I recently dropped an email to a few bloggers who write about publishing to let them know about some of the developments that have been happening on CompletelyNovel recently.
One of the bloggers, Tom Evans, who also happens to be a writer himself, got particularly excited about the service and, after trying it out, he wrote this blog post.
It raises some really interesting points, so with his permission I’ve reproduced it here – you can see the original article on the Bookwright website.
I’d literally just finished the last page of my new book, Flavours of Thought, when an email came into my Inbox about a new service called CompletelyNovel.
At first I ignored it, as it actually came into my Spam folder, but something encouraged me to click the link and I was amazed at what I found. So much so that I dropped everything I had planned for that afternoon and uploaded my raw manuscript and just a few short days later, a printed version of my book came through my letterbox.
Any proof reader will tell you, it’s well nigh impossible to see all errors on screen and having a real copy of my book allowed me to see where I had to improve the text and reorder a couple of page elements. What a blessing this site turned out to be!!
So I made the changes and re-uploaded a new draft this week and made it go live so now the book is available not only for the Kindle, iPhone and iPad but also in print – all of this only a week or so after final draft. This new service is a real breath of fresh air for both authors and publishers.
Then I saw something that made me wince – had I moved too fast (as I am prone to do)?
CompletelyNovel allow readers to read the whole of a manuscript online for free – yes, without buying the book!! Had I given my new pride and joy (and part of my pension fund) away to all and sundry?
I was about to email the site administrator in a fit of pique but decided to read some of their Frequently Asked Questions first – I am thankful I did.
Their philosophy is that you can read a whole book in a bookshop without paying for it so why not be able to do this online to?
I reflected on this and realised that the words in this book had been given to me so I should be glad of such an easy method of being able to share them with the world – without me having to lift a finger.
So, in thanks to CompletelyNovel and my Muse and guides who gave me these words, you can read the new book here – of course, though I hope you will also want to buy a copy as it’s something that I wrote to bring magic into everyone’s lives.
Thanks very much Tom! You can buy your own copy of Flavours of Thought here.
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I believe fiction should be free. After all, thats how it all started with out ancestors sitting around a fire, and that was free. As a result of this I’m planning to release all my books for free on this website.
Well I wouldn’t say they were terrible, just more pulp fiction than literature. I thin it all depends on the author, an author that writes purely for the enjoyment and fulfillment the flow activity gives them will bypass profit because they simply don’t need it. Whereas others will want rewards for their efforts.
You may have a point Damien, but because I charge for my books does not mean that I do not enjoy writing and improving my author techniqes. The fact that someone is willing to buy my work gives me the satisfaction I require, and the reviews I receive only add to that satisfaction. eg 5 star reviews from Amazon readers, which I’m sure would not have been forthcoming on completely novel.
Site book reviewers usually require a published book to review, anyone can enter a short piece (20,000 – 30,000) words for readers on CN, and let’s be honest you can be published on CN even if your work is rubbish. No-one checks the quality before publishing. The publishers I am considering for my next book require a read of the manuscript before deciding whether they will publish it. That, I am happy with.
Sorry, I meant extra rewards, that was not meant to be an attack on you, in any way. Your point is indeed true, theres nothing greater than someone saying they enjoyed your work, or submitting a favorable review. My writing lives up to my own standards of perfection, (i will usually rewrite whole chapters if they add nothing) and as long as the content fits these I’m happy. But I’d rather satisfy readers for free. I think this is perhaps because i consider myself a scientist, but writing is my passion and adds to my life. publishing on completely novel, gives me a product for what would other wise be a futile waste of time. Whereas understandably you are a writer first and foremost (if i presume wrongly, I’m sorry) it’s your passion and your work, which is more than most people can dare to dream. I think because we differ in the incentives for publishing, we differ in our opinions on cost.
To be honest, i am in awe of anyone published, for it is something i feel I’ll never achieve.
Colin Theakston
Colt
Interesting discussion here!
Colin – Would hate you to think that we were ignoring the suggestions that have come from the community – we’re actually working hard on coming up with a solution which we believe will offer a really nice option for new writers who would like to build up an audience for their book, but also get a financial reward from it too. It will involve trying to lower the barriers to purchase so that actually buying a book online is much quicker and easier, as well as giving people the option of offering material for free if they like.
