Discussion on the free book thread

[tmr4]

What I find more annoying than discussion in the free book thread are non-discussion bumps of this OT thread.

[beeyebickiebuy]

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tmr4 wrote:
What I find more annoying than discussion in the free book thread are non-discussion bumps of this OT thread.

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So, just like the Seinfeld episode where something good follows something bad that happens to Jerry, things seem to even out on here.  

[tmr4]

I think it is more like the episode about nothing but I'm sure we can agree to disagree. At least this way you get another bump.

[beeyebickiebuy]

On the free book thread HoosierJoe said:

"Seems to me that there are a whole lot of religious publishers offering free books but not many mainstream publishers.  Or am I missing something?"

Yes, Joe, you are right.  If not for the freebies from the religious publishers and vampire books we would not see very many postings for free books.  I would like to see all of that religious stuff in a separate free book thread.  That won't and shouldn't happen unless the folks who read that stuff make the demand.  And even then it is unfair to Spec and others who donate their time to keep the list going.

Wading through free book postings to find one of interest is a small price to pay for a free book.

[Doug_Pardee Distinguished Bibliophile]

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beeyebickiebuy wrote:

On the free book thread HoosierJoe said:

"Seems to me that there are a whole lot of religious publishers offering free books but not many mainstream publishers.  Or am I missing something?"

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I think what HoosierJoe is missing is the difference in value systems. Mainstream publishers exist only to make a buck. Christian publishers aren't averse to making a buck, but also have other values such as generosity and evangelism. Evangelical Protestants (a more precise categorization of most of the "Christian" publishers) have been giving away printed books and materials for a very long time.

That said... if you're not Christian and not interested in being preached at, but you're not a Christian-hater, read some of the reviews for the e-books from the Christian publishers. As I noted in an earlier posting, many of these books are merely what the movies call "PG-13." They don't contain material that might be considered offensive, but they're not preachy. In my experience, many (maybe even most) of the titles from Baker fall into that category. If a title sounds interesting, read the reviews and see what people are saying.

Or just get the e-book and start reading it. It's free. If it turns out you don't like the e-book, you don't have to keep reading it.

[HoosierJoe]

I'm sorry I even said anything.  I was NOT COMPLAINING OR CRITICIZING THAT MOST FREE BOOKS ARE RELIGIOUS.  Some of you have read that into my observation in error.  I was only making an observation.  I am glad that the religious books are free and so many people enjoy them, I have even downloaded some of them.  I never said anything about the books being "preachy" or not liking them.  I never said anything critical about anything or anyone, or being a Christian or not being one.  I just made an observation.  I thought that maybe I was missing other opportunities from other publishers.

IT WAS NOT A CRITICISM.

Sometimes talking to people on here is like talking to my uncle Morty.

[gstone]

So I guess uncle Morty does this a lot; enters a chat room and responds to posts in threads other than the one they were posted in.

[HoosierJoe]

Wow, you smart boy/girl.  This is the OT thread.  The discussion was brought here, see because this is the OT thread.  And if you bother to read some of the above, you will just happen to notice that.

Very complicated for you, I am sure.

But thanks for that comment, it will get all the consideration it deserves.

Like I said,

like talking to Uncle Morty. 

[beeyebickiebuy]

HosierJoe - Relax

No one here thinks or even suggests that you were complaining or ciricizing, or anything else that you describe in your earlier post.  Your observation is one that others have had, including me.  That observation by you, me or anyone else does not in any way indicate that we are critical of the publishers of this genre making their titles available for free.  It is just an observation, and no one here was beating you up for it as you seem to have inferred.

This is a great group of people here, one that does not feed upon its own.  

[scotta316]

I've also noticed that there are many religious or spiritual titles. I don't think that's surprising right now with Valentine's Day right around the corner. As for the books that I post, I actually find them on a Christian website, and there have been a lot of new titles for past week or so.

I do appreciate your observation, HoosierJoe, and I'm sorry if it was mistaken for a criticism. I do agree with Doug about some of the titles being "PG-13." One perfect example that I read lately is The Pawn, which I really enjoyed. It reminded me of Criminal Minds. Although it's by a Christian author, it doesn't have a preachy message. It just doesn't have any sex or foul language. (It does have a couple gory scenes, though.) I think I'll probably continue reading that series, since my library has it as downloadable eBooks.

I guess I just wanted to give you some encouragement. Any contribution is appreciated.

-Scott (also a Hoosier)

[HoosierJoe]

Anyway, more to a sensible point:

Are we to assume that the non Christian publishers seldom or never have give aways?

I am not only after freebies, I've paid for plenty of books.  And have never minded paying for something I want to read.    But I find it odd that, the "main stream" and larger publishers do not offer this carrot at all or very often.

