equaling zero, what do agents think about their clients giving it away for free? Writers at least get the joy and satisfaction of having somebody read what they’ve written and hopefully they have a day job to keep them in coffee and toner. But this is the agent’s day job. Would you ever tell your client this is a good thing and they should do it?
Ann
Baen books seems to be having success with their free library leading people to buy hard-copies of not only the e-books they read for for free, but of new books by those authors as well.
So free can definitely pay in the end.
Ann’s got a good point. What would you, as the agent, advise your author? Would you suggest this as a good career move? My first thought is that if “free” is only occasional, and part of some larger marketing package, then yes. There’s value to building name recognition.
I agree 100% that that author’s worst enemy is not piracy but obscurity. Offering something for free seems like a great way to get noticed. But with most things, there has to be a balance. I think it would be a great idea to allow people to read your first book for free before your second book comes out. That way, people can give you a test read before they lay down their hard earned money. And if they like it, you just might get two sales out of it, but you’ll probably at least get one. Now you have a reader who will notice you for the rest of your career. The problem with this, though, is that you have to hope that your first book sells enough to get a second. I think it all comes down to the old business adage, “You have to spend money to make money.” Giving that stuff away for free could just be part of the cost you would pay for marketing. Since word of mouth is some of the best publicity you can get — look at “The Kite Runner” and “The Shack” — the investment could pay off.
“I know a few authors who cringe every time a fan tells them they can’t wait to borrow their next book from the library . . .”
Wow. I’m trying to get my head around this. What do other blog readers think?
anon-
To expand on that a bit, I don’t think any author wants to see libraries closed down. But when a reader with the means to buy books tells an author that they can’t wait to borrow a book from the library…. some authors feel that is a sale that doesn’t count toward the numbers a publisher looks at when they decide how/whether to publish their next book, doesn’t generate royalties, and it induces some cringes.
Now, some might argue that the author gains by having a devoted readership, and being read helps the author in the end.
Personally, I cringed a bit in the “are you buying books” you tell me from last week because so many people are buying books used and borrowing them at the library. That’s kind of a scary thing to me, given that authors don’t earn royalties on used book sales and on library circulations. If enough people make those choices it will show up adversely on the bottom line for authors and publishers.
Not for unknowns. If you devalue your product and you’re unknown, no one takes it seriously. The vaule of it is subconsciously tied to what you paid for it.
Part of what keeps people interested at first is that they need to make an investment, however slight, into the work.
Great idea once you’re not unknown.
Something happened to me today that relates to this topic. I received an email from the publicist for a T.V. show actor who has written a book, asking if I would consider publishing an article by the actor in my newsletter. This came about as the result of a long process of giving away a free newsletter, beginning in 2005. I started the free newsletter to advertise my own books, but soon started asking fellow authors to write articles for the newsletter to make it more interesting. As I met more and more people online, I asked a new person each month if they would write an article. The Internet is filled with so many wonderful people!! Eventually, I had newsletter articles written by so many talented authors and people in Hollywood, I was able to arrange the publication of two books, with royalties shared among all the authors. The books contained the newsletter articles originally published for free plus additional articles contributed by many of the authors. Wonderful things have happened with these books, including the first book winning a Silver Award in the most recent ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards. A few months ago, I stopped publishing articles in my newsletter so that I could focus all my attention on a science fiction novel I’m writing; but I’m now thinking about possibly going back to monthly newsletter articles, and possibly seeking publication for a third newsletter book.
Scott Sigler and J.C. Hutchins never would have gotten major publishing contracts, if they hadn’t used the power of free, with podcasting.
There is something to be said for it.
A new author is trying to get two things: Money, and Time. But Time is the most important thing. (I would argue, even in this economy.)
If you get someone to give you their time, and they love it, how far away can they be from being willing to buy the next thing from you?
I’m much more open and willing to buy when I’ve been given free samples. And that’s of anything. Food, books, music, cosmetics. You name it.
I realize that you may or may not have ever heard of either Scott Sigler or JC Hutchins, but, I think definitely for Scott Sigler, you won’t be able to say that for very long.