And I’d also say that the whole question of whether people pay for something if it is available in some format for free is by no means as straightforward as you imply.
If the case were that I had two identical physical books in front of me and one was free and one was £5, then I’d obviously choose the free one. If, however, one of them was a handily sized, perfect bound paperback priced at £5, and the other one was a pile of A4 pages that was being given away for free then it gets more difficult. If I read the first chapter on the A4 pages and liked it, then I’d rather pay a bit extra and have the book in a much more comfortable format which I will enjoy more. There’s also another argument which many publishers use to justify making their books available for people to read for free: it helps to generate word of mouth sales. If you read the book, like it, and then recommend it to your friends, it is much more likely that your friends will buy the book.
There are, of course, always some exceptions and books for which this model may not work (scientific/ technical books requiring a lot of investment in research for example) but I don’t think that means that this argument ‘lacks reason’.
Always pleased to hear other views from our members so let me know what you think.
Damien – really pleased to hear that you are publishing your books with us!
Oh Anna I love you to bits but have to disagree with some of your comments. I will however, agree with one of your statements, one that I have ben saying for a long time, I quote. “If I read the first chapter of an A4 page and liked it, then I’d rather pay a bit extra and have the book in a much more comfortable format which I will enjoy more” unquote. That’s exactly what I have been saying and that is what a “taster” is. If you read the first chapter of a book in any format and you liked it you would be far more inclined to buy the book.
To prove my point, why don’t you read my " taster" on the site Colt the Author and if you like it, just click on any picture of the front cover and you can buy it, immediately. I think that’s another point you were making,
Love to hear from you, always
Colin
Just found this discussion and feel moved to add my six-penneth. 16 years ago I was a wealthy woman, but my life took an unexpected and unfortunate turn. At the age of 48 though, I finally took a leap of faith and gave up my full-time job to write, as I simply didn’t have any TIME. Now – 3 years later – I have time, but no money. I work 2 days a week cleaning so that I can afford to live (if you call it that) and my life is less than ideal. I choose to do that though, because all I want to do is write.
Every penny I have is needed, and I have just found out how little money I will make on each potential sale. It is very easy for people to be altruistic and say that words should be free and that they will lovingly offer their work out there to the world etc.
However: I suspect that these are people who don’t have to worry about where the next penny’s coming from. Every person who reads my book for free is helping keep me living the life I’m living right now. I’m hoping to earn enough money from writing to save me from having to go back to work full-time.
If people are allowed to read the whole of my/anyone’s book for free on this site, why on earth would they buy it? I wouldn’t. I agree 100% with Colin. The first 50 pages or so should be offered. Nothing more.
Yes: in theory you could go and read a book in a shop, but – in the real world – how could you realistically go into a shop and stand/sit around reading a whole novel, cover-to-cover? They’d throw you out!
I wasn’t even aware of this issue until I happened to read this page just now, and it has made me wonder whether I should look for another outlet rather than C/N; one that doesn’t give writer’s work away for free …
C/N is – by far – the best provider I’ve found, but I strongly disagree with this stance. The writer should be given a choice as to whether they want their work to be available for free. I presume we have no choice in this matter at present, or is this something I haven’t got the full story on? Jane
I wonder how many people have been willing to contribute toward Rupert Murdoch’s pension fund by accessing News International’s paywall to read the reportage beyond the front page of www.timesonline.com and how many will be prepared to do so to access the online News of the World in a few weeks time when there is a plethora of other news/entertainment media available at no cost?
The time will come (see www.flattr.com for example) but really guys – get real, there is, right now, at best a strictly limited web browsing audience willing to pay to read our self published novels online when there is literally (excuse the pun) an ocean of words out there free to access.
Call me old skool but as with many creative vocations I do not see the art of writing novels, poetry and even blogs as a means to earning a potful of cash for the vast majority of us. CN provides the platform for writers to promote their work widely in addition to self publishing at an exceptionally low cost. What more do you want??
