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- badenglishihave, on 01/25/2008, -3/+88I believe this would work especially well with books since it's difficult on the eyes to read an entire book on a monitor. Give them a taste of your writing, then provide them with a means to purchase a hard copy. It seems like a good start for an internet business model in the book industry.
I have downloaded some eBooks but I still purchase hard copies of all of my books without exception. Even a young, tech-savvy guy such as myself enjoys turning pages and having the ability to lie down comfortably for a good read. I have a feeling that the written word isn't going away anytime soon. - NGliam, on 01/25/2008, -3/+37Definitely agree. Reading books on a monitor just doesn't make sense to me.
- chrisbosh123, on 01/25/2008, -2/+281. Write book
2. Pirate your own book on BT
3. ?????
4. PROFIT! - alukima, on 01/25/2008, -3/+16This is a really good idea. If I really like a book I am going to purchase a hard copy anyway. Same thing with music and movies.
Digital copies just aren't the same. - stalefries, on 01/25/2008, -0/+13Because his publisher won't let him, probably.
- espempire, on 01/25/2008, -7/+18he wrote it he should be able to do what ever he wants, personally i liked the book.
- jpjandrade, on 01/25/2008, -1/+12RTFDescription of TFA
- inactive, on 01/25/2008, -0/+8Because he was paid by the publisher. It is not his book.
If he wants to give away his book, then he can do it when he takes no money from a publisher.
This is like the department of Apple repsonsible for the iPod coming together after accepting Apple paychecks for years saying that they want to give away the iPod for free. Like the iPod, this book is NOT his to give away. - MutatedNantuko, on 01/25/2008, -1/+9Man, I loved the Alchemist. Beginners luck strikes again.
- Neoanarchist, on 01/25/2008, -1/+8When you sign on with a publisher, they own the rights to your book in many cases. This is in exchange for them paying your lazy writer's block havin ass to sit around and send them 3 pages a month.
So thats why he doesn't have a lot of control over the situation. Same thing happens with bands and record labels. - SgtShazam, on 01/25/2008, -1/+7certainly seems like a safe bet that he did...*facepalm*
- stfucupcake, on 01/25/2008, -0/+6Agree with both of you but the Alchemist is actually pretty short and, well, now it's free.
- Myztry, on 01/25/2008, -0/+63. Prove your talent so people will buy
- inactive, on 01/25/2008, -0/+6you are not everybody.
- inactive, on 01/25/2008, -1/+7Music Industry, are you listening?
- inactive, on 01/25/2008, -2/+8No..if he wants to do with it whatever he wants, he shouldn't have taken any MONEY from the publisher. That is a selfish move on his part. Anyone is free to write a book and give it away for free. He chose to not do this, but instead take money from someone and then take away an opportunity for his employers to recoup the money they spent on him.
- Murdats, on 01/25/2008, -0/+6I prefer physical books, but I also prefer much more my pda, because its portable, holds many books, plays music, and if I am tired of reading, plays tv shows.
oh and it remembers my page for me :) - Speed, on 01/25/2008, -1/+7But not copyright holders permission.
- greenlight2001, on 01/25/2008, -1/+6Reading on a monitor for extended periods of time = eye strain
- Locke23, on 01/25/2008, -0/+5No no... they can't hear you, we've tried.
- EdgarVerona, on 01/25/2008, -0/+5It really CLOBBERED you over the head sometimes with its all-too-obvious theme... but even feeling that way through reading the book, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
It's kind of like Kino's Journey. You get a great story and interesting commentary with the occasional metal hammer pounded against your face when the creator wants you to notice his already not-so-subtle metaphors. It only makes it moderately less enjoyable though. - JudgeMonkey, on 01/25/2008, -1/+6Umm.... what? Prophets AREN'T crackheads?
- RangersWin, on 01/25/2008, -1/+6I enjoy reading from a monitor much more and I find myself reading much more than I usually would with a physical copy of a book. Matter of taste I guess or im just weird.
- kamakazi17, on 01/25/2008, -1/+6i loved the alchemist
- Tarnum, on 01/25/2008, -0/+4I'm quite sure there is a violation of the copyright laws.
Paulo Coelho is the author, but he sold the right to copy and distribute the book to his publisher and was paid for it.
Now his publisher owns the exclusive rights to copy and distribute the book, not Paulo. - robinator08, on 01/25/2008, -0/+4Well he does like money. He has just found a way to get more of it going against traditional logic.
