09-09-2009, 06:28 PM | #1 | |
Wizard
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Baen's Webscriptions turns ten
I wasn't around in the beginning but it went something like this.
In late 90s Jim Baen created a website for Baen Books. That was common enough. But then he did something unusual - he added "Baen's Bar", where real live authors and editors chatted with the Readers. Just that helped quite a lot to improve sales. But then Jim talked some authors into posting snippets of "work in progress" to the Bar to let people "bug check" and build up the buzz before the finished book came out. Soon enough people got hungry for more and proposed him to put up the complete books... for money. Thus the Webscriptions were born. According to Baen's FAQ the service was to begin on September 9th, 1999 but was delayed two days. In the beginning only the complete bundle of books for a particular month were offered for $10 (in multiple formats and no DRM!). Later (at the readers' urging!) the bundle price was raised to $15 and the option of buying separate books was added. Afterward came Baen's Free Library and E-ARCs. David Drake remembers: Quote:
Baen Books Baen's Bar Webscriptions Baen Free Library Baen CDs |
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09-09-2009, 08:25 PM | #2 |
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Happy Anniversary! This is by far my favorite place to buy ebooks l love all the formats to choose from.
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09-09-2009, 08:29 PM | #3 |
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This is pretty interesting. Thanks for the info. I will be sure to check out Baen Books.
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09-09-2009, 09:24 PM | #4 |
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Wow, only 10 years ago. Seems longer. That's when I bought my first 'purchased' ebook (all of the Bujolds that were available at the time). I guess sometimes time doesn't fly as fast as you think!
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09-09-2009, 09:26 PM | #5 |
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Time Flies! Happy Anniversary!!
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09-09-2009, 09:38 PM | #6 |
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I hate to say this because I know that I sound like a broken record, but....I will not buy anythign with drm; be it music, video, or book. Bceause I want to future proof my purchase, and if the Sony 505 I have today dies, I want my books to work on the Kindle 'model name' or Plastic Logic 'Literacy 10' and so on. The message I have to publishers is simple; you have DRM? You have no sale to me.
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09-09-2009, 10:07 PM | #7 |
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Love, love, love Baen's Webscriptions - it has been the one constant in my ebook world, as I have switched from Palm, to Windows CE, to Windows Mobile, to an iPhone, to a Sony Reader - I never have to worry about my Webscription purchases being readable. Happy Anniversary!
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09-09-2009, 10:31 PM | #8 | |
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and do you have any reason to believe that baen's webscriptions uses drm?
Quote:
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09-09-2009, 10:40 PM | #9 |
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Happy Birthday to Baen Books!!!
: clown: I'd been buying Baen books off the shelf in bookstores, seeking them out by their distinctive logo, for several year when I first discovered the free library. I fell in love on the spot and began purchasing ebooks in html format to read on my PC. I dabbled with The Bar but found it a bit awkward. When I found out that the Kindle2 was coming out and that it supported one of the formats available at Baen I was in seventh heaven. I bought the Kindle 2 as soon as it was available, re-downloaded all my older Baen purchases in prn/mobi and have been purchasing and consuming ebooks at a frantic rate ever since. Thank you Arnold, Eric, and, especially, Jim. Last edited by NormHart; 09-09-2009 at 10:42 PM. Reason: arrg, brownies!!! |
09-09-2009, 10:52 PM | #10 |
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09-09-2009, 10:58 PM | #11 |
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Baen is where I spend the vast majority of my money on ebooks (I resort to DRM'ed ebooks /after/ print books, preferably second hand).
This is not-a-coincidence. It's also lead me, via various removes, to various interesting things I've read before the public have seen them as well as the unfortunately-never-beyond-beta Legacy of the Alldenata RPG and to my work on Starfire. Go Baen! Last edited by DawnFalcon; 09-09-2009 at 11:14 PM. |
09-09-2009, 11:50 PM | #12 |
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It should be mentioned that Baen eBooks go for $6.00 a shot at Webscriptions and are released fairly quickly after the Hardcover is out. For the older titles you can still pick them up for $4.00 and the older monthly subscriptions 1999-2001 are still available for $10.00 for 5 or 6 ebooks, lots of good buys there.
Last edited by NormHart; 09-09-2009 at 11:54 PM. Reason: arrrg, brownies!!! |
09-10-2009, 02:49 AM | #13 |
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Baen is mostly all I read in pbook. If they had Dietz, it would pretty much be all I read. Now that I have my new Sony Reader (which I prefer vastly over pbook) I don't really see myself checking out other websites ever due to the fact I am not a fast reader (1 book a week)
Hijack- does anyone know what format to download the first 2 volumes of Baens Universe in for PRS-505? Last edited by keith_mahoney; 09-10-2009 at 03:16 AM. Reason: Hijack question |
09-10-2009, 03:59 AM | #14 |
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09-10-2009, 04:00 AM | #15 | |
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Quote:
Happy birthday to Baen, btw! I am a big fan and a regular buyer of the monthly webscription! As a sidenote: There are a lot of other editors selling DRM-free ebooks. Have a look at fictionwise's multiformat books, so called because they are sold in a multidude of formats (including ePub) and without DRM. |
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