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GiviNG it away
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this plan to give away books to sell books, it was a no-brainer for
them.
It’s good business for me, too. This “market research” of giving
away ebooks sells printed books. What’s more, having my books
more widely read opens many other opportunities for me to earn
a living from activities around my writing, such as the Fulbright
Chair I got at USC this year, this high-paying article in
Forbes,
speaking engagements and other opportunities to teach, write
and license my work for translation and adaptation. My fans’ tire-
less evangelism for my work doesn’t just sell books — it sells
me.
The golden age of hundreds of writers who lived off of nothing
but their royalties is bunkum. Throughout history, writers have
relied on day jobs, teaching, grants, inheritances, translation, li-
censing, and other varied sources to make ends meet. The Inter-
net not only sells more books for me, it also gives me more oppor-
tunities to earn my keep through writing-related activities.
There has never been a time when more people were reading
more words by more authors. The Internet is a literary world of
written words. What a fine thing that is for writers.
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