Cory Doctorow's trying to run an experiment to prove once and for all that giving a book away while simultaneously offering it for sale will realize more money for the author than simply selling the book in traditional formats. There's quite a bit more to it than that, but that's the gist I picked up from his inaugural column on the Publisher's Weekly website. Frustratingly, at this moment there's no separate RSS feed for Cory's column :-(
More about the column:
Read Cory Doctorow's Column Monthly in 'PW'(btw, there's another guy who's experimenting along the same lines)
With the digital revolution well underway, these are interesting—and sometimes uneasy—times for the publishing world. So we are especially delighted to announce that Cory Doctorow—bestselling author, Boing Boing blogger and one of the world's most forward-thinking culturists—will be a monthly columnist for PW. Cory's column, With a Little Help, will run in the first issue of each month and will be freely available online on the PW site. In the column, Cory will detail his specific experiences with his latest self-publishing effort, as well as his broader thoughts on the issues he—and many of you—are facing in the new publishing economy.
At this year's inaugural Tools of Change conference at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Cory made waves with his presentation (referring to advocates of DRM as "the real pirates")—and we expect he'll make some waves here, too. We know you'll find Cory to be at once entertaining, thought provoking and challenging as well. We realize what might work for Cory may not work for you. But we're certain that the insights he'll deliver will help you think more deeply about your books, your business—and your future.