Jane, I published my debut novel Mystery, Deceit and a School Inspector with a small UK publisher (it was accepted and published on a no cost basis to myself) and I have used the CN streamer to allow 6 chapters of the publisher supplied pdf to be read for nothing as a taster to help promotion of the work. CN should maybe allow authors using their site as their main way of publishing to do this if they wish. However, allowing all of a new work to be read in the early days can allow others to give you really good feedback. This has been the case for my second book OTOLI which is now on submission with multiple publishers. I have used feedback gained on CN along with feedback I received in other places during the initial creation of the work to polish and enhance the story, as well as increase it from the novella it originally was, so there is probably an argument for both sides really. I think it should all be about giving the author the flexibilty to do what they are comfortable with.
Jane – thanks for your comments. I want to make really clear that we’re certainly not trying to stop writers from making money by enabling readers to read the book online for free. There is no way we would have built this website if we didn’t believe in the value of the work being produced by many writers out there and want new writers to be able to find a viable way of selling their work.
We really want writers on CompletelyNovel to sell their books. But Howard makes a very good point (thanks Howard!) – it’s a very competitive world out there, both online and offline and we want our authors to be forward thinking in the way that they approach the promotion of their book to help them become the people who get noticed.
The reality is that as a new author, unless you are extremely good at marketing or already have loads of fans, it’s pretty tough to get people to invest their time reading your book. Ultimately we are all very busy people, and we have to be selective about what we spend time on. A book isn’t like music, where you can just have it on in the background and zone in and out. You have to concentrate (and this is one of the reasons books are so great…because they can offer such an immersive experience) so actually, I’d say that while it’s hard to get people to pay for your book, the much bigger battle is getting them to read it. If we make it as easy as possible for people to read the book, and keep reading until they are hooked, and then decide that they would like to have a copy for themselves that will be easier to read, or buy a copy for a friend then they are much more likely to get to the paying stage.
Scott Pack, who is the MD of the Friday Project has some really good points to make on this, particularly relating to how you can generate ‘word of mouth’ sales by encouraging more people to read it as they will also promote it to friends if they like it, and that is the most influential factor when it comes to book buying.
Bryony – you are right and we would like to give authors the flexibility to choose from different options in terms of how they make their book available, and we are going to do this. But we want to make sure that we can offer a really good solution which offers the best service possible to authors. At the moment all books published on CompletelyNovel are made available for people to read online for free through the BookStreamer. This will be developed in the future so that authors can be more restrictive with the content they showcase for free, but our focus will still be on giving new authors the best chance of selling their books.
Yes, Anna, I agree that the hardest part of being a ‘new’ writer is getting my work read. I remember Emily Benet saying, after winning the Author Blog Awards, that her publisher told her only a single copy of her book, The Shopgirl Diaries, sold in the weeks following the award – even with all the publicity she garnered.
For my second novel, This Coldness Will Stop The Tea From Pouring, I wrote the first part online as a blog (http://stoptheteafrompouring.blogspot.com) and did manage to build up a small online readership following each new installment and received some very positive feedback. However, since finishing the book I’ve found it difficult to market.
Your point about writers being forward thinking in the way they promote their writing is surely key for all of us if we are to hopefully succeed in the world of mainstream publishing. It sure isn’t an easy thing to achieve and I have been awed by the success that a number of CN writers have now had in getting their books published.
This discussion seems to be going all over the place with Rupert Murdoch, prophesies and (let’s face it) speculation as to what is right or wrong, what will happen or won’t. The discussion originally was whether it is better to offer a whole book for free or a sample of it. Anna says:- ‘While it is hard to get people to pay for your book, the much bigger battle is getting them to read it.’ From personal experience the reverse is true. It’s much harder to get people to buy your book, it’s easy getting them to read it (if it’s free) Be realistic, we don’t expect to become millionaires from the sale of our books ( It would be nice)
The recognition that a little money brings to us from the sales of our books is all we can realistically expect and hope for, but that should not stop us from “going for it” I have been marketing and promoting my own book ‘A Time for Living’. I have spent money on postage (from Spain) sending out a “taster” of my book to more than a dozen places mentioned in the book. I have received comments back from most of them which indicated to me that they must have purchased the book. How many friends they have told I don’t know but I am confident the “taster” worked. So much so I have extended it to my site where I have put an entire chaper available for anyone to read for “free”. The day I posted it I received a comment, complimenting me and saying ‘Well done.’ My motto, " If you like the taster, you’ll love the book"
Colin
A Time for Living by Colt
We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one Colin. Anyhow, that doesn’t stop me wishing you all the best with your novels. I hope to have your gusto in another 40 years. A ramshackle home on a lost cove of the Mediterranean would be good too.