[Nevermore1]

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HoosierJoe wrote:

Anyway, more to a sensible point:

Are we to assume that the non Christian publishers seldom or never have give aways?

I am not only after freebies, I've paid for plenty of books.  And have never minded paying for something I want to read.    But I find it odd that, the "main stream" and larger publishers do not offer this carrot at all or very often.

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You do see them but not very often.  I don't ever remembering seeing a freebie that was written by a major best selling author.  They usually seem to be authors that are not as popular/mainstream and I assume that these authors books are chosen with the hopes of garnering a larger fan base for the author.  I have found a few "new" authors that I like because of the freebies.  I do agree that the Christian publishers tend to have more freebies than others (except maybe publishers who focus on erotica or romance - I see a lot of those as well).

[BrandieC]

@Nevermore1:

While rare, there are some freebies by major authors.  One that comes immediately to mind was when the Free Friday offering was the first of the Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher.  As I'm sure they fully expected, I was hooked and ended up reading the entire series (and buying those my library didn't have).

[Doug_Pardee Distinguished Bibliophile]

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HoosierJoe wrote:

Are we to assume that the non Christian publishers seldom or never have give aways?

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Of the 'Big 6' US trade publishers, only HarperCollins has shown any interest in free e-books. They have occasionally done freebies in a special edition "with bonus materials." Those freebies are usually the first title in a series, and the "bonus materials" are a couple of teaser chapters of a new title in that series that's about to come out. These days, though, most of HC's "bonus materials" promo e-books are $1.99.

Many of the smaller publishers do have freebies. Harlequin has about twenty e-books that are continuously free. Baen (sci-fi) has a number of permanent freebies — again, the first books in a series — but you'll have to get them directly from Baen.

The short-term freebies from the more mainstream publishers tend to be very short-term nowadays. The number of free copies that gets downloaded in a day is staggering. Most publishing contracts promise the author a percentage of the cover price, regardless of actual sale price, so this can become very expensive very quickly. It'd be easy for a publisher to end up owing a million dollars just in author royalties for a single day's downloads. Obviously (?) the publishers aren't going to make an e-book free unless they have a deal with the author to keep the royalties in check.

[spec]

This is a great disussion and I thought about those issues myself many times, but I think the root of the problem is elsewhere. Prior to around 1999 (maybe earlier?) none of us would have had any problem paying for paper books (almost) whatever their price was. We would put some thought into it, but not nearly as much as we do today. Suddently the dot-coms, google, etc. came and more and more competitive promotions messed with our heads and, let's admit it, now we expect to pay for a lot of things the "radical price", FREE. (Coincidentally another book of the author of "Free", Chris Anderson, "The Long Tail" was available for that exact price from B&N in a promtion in Sept 2010). So I think what the current economical model did to our heads is that the complaint here really is not that a lot of free titles are religious titles, but that fact that everybody else is not matching that price. Many books have been written on the subject so I dont want to go into details here, but unfortunately this sort thinking is here to stay.

[HoosierJoe]

HosierJoe - Relax

No one here thinks or even suggests that you were complaining or ciricizing, or anything else that you describe in your earlier post. 

____________________________________

Well yes, actually they did.  But the fault is mine.  I forgot that this is a message board.  On message boards you have to explain every detail and nuance of what you are saying, and qualify your every word excurtiatingly, or invariably someone will claim you are saying something else and will be totally clueless to what you actually said.  Silly people will then go off on an unrelated tangent and completely miss the point.

Kind of like talking to Uncle Morty.

[Sun_Cat]

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HoosierJoe wrote:

Kind of like talking to Uncle Morty.

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Kind of like watching the political circus going on these days.

[Sun_Cat hurriedly steps out of the way in case of flying tomatoes.]

[Doug_Pardee Distinguished Bibliophile]

For those who say that Amazon's e-book prices are always cheaper than B&N's... Amazon wants $10.06 for The Tenth Saint, which is currently free here on B&N:

The Tenth Saint

[BooksOnTheKnob]

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Doug_Pardee wrote:

For those who say that Amazon's e-book prices are always cheaper than B&N's... Amazon wants $10.06 for The Tenth Saint, which is currently free here on B&N:

The Tenth Saint

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Technically, they don't actually have the ebook. The publisher pulled their entire ebook catalog as a negotiating tactic in a contract dispute.  So, the $10 price is for the paperback, exactly the same price as at B&N.

You do, however, have lower prices on both the nook Daily Find books today, unless they've dropped them at Amazon (and one is an Agency publisher, which shouldn't have a different price at different retailers).

[LM44]

Hi all,

The last ebooks I listed I only provided the links, no image. 

When I click 'Add Product', do a search and attempt to click

on 'add image and link', the buttons are there for only a second

and then dissappear leaving only the image on the left.

Just curious if this happens to anyone else.

I'm using IE9. I'm going to try another browser next time.