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mastermindreader 1949 - 2017 Seattle, WA 12586 Posts |
The eBook market is tough to begin with. Rampant piracy very nearly put me out of business a few years back and cost me untold thousands in sales.
The fact is that most eBooks end up getting pirated and/or "shared" and any real profit is made via pre-sales and in the first week or so of release. After that, sales taper off dramatically as the next "Latest and Greatest" thing comes along. While I think this is an interesting experiment, it seems to me that you are basically killing the only real way to make any significant profit at all on your work. I wish things were different, because on paper your plan seems fair and equitable. But the sad fact is that there is, I think, just so much file sharing going on today that it really isn't practical. I wish I had a better solution to offer. |
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aalexander Loyal user 232 Posts |
To be fair, most or all of Paul's stuff that is on pay-what-you-will has been pirated already. I've been planning a new release of my own and have been thinking about piracy a lot.
For the ebook piracy problem, lately I was wondering if it'd be worth trying this: Take the cover and the intro of a new e-book, then take sections from a book that has already been pirated, but using find+replace to make it look more current at a glance. Combine the genuine cover+start of the real book with the phony body, and then flood the pirate sites with it just prior to the release, when there will be a spike in interest. It would not cut out person-to-person sharing, but most of those who spread via impersonal sites, torrents, etc. are just spreading the stuff and not reading it in depth to make a magic act. And the real copy may get pirated, but it would have to overtake the fake and at least the piracy would be less convenient. A bit of misdirection, I suppose. Has this been tried yet? |
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insight Inner circle 3095 Posts |
I agree, Bob. I personally wish that content was made available only via physical books, even if only in limited edition batches. There is nothing like opening up a book (maybe even an autographed one) with the secret thoughts of various effects (or even performance style), and reading the contents with a hot cup of tea near the fireplace. Geez, now I'm kind of craving a book (not an ebook)...
Regards, Mike Quote:
On 2013-11-05 14:37, mastermindreader wrote: |
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Voodini Inner circle 1783 Posts |
You may be right Bob. It was a fun experiment while it lasted, but its days may now be numbered...
Unless I wake up tomorrow morning to find my in-box has been visited by the PayPal fairy.
Voodini - cold reading, past life regressions, remote viewing, Q&A, palm reading, bizarre & seance...
www.readerofminds.co.uk |
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IAIN Eternal Order england 18807 Posts |
Physical copies set up on lulu is dead easy to do...and you add an email address in the back, so that people can send in their paypal recent and request an ecopy if they wish to...you can then "do stuff" to the pdf edition to identify it if you ever find it elsewhere...its what I do...
plus, I've become a fan of using facebook more, and creating a page for the book so people can be invited by you only - and can discuss stuff freely...plus its got a decent search function in the page too...
I've asked to be banned
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bdekolta Inner circle Texas 1636 Posts |
Bob it isn't just ebooks these days it is all books. Without going in to detail even a large hardback book presents no issue to those who want to pirate such things.
Paul - thank you for sharing your observations. |
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Dr. Van Van Mojo Special user 570 Posts |
It might be hard to keep track of but maybe it would be a good idea to limit the offer to one or two ebooks at a time and if there is no donation or feedback/reason for not donating given then no more freebies for that person.
I've been a big fan of Paul's work since "Midnight Side of the Mind". Since then I have gotten all of Paul's ebooks and most of them are among my favorites. Many of them I paid for, some I got and still get as a perk for a project I was involved in with Paul. All the ones I purchased I value, these were books that interested me and I assumed from reading some of Paul's work already I wouldn't be disappointed and I wasn't. Very few of the "freebies" I got don't excite me as much but that's simply because they didn't suit me and weren't books I probably would have bought anyway because they didn't fit my style. I mention this because I find it hard to believe that anyone who had any intention of paying would not find at least some value in some of Paul's work. I would guess that those not donating anything were just out for something free to add to their "collection" to use as trading fodder. As far as piracy goes, I'm not so sure this experiment really would have much impact on sales. The ones who donate nothing would have probably never purchased in the first place. Hopefully with this experiment at least you have gained a few new fans of your work that will continue to support you. Last but not least, I hope the Remote Viewing experiment book still sees the light of day. |
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Circusman Special user Kent, England. 555 Posts |
To be honest, Paul. I would love to see a lot of your work, based on the good reputation that I know you have.
But, I refuse to take advantage of your donation offer. It's simply this, I cannot afford to buy anything at the moment because of unexpected severe financial difficulties at this time. However, it gives me no right to take advantage of another so if, and when, I get back on my feet again, it is only right that I wait until then to buy your books at a true and proper price that reflects all the hard work that you have put into them. Just my 2 penny's worth. Bobby. |
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