Buenas,
Howard
I agree Howard but this discussion can easily be ended by CN compromising and making facilities for inclusion of both schemes. Authors can choose whether they want their book available to be read for free or only a portion( say a minimum of 5,00 words) It would be nice to get a positive answer on this one, not, ’ we are considering the idea’ or ‘We are thinking of implementing this when we reorganise the site’ etc etc.
I agree Howard but this discussion can easily be ended by CN compromising and making facilities for inclusion of both schemes. Authors can choose whether they want their book available to be read for free or only a portion( say a minimum of 5,00 words) It would be nice to get a positive answer on this one, not, ’ we are considering the idea’ or ‘We are thinking of implementing this when we reorganise the site’ etc etc.
I agree Howard but this discussion can easily be ended by CN compromising and making facilities for inclusion of both schemes. Authors can choose whether they want their book available to be read for free or only a portion( say a minimum of 5,00 words) It would be nice to get a positive answer on this one, not, ’ we are considering the idea’ or ‘We are thinking of implementing this when we reorganise the site’ etc etc.
That is the perfect solution Colin. Offer the writer the choice. That way everyone’s happy. Knowing how ‘open’ C/N appear to be to suggestions from its customers, I feel confident that this choice will be made available to us in the very near future!
Hi, interesting discussion. Although I’ve completed two novels, I’m still in the early stages of trying to get the first one published. Personally, I would rather have the stories read than benefit financially – therefore, I wouldn’t object to someone reading my work free of charge on the internet Crazy perhaps. Of course, ideally, I would like to get paid for my writing.
I’ve also been in a similar position, having trained in classical music performance and recently uploaded several recordings of my playing. I don’t get any payment for the tracks, just the satisfaction of seeing the Stats and knowing that people on all continents have heard me play. Pretty amazing feeling.
Hi Lawrence In reply to your post. I note that you make the comment “of, course, ideally, I would like to get paid for my writing.” Most new and struggling authors suffer from the same pyschological disadvantage. They believe their writing is not good enough to be offered for sale, so they offer it free as some consolation to their desire for poeple to read their work. This is where CN and other similar sites can really help. Test the waters and your own faith in yourself by publishing through CN. It doesn’t cost anything and the pleasure you will get when someone buys your book and say’s ’it’s good’, is something that every new author longs for.
I published through another site but when I received 5 star reviews from Amazon readers who purchased the book, they made my day
Remember ‘you are never too old to be what you might have been’ Have a little faith in your own abilities and “go for it”.
Hi Colin, thanks. I talked to an agent today and they asked to read the first one hundred pages of my novel.
So many sound suggestions and ideas.
While my work is not fiction but history in one respect we are all in the same boat…a financially constricting boat. This is a reference to the financial world of the present era and not to my personal lack of loot! When literary agent Andrew Lownie plainly states he has had his worst year for 25 years.. effectively his worst year since setting up his business, what chance the likes of us here on CN?
It has always been difficult to break into the world of books, no matter how good one’s work may be it is a hit or miss game. Given the present scenario the chances of getting a publication are almost non existent if we look at things from a realistically practical viewpoint.
Back in May I had the Author of the Month slot on Graham Hancock’s website. This, I thought should be the way to at least getting known…within limits this is the case and a few have read my work…I have had some sales but most read the works, whether in full or in part, on the web. I have readers in many areas from the US to Europe, Africa and the Far East…I have only sold sufficient to keep the pro publishing account here ticking over and the way things are looking that will end shortly…so while world wide readership… few sales.
Few are willing to part with their cash to buy my works. Granted they are not cheap as paperbacks go but when there are over 500 pp in both books, yes well over 1000 pp in total, and all is well referenced etc etc…they are, after all, serious studies, one cannot expect them to appear for much less than they are priced at.
So I arrived at a scenario where people were reading on CN…A couple were obviously in a similar financial situation to myself so I sent them a link to a location where they could down load the books. Not something I wanted to do as I obviously want sales, but I had to appear to be Mr Nice Guy… I have been involved with numerous historical debates on the site and have been attacked from a number of quarters, by people who try to condemn the work without reading it…typical of too many today I am afraid.
