murder.booklocker.com

First off, let me tell you that Randy is the president of the Chicago Writers Association (which is now a not-for-profit organization). I was eavesdropping on their forum when Randy made the following announcement:

“My book, LOST IN THE IVY, has been released as a free E-Book by the Chicago Underground Library (CUL). It is the CUL’s first book to be released in this manner, but it is their hope and goal that many more works will be released this way. They’d like to create a digital archive of books much like a typical library provides a place to keep books for anyone to see and read.”

I wrote to Randy asking if he would consider a Guest Post, he agreed, and we’ve styled it as an interview.

Cheryl: Can you tell us any more about the CUL or your association with them?

Randy: The CUL is a project founded by Chicagoans Nell Taylor and Emerson Dameron that aims to create a location-specific archive of self- and small press-published works from the Chicago area. It is truly underground, in that its physical location right now is in the basement of of MoJoe’s Hot House at 2849 W. Belmont, Chicago. It is also trying to create an online library, which is how my free E-Book came about.

My association with them is that I am a big supporter of their cause. I truly believe in what they’re trying to do. There are so many great self- and small press-published works out there, many of which nobody knows about simply because they can’t find them. They’re not in most bookstores or libraries. So nobody’s reading them. The CUL makes these works available so that they can be found and read.

Cheryl: Your post on your journal gave your reasons — will you repeat them?

Randy: What most people want to know is, Why would I give my book away for free. There are a number of reasons. The main one being that I’d just like the book to be more readily available and widely read. I’ve had some success getting it into local libraries (about a dozen Chicagoland libraries) but it’s in only a couple libraries out of Chicagoland. The Internet provides the ability to be sort of the world’s library, but as you all know, it is also a place filled with lots of potential landmines.

I’m also doing this because I think it is the way of the future. I’m curious to see where it goes, if anywhere. The CUL came up with this ambitious project to start an online library, and it’s one that I support. My book just happens to be the first that they’ve released in this fashion. It is their hope and goal, however, that others will follow.

I’d note that other authors have found success by releasing their published books as free e-books. I’m not really breaking new ground here. Finally, since the book has been out now for 1 1/2 years, sales have slowed to a trickle. I’ve got little to lose and everything to gain. I think. Things could always change. My book could be picked up by a major movie studio and be turned into a best-seller, but that seems like a pipe dream.

Cheryl: I’m particularly interested in a comment that you made: “I know what I’ve done goes against the grain.” Could you talk a bit about that and whether you considered it when making your decision?

Randy: Well, I do a lot of things that go against the grain. I like to push the envelope a bit. I know that this is something that’s not for everyone, but I’m in the position where I can do it. I’m not really trying to make money from my book. I’ve got a full-time job as an attorney which pays my bills. I write for fun. But I also write because I want my words to be read. If they’re not read, they’re not doing much good. This was an opportunity to make my words available to be read by anyone who has access to the Internet, and it was an opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up.

Cheryl: Your book was published through PublishAmerica. My novel, PARK RIDGE, was published through BookLocker, both in trade paperback ($14.95) and as an ebook ($8.95). Both are Print on Demand (POD). Can you tell me about PublishAmerica?

Randy: PublishAmerica hasn’t gotten into the electronic book business. They publish only in trade paperback and in a very few cases, hard cover. The contract that I signed is only for the exclusive right to publish the work in hard and/or soft cover or reprint editions in book form.

Cheryl: How do you respond to folks who say offering it for free will hurt sales of physical copies?

Randy: Where’s the proof? It might hurt sales, but it might help them. If someone happens to read the E-Book, perhaps that person will buy the trade paperback or recommend it to others. Or they’ll become a fan and buy books that I write in the future.

As I noted before, other authors have found success in releasing their books as free E-Books. Heck, you can read most books for free. Just go to your local library. Does having a book in a library hurt sales? Obviously not. The “Harry Potter” books are in every library in America. Doesn’t seem to hurt J.K. Rowling’s sales.

Also, as I noted before, it’s not as if my book is flying off the shelves. It’s not even on most shelves. I wish it were on most shelves, but that’s not the reality for most small- and self-published works. We have to fight to get our works read. This is just part of that fight.

Cheryl: Why choose to give the whole thing away when most authors/publishers only provide sample chapters?

Randy: I don’t want my book only partly read. I want the whole book to be read. This is just one way to get the book read.

It is also my view is that book publishing and marketing is a dinosaur business, and it’s time to open up to new ways. More and more books are being published but fewer and fewer authors are able to make a living from writing alone. Part of the problem is that the book publishing industry has no real stake in authors. They have investments only in the books. This is especially true with print-on-demand books. The vast majority of POD publishers do absolutely nothing for their authors other than publish their books. They’re making money, but the authors aren’t. I don’t have any answers as to what are the best avenues. But I feel that we, as authors, have to be open to new ways and to explore them.

Cheryl: You say that other authors have made similar moves?

Randy: Nick Mamatas recently released his 2004 book, MOVE UNDER GROUND, as a free e-book under a Creative Commons License and Joe Konrath recently released a few of his shorts for free.

Cheryl: Someone else on the forum mentioned Cory Doctorow and I quote:

“Author Cory Doctorow recently wrote an article for Forbes on how he benefits from giving his books away for free electronically and plans to continue to do this with upcoming novels.”

Did these ventures by others influence you? Better yet, did you find these on your own or was it part of the pitch that CUL made to you? 

Randy: I knew of these other ventures. I read just about anything out there that concerns the literary and publishing world. So I wasn’t going in to this with eyes closed. Ultimately, I did this not because others have had success with it, but because I simply wanted to get my book read. Even if it means giving it away for free.

Cheryl: My response after reading the Doctorow article was that it made you look like a marketing genius. Did it make you feel the same way?

Randy: Ha! It certainly made me feel more confident in my decision. But marketing genius? Well, in the short time that my book has been available as an E-Book, I haven’t detected any noticeable boost in sales. I won’t claim genius status until someone reads the E-Book and decides to make it into a movie. Then I’ll truly look like a marketing genius.

Cheryl: There are a lot of other places that feature free ebooks. What makes this different?

Randy: It’s exclusively for self- and small press-published works from the Chicago area. And unlike Project Gutenberg, it’s not devoted to public domain books but to books that are still protected by copyright law.

The CUL has put in place some extra protections for my book. The PDF is watermarked and encrypted so it is only printable at lo-resolution for reference and it cannot be changed or have any text copied from it.

Cheryl: Booklocker has an interesting comment on encrypting. I would be curious about your take on it.

Randy: I’m sure that they’re right. If someone really wanted to break through the encryption, they’d find a way to do it. But I’m not sure that I agree that it is still not worth the effort to put up the hurdle, just to make it a little harder.

Cheryl: Someone else on the forum asked: “The only trouble is still marketing and promotion. How do you get heard? There’s already a lot of free stuff on the Internet.

Randy: I suppose by doing interviews like this one. Basically, you market and promote just like you would your print book. The CUL has helped by promoting my book as their first E-Book. You try to create a buzz, and being the first to do something is always more newsworthy than being second.

Cheryl: How are you as the author marketing your freebie?

I’ve been a bit derelict in my duties in marketing my freebie. Kind of got burnt out on marketing my book in general. But the CUL got the ball rolling by announcing it on their blog and at their myspace site.

That prodded me to announce it on my own blog, which I had shut down at the beginning of the year. Then I announced to the Chicago Writers Association email group. I got people thinking, writing and talking about it, which got me into your forum. So you just try to do what you can. You never know what might catch.

Cheryl: Thanks, Randy. Good luck!