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#31 | |
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Karma: 10
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Finland
Device: none
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#32 |
Wizard
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Karma: 9547754
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Newcastle, Australia
Device: iPhone SE2020
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There is no way I would pay for what I can already get for free, from those sources already names. Seriously, not only would I not pay, I would *never* go for a subscription model. Ever.
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#33 |
Wizard
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Karma: 68781975
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Arkansas
Device: Paperwhite 4
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Most free ebooks are put together by volunteers who are willing to spend their time and a bit of money to make sure there are free books available. I personally am offended that someone wants to use the product of their effort to make money.
I've seen this before. In the early days of old time radio collecting and sharing on the internet a lot of us retired guys put a lot of work into locating old shows, cleaning them up and sharing them for free. Then a few people joined our groups for the purpose of getting our shows and selling collections of them on CD on Ebay and on the web. I'm sorry there are people in this world who want to make money on the backs of volunteers. It's a pretty sad thing. Barry |
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#34 |
Wizard
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Karma: 26050790
Join Date: Sep 2017
Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26
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In order to successfully sell something that can otherwise be easily had for free, you need to add value.
I hate to say it, but selling something by subscription only, that you cannot download (meaning you have to be online to read it?), that requires a custom app supported by only one person (and only available on a subset of devices), to read a custom book format that you designed and nobody else uses - is not "adding value". It is subtracting from it. I have no doubt you are a talented programmer. However, I would recommend targeting some different area that is not already well established like ebooks are. A new eBook format is not needed, and would only have a chance of succeeding if it was pushed by an industry giant - like Apple or Microsoft or Google or Amazon. The chance of a single individual developing a new format that anybody but the most naive would actually use, is zilch. Even when the big guys are pushing a new format, the consumers don't want it. Rather, it is being forced on them for some other reason - like to enable some harder to defeat DRM most likely. Even the big guys face strong headwinds when trying to force that down consumers throats. Sorry, I don't mean to stomp on your dream. But your efforts would be better directed at a totally different area than you appear to be going after here. |
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#35 | ||
Member
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Karma: 10
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Finland
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- The fact that certain content is in PD means it's made open by its creator, or the governing legislative body of a democratic government that represents him/her. This clearly means that rights of a creator - the highest rights (higher than formatters / distributors / volunteers) - have been marginalized in exchange for better discoverability + sharing of knowledge. If my app makes an African kid aware about Alice in Wonderland in a free trial + cancellation (where I will be losing money for), why should a volunteer have problem? Taking a higher moral ground than the creator or lawmakers is something that doesn't suit volunteers, at least for the sake of the purpose here. (of discoverability) - I haven't made any mention of which PD source I might use i.e. which volunteer's work I will be making money off of. Gutenberg exists since 70s, and I simply adore their love for plaintext format - in the sense that it makes it forever extensible. It suits me because it allows me to roll out my own format. If I don't succeed, I will take a hit for sure, but that's my risk. Given the competition in the space as many contributors have mentioned here, I will have to try really really hard to make myself break-even, given all the costs involved with subscription model. This, in light of the fact that my competitors (Publishers + Amazon) are selling super-popular PD works for $ even on Kindle on per title basis, wherein I will be selling them bunched together as monthly subscription. While I can credit them for all the formatting those publishers might have done, I wouldn't be getting anything readymade from Mobilereads or Gutenberg that I could make money off of 2-clicks. Quote:
So while I totally agree I could go bankrupt the next day this is launched (due to no added value risk), I am also simply providing one more option in the market filled with megaliths making money off of authors' who died 150 years ago. Whether I use someone's formatted work is of totally negligible value here. (not that I intend to do it) |
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#36 | |
Member
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As for the format question, I am still not sure (and knowledgeable enough) if sharing is of so much value to a reader. How many people are likely to share an eBook with friends that they bought with money? Of course people on MR are an enthusiastic community but how much of the world does it represent? Is everyone who is a classic enthusiast also a PD enthusiast? Are they more likely to be on MR than they are not? By all means here I want to avoid a confirmation bias and nothing else... |
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#37 | |
Resident Curmudgeon
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Karma: 134319570
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
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#38 | ||||
Bibliophagist
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Karma: 153006036
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Vancouver
Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos
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"A cursory assessment of the manuscript’s sales appeal, however, convinced us that dollarwise the thing would be better employed as tinder for the library fireplace."—Bored of the Rings |
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#39 | |||
Member
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Karma: 10
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Finland
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That's an interesting piece feedback. I will consider a popular friendly format then. |
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#40 |
Member
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#41 |
The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠
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Karma: 307935764
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Norfolk, England
Device: Kindle Voyage
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I recommend you consider your business model in comparison to say, Delphi Classics.
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#42 | |
Member
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Location: Finland
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#43 |
Junior Member
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Karma: 118980
Join Date: Nov 2015
Device: Kobo Clara HD
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You would probably be better off seeing what is already on the market, then figure out how you can add value to what already exists. Also consider who your target market is (the people who pay) when deciding how you are going to add value. Parents may be tough since you have to get your message to a broad audience and create something that appeals to a broad audience, teachers and tutors may be easier to target and more willing to pay for something out of pocket that genuinely meets their needs. Institutional purchases are a notoriously tough nut to crack. If you are unable to generate unique content yourself, you may want to consider creating something for authors (i.e. license the software and content creation tools to authors who create, market, and sell their own titles through the Apple and Play stores).
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#44 |
Guru
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Karma: 12000001
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Seattle Wahington U.S.
Device: kindle
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nothing. classics I can get from the library/
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classics, ereader apps, mobile applications, price |
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Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
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