However I have made some ‘cyber’ friends and some debates are ongoing in an amicable and informative way, so in that respect I have won quite a bit. Some have read one or other of the works, some have read both and all who have read in full to date have been pleased with my efforts, I have been asked to co- author two new works on the back of such reading and the debates so again, there have been some gains. I have also been asked to author an historical book locally, again from the fact that I was AoM on Hancocks site.
So out of few sales and a load of argument, some good has arisen. It has tried my patience but at least those who have read my work in full and not merely scanned it have to date been appreciative and complimented me on my investigations and presentations. What I am now aiming for is quality reviews. The more the better… When this lousy financial scene finally lifts and we return to some form of normality, there just may be a chance at a publication…if I can demonstrate that indeed people are interested and the works are well received. Persuading people to write reviews is another ball game however…
I feel that this is probably the best way forward for all unpublished writers at the moment. Any sales will be few but if free reading means reviews [still working on this!] …hopefully good reviews… then in the long run it will probably pay off. In the short term the chances of numbers of sales are very slim unfortunately and in my particular field too many want a work that has taken decades to produce for nothing…but that is the name of the game I am afraid and currently I see no way around this.
I initially, as the regulars here are well aware, was strongly against free reading on site, in principal I still am but it is a practical consideration; if it had not been there I would not have the support that I do have, as little as it is…
So while I do not agree that the work that people produce should be free…after all, those who want something for nothing are generally those who are most reticent to give away their own efforts…it has become a most noticeable fact of modern life that to gain recognition this may be a necessary evil.
Harry
Harry I can sympathise with you but at the same time because my work is fiction I feel I cannot relate to your position. Whereas I can offer prospective readers a ‘taster’ which should whet the appetite for more, I can see that in your position this would be difficult. Marketing a serious book, such as yours, must be very hard. I know how many hours, and money, I have spent on marketing mine, where the results have not been as good as I expected. With all advertising, at least half is wasted and the trouble is we don’t know which half. I have had some brilliant reviews but feel that they have not given me the increase in sales that I would have expected. It’s difficult to assess. The only way I can asssess is by sales and who knows how much of my other advertising has been succesful.
The only way I can think of is by spreading the word as much as possible. Explore all avenues. As an example I have found a site that is for ex pats in Spain. It’s an English speaking site so I have joined and pointed people towards my blog site.
I have located a newspaper that deals with Art, Literature and Music and got myself a spot. I have approached booksellers in the area in an effort to get them to stock copies of the book and display them on their shelves. I have printed small posters and sent them to businesses, shops, relatives and friends asking them to display them, or get businesses to display them. I know that on a Mersyside Police station board is one of my posters. At Wrexham railway station is another. At one or two pubs and restaurants there are more and so it goes. You would think from all of this I have a best seller, but sales at Amazon appear not to reflect this wish. Maybe my next book (due out by Christmas) will help sales of the first one, who knows? We can but persevere. Such is the life of a budding author. Tune in and google ‘Colt the Author,’ to see how I am getting on. You see, I can’t resist the chance of a plug.
Colin
It seems Barnes & Nobel (USA) have come over to CN’s way of thinking on the issue of allowing readers to sample your entire book for free. They launched their new digital self-publishing portal called Pubit this week. According to Market Watch, “Publishing an eBook through PubIt! will make the content available via Barnes & Noble’s innovative Read In Store™ program which gives Barnes & Noble bookstore customers the ability to browse the complete contents of eBooks at no cost.”
This is a scenario to watch and look for reports from the publisher on results…they are sure to make some statement in due course.
If my experience is anything to go by then they will be disappointed…but again, my work is history and not fiction so who knows, it just may take off as the bulk of their titles will be in fiction bracket..
We watch and wait…
Just thinking out aloud here in response to the multitude of responses received to this discussion.
What about if CN were to become a paying site where all readers and writers subscribed £x to the site each month with the most popular books then receiving a share of the revenue generated?
A similar model is used at flattr.com where subscribers contribute an amount to spend each month and recommend which of the registered sites they want to support. Maybe it could work but I suggest CN would be entitled to a large share of the monies made as greater marketing and administration of the site would be needed.
My personal opinion, as I’ve written earlier in the discussion in response to Colin, is that I’m happy with the way CN is currently setup but can see from the number of responses here that others are keen to have a means by which they can be paid for their online writing and I would guess that WWW 3.0 will, at least partly, be about the generating of income from online sites.
