Put it this way: we need to reach the guy I sat opposite on the train yesterday who spent the whole journey from Colchester to Liverpool Street playing Bejewelled 2 on his iPhone. We need to put the idea in his head that he could have spent his time reading a Charlie Stross novel on his iPhone. Had he done that he would have achieved his primary aim, for the time would have passed without tedium; but he would have done a lot more, in terms of entertaining himself, and stimulating his brain, and engaging his emotions and so on; and then in short order he would be seeking out all the other Charlie Stross titles, and not only filling dead time like commuting time with them, but actively rearranging his days so as to make more time for reading. Bejewelled 2 cannot do this; but high-end content like good literature can.

It wouldn’t have to be a Charlie Stross novel, of course. It could be a China Mieville novel.

In other words, the scarce currency is time, not money.

Can you buy a secondhand ebook? Although we talk about the publishers’ losing monopoly over the content, the resale of books etc – where not a penny goes to publisher or artist – will become impossible. Can I get an ebook out of the library? This one might be a double edged sword, because libraries buy lots of books, of course. I imagine these numbers are quite dependable, and guaranteed sales like that are likely important to publishers. So, whatever gain is made from cutting off this competition will be mitigatedby the loss of library sales.

Already, amazon sellers and ebay have decimated the second hand bookshops – there used to be half a dozen good ones in Greenwich, but only one remains. On the other hand, I guess there’s more on Project Gutenberg than you could read in a lifetime, and it’s all free!

Patrick H

I recommend you take a look at Charles Stross’ post on his website: http://www.accelerando.org/

The post is titled “The Monetization Paradox (or why Google is not my friend)”. As is usual with Charlie, the post is thoughtful and full of insight.

There are already 162 comments on the post, most of which are ideas for monetizing an author’s work. Almost all, in one way or another, are models that take advantage of internet publishing.

I note in my own comment (either #100 or #101) to Charlie’s post that one of the biggest problems with earning money for any type of publishing on the net is advertisers’ failure to properly value online advertisements. That also goes for all kinds of publishing.

This will eventually all work out but, a great deal of damage will be done getting to that future. Most of the damage will be irreparable.