open-source publishing, was: Speaking of Jason Rudolph and Groovy...

Ed Burnette 01/18/2007 11:53:19 AM:
> As a reader, that's great. I love free ($0) stuff. I can download it
> without even thinking about it and use it at my leisure.

> As an author, how does that work? Many people asked for a free copy
> of my GWT book (http://pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/ebgwt), or
> complained that it wasn't free (it's $8.50). What's my incentive for
> spending months working on something, putting it out there for free,
> and everybody says "thanks", takes it, and walks off? I could be
> wrong but I can't see many of the free downloads converting to
> sales.

Not of this book, but the next. This model is used more widely in
music publishing, but it makes sense for first-time or less-well-known
authors (i.e. of lesser stature than Ed :-) or even less-well-known
publishers, as well, since it establishes track record. Folks are
always reluctant to buy from folks they don't know; but if you
read/like someone's free book, you're gonna be more likely to buy
their next one, no?