- notahappycamper, on 01/25/2008, -2/+5good for him...i respect any artist, author, etc. who puts more value in sharing their art than on making a dime per copy...
of course making money for what you love to do is best case scenario - spootmonkey, on 01/25/2008, -1/+4If anyone hasn't read The Alchemist you really should. Such a great book with lots of lessons to learn from.
- lnxfi, on 01/25/2008, -0/+3I actually work at a publishing company (head of the sales department). Basically, if he's signed a contract with a publisher, that work is no longer is for the duration of the agreement. A publisher does more than just print a book. They have it edited, reworked, layout work, cover work, marketed, printed, shipped, warehoused, invoiced, collections for sales, and etc. Get the point? He's essentially stolen money from the publisher, not to mention made it harder for the sales team (what i'm part of) to sell the book and taking money directly out of their paycheck/commissions.
- MoneyShot, on 01/25/2008, -0/+3No real details on what became of his disagreement with the publisher. But it's pretty likely that they figured something out together since he'd likely be sued otherwise. Yeah, yeah, I'm all for "information wants to be free" and stuff, but it would be pretty lame for him to cash the check from a publisher and then turn around and give away electronic copies of the book.
- Onyxblaze, on 01/25/2008, -1/+3[opinion]
- Locke23, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2Trust me, when you read that book. You will buy it.
To pull off something like that, you have to be confident in your product and Coelho knows just how great his book is. - Cyrusnov, on 01/25/2008, -1/+3Hey, he has some other great books, so it's not beginners luck. I specially like (and recommend) "The Devil and Miss Prym" and "Veronika Decides to Die".
- badenglishihave, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2Good point about reference material (Wikipedia anyone?) Some things are definitely better suited for the web.
- wil2200, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2alchemist was totally cool; zahir and 11 minutes were very excellent also;
warriors of light was good and it is comparable to Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" (which I really liked)
it doesn't matter whether you believe or not, they just make you want to believe
oh yea, i bought like 5 copies of alchemist so i can give out as presents a while back :-) - EdgarVerona, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2The book's a good one. In fact, my copy is still sitting in a shack on Little Corn Island, Nicaragua. After reading it during my honeymoon there, I left it on a "take a book, leave a book" bookshelf for future adventurous vacationers to find. So if anyone here happens to go to the island and pick up the book, it's from a fellow digger. ;)
- sgiffy, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2No argument here. If one assigns their rights they are exercising control in incurring a contractual obligation.
- lidong, on 01/25/2008, -1/+3Save the forest..
- kilgoretrout88, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2It costs £3.89 on Amazon... you'd really rather wait a year for a free book than spend about $8 on it?
edit: oops, meant to reply to ChromaVita, not Myztry. - Nudz, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2you might have missed a certain key element in the article. SALES INCREASED. So the published made MORE money thanks to him doing this on his own since they were too pigheaded to do it themselves.
So no, he didn't take away their opportunity to recoup the money. - merper, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2He already sold 65million copies of the book prior to this.
- Myztry, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2Good on him. Reading long material like books while sitting upright at a desk staring into a monitor is hell. Displays just can't compare to the near infinite resolution and thus reading ease of printed materials. It's not going to cannibalize story book sales even it they are free and also provides the ultimate in economical promotion.
Reference material is a bit different because the ability to search and go straight to the relevant section is a great advantage. - unionaire, on 01/25/2008, -0/+2Before he torrents his own book he was known by maybe 100,000 men, after he did, he is known by at least 1,000,000.
The 1% of the latter is the 10% of the former, only MPAA & RIAA wouldn't do the math right. - BillWaltonsAfro, on 01/25/2008, -0/+1I think he was talking about a theme from the book, not Coelho's skills...
- PurpleSfinx, on 01/25/2008, -0/+1This is a great idea. I don't think I'm the only one who likes to KNOW what they're buying is quality, DOES buy the things they want, and would NEVER buy something without getting a physical copy.
- rowjimmy, on 01/25/2008, -1/+2somebody has only read the alchemist, eh?
- Kempachi, on 01/25/2008, -0/+1Gibran > Coelho
- azazel00, on 01/25/2008, -1/+2Great! I love his books.
- rowjimmy, on 01/25/2008, -1/+2have you met him, or talked to him? because i have, and i'd venture to guess he's a lot more intelligent than you are.
by the way, his books are this crazy thing called "fiction"; while they still convey lessons and philosophical musings related to life and human agency, they don't have to stand up to an objective test of truth. hence the classification "fiction" - Edogz, on 01/25/2008, -0/+1The Alchemist is a great book.
It has great teachings in a small package. -
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