What do you think?
Sorry Howard, if that applied I would have to disappear from CN! Me skint with capital S… However, all ideas need an airing but if we have to pay [more than the costs currently involved] then it is heading towards the ‘vanity’ publishing scenario which as serious writers we hope to avoid…and not be classified as one who pays to have their work in print…we need people to pay us and not in the process be giving us back a little of what we have already contributed!
I rather feel that publishers will carry on the same old fashion, albeit utilising the web and e books and whatever comes their way but regarding works for which they are willing to pay…no change. They need some carrot dangling to get them to take more interest in this type of website. There will undoubtedly be a better chance for all concerned in that CN and similar sites will showcase the work of authors not otherwise published but this will inevitably mean more available books…too much choice fore the general public.
While quality is something that concerns us all, there inevitably will be a great many works available via self publish sites that are not up to par but simultaneously add to the vast listings of available works. I view this as a potential problem, there is no vetting of what is suitable for publication and what is not and that does not mean what is liable to be good selling product but what is good regarding the work in itself.
I thin it likely that self publish sites will be the province of those who would like to see their work in print and in effect a ‘club’ for writers where hopefully via discussions all can learn from each other.
Given that publishing [mainstream] is such a hit and miss affair, and not always dependent upon quality of work, I feel that CN has the right approach in general. I would like to see a ‘Sunday Supplement’ section however where articles can be placed about whatever turns one on…or off. This could be a showcase for feature writing and magazine s may take an interest if the right material was seen here. Articles would have to be of a reasonable quality and interest and here we may attract the interest of the publishing fraternity…without going cap in hand and asking please publish by book! There is vast difference between a short punchy article and a lengthy book and we don’t all want to be writing books continually but do need to keep writing…
This idea I feel has great potential for a a writing community such as that which we have here and may well lead to much greater interest in a writers work…short interesting and thought provoking articles showcase a writers abilities…
I agree with you Harry, CN works very well as it is. In addition, I believe a magazine style section where short articles could be written would be both a useful and interesting means to promote the writing on the site.
Forget about the revenue earning model I mentioned, I was just trying to look at the issue from another angle given the responses that have been made. It was just an idea that stuck in my head when I woke this morning – not something that I particularly believe CN should follow.
‘Short, interesting and thought provoking articles showcase a writers abilities’ is what Harry said and I agree. That is why I started my blog to introduce articles, albeit connected with my work. Comments have been made about these articles and I am sure give readers an insight into my world, my thoughts and my writing abilities. I agree it is difficult, in the present climate, to persuade readers to buy our books, agents to represent us and main stream publishers to offer to publish our work. However, that does not mean that we have to sit back and accept the situation. Another member mentioned reviews and how important they are to give authors some idea of the potential of their work. I have had reviews galore and still getting them. Another two this last week, both in local papers. Everyone says, ‘congratulaions Colin, I must get round to buying the book’. If everyone who has said this to me over the last few weeks bought a book I would be pretty close to being a best seller., but this is not the case. ( At least I don’t think so) As Struggling Authors it is important to have faith in ourselves and our abilities. I have mentioned before, so many authors are unsure about their work (in spite of good reviews) and are reluctant to take the step of publishing, either through CN or through another site. I have just been approached to publish my second book and I am in the final stages of editing and formatting my manuscript. The book will be published and available by Christmas.
We must keep the faith and persevere. Maybe, just maybe, we will win with this one.
Keep at it …yes that is all we can do. I sympathise with the ‘I shall have to buy that…’ comment…I think that if that was the genuine intention there would be no comment until it was one of the past tense…‘I have just bought your book…’etc etc. Few do it the other way around and mean it…some do but they are a rarity. I have experienced both over the past year since being here on CN but no prizes for guessing which I have seen the more of …
While I have not the spare time that I would like of late this is a good place to be and if and when the ‘Sunday Supplement’ gets underway it will be much better…
I am afraid I am not too good with the socialising on the web, I have made some friends and am involved with some research and historical debates but I thought that a b. log was a lump of stick too big for the fireplace…Ah well wrong again…
Ironically I have used the Ryder Cup to advertise some of my work…some of the areas described in Measurements of the Gods are seen in the TV shots of the golf match…I knew this area intimately when as a boy, I walked the whole lot when it was farmland…Gill and I used to moor up for the weekend in our boat where the river passes through the golf course…as an historian I discovered quite a bit of historical interest here…same area…Whether anyone took any notice or got more involved with the balls and clubs scenario I don’t know but at least some around the world now have an inkling of what can be found in parts of the Usk Valley!…more interesting than golf!!
