Via guardian.co.uk
…the independent UK publisher Faber is launching its own digital experiment, giving readers the chance to pay what they deem appropriate for historian Ben Wilson’s latest book, fittingly titled What Price Liberty?Wilson’s examination of the value and meaning of liberty will be available to download on 27 April, six weeks before it is published on paper at £14.99, with readers given the freedom to set their own price, or even download it for free.
The initiative is the latest in a series of moves from publishers around the world to experiment with ebook giveaways. Paulo Coelho and Stephen King have been giving books away online since 2000, and both Hodder and HarperCollins offered titles for free last year, but this is the first time a major publisher has given readers the chance to place their own price on a new title.According to Faber’s marketing executive, Silvia Novak, the publisher is expecting the experiment to increase the sales of the paper book, “adding sales rather than replacing them”.
The head of digital publishing at Faber, Henry Volans, said that the project was only the first example of new thinking about “ways to publish, even new ways to write”.
Read the entire article here.
Image Source: Darren Hester
I think that what you are doing is great. I would recommend lowering costs by reducing the print copies, and rather creating a digital page-flip version online. This would also give you the ability to reach a much larger audience. The company I work with offers a discount for non-profit organizations such as yours. Please let me know if you have any interest in this. 303 532 4812
At Pratham Books, we’re lowering the cost per book by INCREASING the print numbers. This results in two things: lower MRP for a book, and a big stock that drives us to reach the books to more and more children.
But a digital page-flip version would definitely help us to reach children who have access to a computer.