LibraryThing is among booklover sites with loyal audiences that has had success in helping publishers channel galleys to interested readers who are likely to post online/review the books. In October, for example, they’ve had available for request 1,670 copies of 55 titles. Now Sourcebooks is experimenting with an electronic offering: they are allowing up to […]
Free
E and Free
Open-source college textbook company Flat World Knowledge announced the completion of $700,000 funding round, bringing total funding to date to $1.4 million. They say they expect “a larger Series A round from venture investors and/or strategic partners within the next six months.” In beta for the past few months, Flat World expects to have its […]
Since They Aren't Selling, Let's Give Them Away
John Warner, editor of McSweeney’s online, author of So You Want to Be President? and Fondling Your Muse, and “Creative director of the struggling TOW Books” writes on Maud Newton’s blog about his new initiative to give away PDFs of four books from his humor imprint to help spread the word. “The sad fact, and […]
Coelho on His "Online Journey"
Novelist Paulo Coelho writes in the New Statesman about his decade-long adventures in connecting with fans and readers electronically. His starting point was significantly different from that of many of his peers: “in my case, I was never very keen on the notion of the reclusive author working in solitude, and have always tried to […]
How About WOWIO 2.0?
Remember that goofy company that wanted to build a collection of free-access ebooks that wasted all that money a couple of BEA’s ago on an army of people in matching t-shirts chasing attendees on Segway scooters? Now entertainment company Platinum Studios (which says they control thousands of comic book characters) has bought the company and […]
More Free: Pinter, Friedman, and Tor
Through August 5, author Jason Pinter is offering visitors to his web site free online access to the first book in his Henry Parker series, THE MARK. (The third in the series publishes at the end of July.) In an additional twist, Pinter offers to thank in the acknowledgements of next year’s book any fan […]