DRM-Free E-Books Makes Writers A Bundle of Cash

A group of writers are quids in following an experiment to sell a bundle of DRM-free ebooks. Sales of The Humble Bundle, which included works from authors Cory Doctorow, Neil Gaiman and the much-loved xkcd comic strip, have been anything but humble, with over 84,000 bundles sold, earning the authors $1.1 million in sales. What made the experiment so extraordinary was the fact that buyers could choose what they paid for the bundle, and how much of their price went to charity. WIth the average price coming in at $14.18: anyone who paid more than that got extra content included. One user even paid $1,238 for his 13 books which, if bought separately, would cost $157. One of the writers has been left gobsmacked. Lauren Beukes, author of Zoo City, initially saw the concept as a crazy experiment. "I didn't realise there would be over 75,000 of them spending more than a million dollars in two weeks on books!" she said. "This is New York Times bestseller-level sales." The online publishing industry will have been given a real fillip by this - especially authors who choose to publish their own work by themselves. Larger publishing houses and retailers such as Amazon, both of which swear by the draconian DRM, will be looking to see how future bundles, already in the Humble Bundle pipeline, fare. Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2012-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #included works #neil gaiman #bought separately #lauren beukes #zoo city

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European Publishers 'Shocked' at EU E-book Lending Ruling

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sharjah Book Fair Draws 1.3 Million Visitors in First Week

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Folio’s Carroll service named Book of the Year

The Folio Society took home three British Book Design & Production Awards last night, including the ceremony’s top award, with a string of smaller and niche operations also lauded for their bold approaches to publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK is country of honour at Russia Book Fair

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[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Book Group Sees Revenue Up Over 12% in Q3

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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‘No one’s making money on Facebook’: Video publishers share what’s on their minds

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[ Digiday | 2016-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What's Selling at Eagle Harbor Book Co.

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PPC launches junior book publicists’ mentoring scheme

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[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Folio Magazine | 2016-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Guardian | 2016-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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