I definitely see him going somewhere big.
Embrace the free… and at the same time, demand for royalties.
Once in a while, many of us writers, artists, musicians, and filmmaker NEED money to put food on the table, yeah?
I think it’s a little dicey to compare how music artists like Radiohead stand to benefit from free downloads versus how novelists might. Piracy pretty much dynamited the old model of the music industry and where artists make their money – sure, lucky bands still make money off their recordings, but a lot of them make it primarily through touring and concerts and other ancillary stuff (T-shirts, anyone?). At least this is my understanding.
Writers, well, I can’t see writers generating income going out on tour. I guess there is some ancillary stuff to market but not like a band would have.
On the other hand, what Michael said about a writer’s worst enemy being obscurity. I can see the value in a limited number of freebies to help establish a new author. I also think that publishers might want to consider discounting certain debuts as an incentive to curious readers, or offering them as a package with a more established author (Borders does stuff like this I think).
Free is brilliant. You might refer to Penny Arcade, Jonathan Coulton, or Randy Pausch, whose YouTube hit directly produced a huge NYT bestseller.
Hey Other Lisa,
You make a good point, but I think, especially with fiction, there is still a very large segment of the public who, if given the choice, STILL prefer a print book to an ebook. Even on a Kindle. As long as that market exists, then there is a segment of books that piracy can’t really touch.
I guess you could pirate an ebook and then print it. But for the cost of all that paper and ink, and a binder or something to hold it all in, you could have had a NICE paperback copy of the book.
A good friend of mine published her own novel and she had both a free ebook download and a print version for sale. I read a few chapters of the ebook first to make sure I’d like it, but then I bought the print version. And not because it’s a friend. I would have done that with anyone. I don’t prefer ebooks.
And as long as print books are available, I will always go for them.
Free or not, I refuse to read books online or in a Kindle (Oprah be damned!).
And if a book store was giving away traditional paper books for free, you’d still have to grab me on the first page and make me want to read it.
My reading time ain’t free – it’s got to be earned with good writing. If it’s good, I’m willing to pay for it; if it’s bad you can keep it regardless if it’s free.
Nathan don’t forget author Paul Coelho is also big on free content.
I’m going to repeat a few points I made in response to a post by Moonrat a week or two ago…
I believe it’s a grave mistake to try and apply the MP3 model to other industries and expect things to work the same way. Microsoft made a similar blunder not that long ago in regards to movie distribution. They backed the inferior HD-DVD format in favour of the superior Blu-Ray DVD format purely to scupper adoption of either, so that they could then usher in downloadable hi-def movies. It blew up in their face because people don’t watch movies the same way they listen to music, and no one wanted to wait twelve hours to download an enormous file. The MP3 model just didn’t apply.
Likewise, books are a different medium (says Captain Obvious). At the moment, E-Readers aren’t too widespread, so free E-books will mostly be read on computer screens. And no one likes reading from a screen, so there’s a good chance anyone who likes what they’re reading will buy a hard copy. But if and when E-Readers achieve greater market penetration, people will be inclined to stick with the free version they already have. Really, why should they pay good money if they already have a usable version?
A huge distinction between the MP3 model and publishing is that musicians can still earn money from touring even if their recorded music is given away. Authors can’t.
There’s a lot to be said for an established author giving away early books, particularly if they’re part of a series, to stimulate sales of newer books. That’s not much help if you’re at the start of your career, though.
Having said all that, the arguments in favour of providing free material are compelling. Free content is a core element of Web 2.0, along with the importance of community. It’s a question of finding what works for our specific industry. Personally, I plan on giving away a free short story collection, and possibly an unpublished novel. The first two chapters of my forthcoming novel (2nd July 2009, folks, already available for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk) are already there for free on my website – I think it’s only common sense to offer that – but I’m in no hurry to give away the whole book for free.
We live in interesting times…
I just read Charlie Huston’s book CAUGHT STEALING. All of it. Free. Online.
It’s so brilliant that I simply must own all of his books now.
