Seth

Internet Marketing

Baen books also discovered this. Eric Flint comments:

To give perhaps the clearest example, my most popular title is 1632. It has been available for free in electronic format to the public for five years now—and the book has never suffered any decline in sales during that time period. Year after year, despite being available for free as an e-book, the paper edition sells about fifteen thousand copies. That figure fluctuates a bit from one year to the next, of course, but there is no overall downward trend at all. The standard rule of thumb in the industry is that 80% of a book’s sales happen in the first three months after publication. But in the case of 1632, sixty percent of the book’s sales have come since the first year it came out—during which period the book was always available to the public for free in electronic format.

More here. I think the principle in this case is the same. It’s a form of advertizing, and for books the printed form sells because it adds value; books are more convenient than the current electronic media.

However, Baen also hosted the online Baen’s Bar where authors, Baen himself, and readers could gather. Some writers also emerged from that forum, Ringo for instance. Other authors, such as Bujold, have an online presence and will talk about their books, answer questions, and host fan contributions. Something similar used to go on at Astounding Science Fiction back when Cambell was editor. Letters from readers and authors were published in the Brass Tacks section, sometimes resulting in lengthy snailmail threads. So the feedback idea isn’t new, but the speed and ubiquity of the net may well extend it to areas where it was impractable before.

Cheers,
Kempton

YouTube isn’t just a content portal, it’s a new way of publishing video content, and I can only imagine how many features they have lined up to make this the television killer we’ve all been waiting for.