Just think how many book sales would make up a ticket to stand out in the rain all day watching people hit balls around with a stick…such is life.
I’m back again with a request to published authors. First of all let me make it quite plain I am not in the business of ‘poaching’. However on my blog site I have started a “taster” system for ‘struggling authors’ The SA site is one which is rapidly becoming popular with many authors unpublished and published. If you call in my site www.colintheakston.blogspot.com you will see that a few of us are beginning to get together with the taster idea. The principle is that when a visitor logs on to my site , they are invited to read a taster from another SA by clicking on a link. At the moment there are three of us involved, so if anyone would care to join SA (as well as CN) they could become part of the " link". I know “tasters” work because a visitor to my site told me. Come on, you have nothing to lose, and who knows you may gain a lot.
Colt the Author
Quote " You know when you are getting old when you feel like the night before and you haven’t been anywhere"
Wow. Didn’t realise this thread had grown so much, and with such divergent opinions (which is great, by the way). I must say I find myself in Howard’s camp with regard to the whole reading-for-free online thing. I agree with him that it’s going to be far more difficult for an unpublished (or self-published) author to sell their books than a published author. I have published fourteen non-fiction books with big publishers (including Random House and Virgin), and I still live in a bedsit, I’m still in debt and I’m still working a day job. I don’t care, though, because I love the craft, and this is the life-decision I made. No matter how enthusiastic we may be about the democratising possibilities of the internet, the fact remains that for the foreseeable future people will prefer to shell out their hard-earned for books that have been vetted by an established publishing house (agree with Harry here). (Actually, I don’t even know if that is a fact, but I’d be surprised if it isn’t.) I believe it’s a mistake to underestimate the importance of this factor, even though there is an awful lot of rubbish out there which should never have seen the light of day.
I think that CN performs two very important functions for those who are serious about writing and reading: first, it brings together like-minded individuals in a friendly network; and second, it provides vitally important feedback for those wishing to develop their skills (I personally have benefitted greatly from the intelligent and perceptive comments readers have made on my work). While it would of course be nice to make a bit of extra cash from book sales via CN, that is certainly not my primary motivation for being a member, and I find it almost impossible to believe that to dangle a ‘taster’ in front of visitors to the site before asking them to pay for the complete book is going to generate any more sales than the current way of doing things. I’d love to be proved wrong, but, as Howard says, let’s get real.
There is, of course, a simple solution (simple for me, that is, since I’m not running the site!), which has been suggested elsewhere: give members the choice between offering their books in their entirety via the BookStreamer with the option to buy, and providing a taster only, again with the option to buy … and see what happens. I have to say, however, that I would not go down the taster route myself, since as I’ve said, I’m not interested in selling books through CN: I want (need, in fact) intelligent criticism of my work, which I’ve had in abundance since joining.
A site for authors, readers and for publishing that started last year advertise ‘Read the Taster and buy the book’ You will find it under ‘Night Reading’
Whether you believe that tasters for books encourage people to buy is entirely your own opinion but you can never escape the fact that “maybe” they do. Market researchers have been using the principle for years.
This should settle the question of “Tasters”, but I doubt it. My offer is still open for any published author to join us, all we ask is that you do the same and point your blog visitors to our sites and we’ll do the same for you. The views of my blog seemed to have setlled down to about 30 per week on average. Just go to Struggling Authors.co.uk and check out Teresa Geerings book, ‘The Eye of Erasmus’ or Reg T Jones’s, ‘Division of the Damned’
All sounds very interesting Colin. I will take a look at SA since anywhere that we as writers can network and communicate with like minded people is always a bonus. Night Reading also looks to be a useful resource too.
Bryony
Bryony, thank you for your comment and I hope you will join us. We are a reasonably active site and cover a lot of subjects of interest to authors such as yourself. If you have a blog could you please direct me to it.
Colt the Author ( as opposed to Colt the Gun)
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