So I think it gets down to quality. Free only works for selling if it’s great stuff. Of course, selling mostly only works if it’s great stuff, too. 🙂
One direction we haven’t taken this conversation is the short story market. There are a ton of quality free ezines out there with huge readership. It’s a great thing to tap into. The markets generally don’t pay well enough to justify words=money, but it’s pretty cheap for the author as a promotional effort.
“Anarchist in the Library” is the classic guide to how free distribution is the future.
Ann-
When writers work for free, agents don’t get 10% of nothing; they get 15% of nothing. That’s a big difference.
You have to read the detail of the Google Book Search Agreement to see the potential of this. As Josephine said, Paul Coelho is a big fan, and attributes his success in Russia as a single example, to ‘free’ distribution. But free does not mean anyone can download the entire copy and do what they like with it. It is on screen read-only text. You can’t copy/paste or download it. So it is free to read, but can’t be ‘stolen’ in the way many seem to think. I believe Google Books will open up a whole new world of e-book distribution. It was agreed yesterday for the US – subject to legal approval. Bet you Amazon is working their socks off right now. If anyone’s interested and have no idea what it’s about, I wrote about it here (http://www.theviewfromhere-news.com/2008/10/google-book-search-agreement-big.html). It could become the iTunes of print.I think it’s what e-books have been waiting for. And it will support print too.
Nathan,
First of all, I think that a lot of people who borrow books could end up referring them to someone who *will* buy the book. Though maybe this will also make more people use the library, I think that some will still want to own the book, however, I think it would likely lead to more purchases than had the bum with the library card not raved about the book (and if it’s good, it’s going to be constantly checked out… so maybe people get tired of the wait and buy the book anyway).
That my friend, is the power of referral, the leading cause of sales of ANY product, and why some (or all) content should ALWAYS be free.
Back in ye olde days when sailing ships roamed the high seas, a tiny fraction of them were pirate vessels. I don’t see the technological-piracy situation now much different. Even if I believed nothing should be free — which I don’t — it’s nuts to regulate a product’s availability according to the exceptions rather than to the vast majority. All it does is p*ss off the latter.
Warner Bros. records (when there was such a thing) used to make piles of money by giving away entire vinyl albums containing one song apiece from each of many performers. Their ads (i.e. in Rolling Stone, National Lampoon, etc.) promoted this as their “loss leader” product line, and it worked — for some of the unlikeliest artists.
Free samples are everybody’s friend, I think. Giving away whole works? Eh, not so much.
I think free works. If you doubt it, ask the various podiobooks authors who sold self published books based on their free audio versions, who got publishing deals based on their free audio versions.
Free works for new authors because it lowers your market entry costs to, get this, free.
I’m a fan of free stuff. It does raise the chance of me buying a book, especially if the author is an unknown.
Free is a good thing. I just bought a cd (and paid full price) based on a youtube post by the record company. Wouldn’t have even known about it otherwise. So, yes, it will pay in the long run.
For nonfiction, yes.
My latest book, Blood Sugar 101, is a careful arrangement of information that is available completely free on the web site of the same name: http://bloodsugar101.com .
The book stayed at the top of the Amazon list of bestselling books about Type 2 Diabetes for seven months and continues to sell steadily.
Readers who are enthusiastic about the web site and my blog tell me that they buy the book to give to family members and friends and to keep around as a reference. They also tell me that they get more out of reading the same information in book form than they do when they read it off the computer.
Publishing a book out of material I had made available for free was an experiment for me and I have been extremely heartened by how successful it has been.
But it is worth noting that I did not come to this as a publishing neophyte. This is my 4th small press book marketed entirely through a web-only strategy. Two of my earlier books were Amazon category bestsellers for several years. I went into small press publishing only after having a mainstream bestseller published (in two editions) by John Wiley & Sons.
Beyond that, before publishing the book I built up the traffic to the related web site to where it was busy enough to support a book.
Figure that .5% of your web traffic will buy a book–a similar rate to what you'd get doing direct mail, and you'll probably come out with a pretty good estimate of how many books you can sell.