Comments on: Are $0 ebooks inevitable?

By: radio_babylon

radio_babylon — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:47:56 +0000

as long as i still have the option to PAY for my books so that they dont include any advertising, i dont care how the rest of it shakes out.

By: Deb Baker

Deb Baker — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:33:50 +0000

I just found your site and added it to my favorites on Google Reader. As a traditionally published author AND a self-pub one, I’m watching this battle with keen interest. Thanks for the low-down!

By: eReaderPlanet

eReaderPlanet — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:23:02 +0000

Good analysis. I think that eBooks will go the same route as MP3′s did. They won’t be free, but new distribution models will emerge (some already have) that make it simple and easy for the consumer. The best example of a new distribution model is the Kindle’s ability to download books wirelessly. This model can be compared to Apple’s iTunes in the MP3 world. I do, however, feel that consumers will find free eBooks either illegally via file sharing or, as you mentioned, via authors giving them away for free.

The advertising model might come in to play with the creation of a system similar to AdSense. If Google, or whomever, set up an easy system where publishers/authors could embed ads within their eBooks, just like AdSense does for Web sites, that could be a success. However, you will always have the consumers that don’t want ads in their eBooks and will pay a premium to not have them.

By: sandysays1

sandysays1 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:15:07 +0000

Writing as a quality art-form, RIP!