Sort of Free…
When my publisher decided to release my Secrets book for “free” as an ebook, I thought it meant FREE. I just found it meant free-for-a-little-while-and-then-gone. Apparently it has some sort of DRM expiration date on it.
[Update: One of my tester friends found that he could defeat the expiration mechanism by playing with the system date, but that's not very practical, I guess.]
They didn’t mention this to me when they told me about the promotion. I suppose they thought “Well OBVIOUSLY it’s only free for a period of time… we’re in the publishing business!” But it wasn’t obvious to me or I would have told you when I announced it.
[Update: Turns out the editors running the promotion did not know that the download had a time limit.]
Anyway, you can still download the book until the 24th of July, and you can read it for some period of time after that before it goes POOF. Not bad, considering that it didn’t cost you anything except the annoyance of downloading it, but still…
Naturally, I hope everyone goes out and buys the hardcover with real money. That way I’ll be encouraged to write more books. Otherwise, it’s an expensive hobby.
Side note: It’s interesting how glitchy the process is, too. Several people found that the special Adobe reader software complained and moaned and wouldn’t install on their systems. QUALITY IS DEAD!
Phew, got a copy yesterday, read it last night and noticed it has expired today. A thoroughly enjoyable read thanks, although it will be the last book I read cover to cover on a computer. My preferred reading locations (bed, couch, toilet, and aeroplane seat) are not that compatible with adobe products.
As an aside, isn’t it amazing whenever you see a new DRM product like Adobe Digital Editions you just want to break it. It took me seven minutes with an automation tool to get it into a proper PDF, albeit without the sidebar. Now I could have done it manually, but this time automation was a clear winner
And I for one will be buying the paper copy. I don’t suppose there are any signings happening in the Dublin area any time soon…
[James' Reply: I'm so glad my wife and father insisted that it be a short book! Yeah, I want to break that DRM stuff, too. It's creepy and Orwellian.
I don't have any gigs coming up in Ireland... But it's always possible. I've taught in Dublin three times in past years.]
Comment by Shane MacLaughlin — July 24, 2009 @ 2:12 am
So the publisher gives away an electronic edition of a book, which generates buzz and goodwill. Then locks people out of it after a certain time. Which is frustrating and makes us hate the publisher just a little bit. And they don’t clue the author in that they’re going to do this, which means some of the blame blows back on the author too.
This is the one-step-forward, two-steps-back game, yes? More arguments for self-publishing.
Comment by Thud — July 25, 2009 @ 8:10 am
It’s currently free for the Kindle at Amazon, just started reading it on the iPhone and looks fully operational.
Love your theory, I took a similar approach to landing a full time position at the Library of Congress. In a wildly random coincidence, one of the first major projects I completed was a Flash version of the Buccaneers of America http://tinyurl.com/5yb4z9
Ok, back to reading. Thanks James!
Comment by Fred — July 25, 2009 @ 8:38 am
“Creepy and Orwellian” is a good description. I’ve been a book publisher for thirty years and I’m not only going to buy a copy so James will keep writing, but I’m going to do all I can to promote it and get our readers to buy it too. And I’m a huge self-publishing fan, but the marketing is what makes or breaks a book every time.
Comment by Helen — August 2, 2009 @ 1:09 am