Self Publishing for Donations

Kaarl · May 26, 2013

Are there any websites out there that allow you to publish your own work and then people can read it for free ? What I'm looking for in particular is one where they can read the entire thing and then donate (via like PayPal etc) a small amount if they liked it and can be bothered.

I know this can be done by yourself but I thought if there was an online community dedicated to this sort of thing it would seem a bit less like E-Book busking.

I have a few shorts that I wouldn't want to take to a publisher but I'd love for people to read them.Having a chance to make a bit on the side if they thought it worthy of such a gesture would be a nice bonus.

*EDIT* Good websites that people have had experience with/ heard good things about

shelleyo · May 26, 2013

Kaarl said:
Are there any websites out there that allow you to publish your own work and then people can read it for free ? What I'm looking for in particular is one where they can read the entire thing and then donate (via like PayPal etc) a small amount if they liked it and can be bothered.

I know this can be done by yourself but I thought if there was an online community dedicated to this sort of thing it would seem a bit less like E-Book busking.

I have a few shorts that I wouldn't want to take to a publisher but I'd love for people to read them.Having a chance to make a bit on the side if they thought it worthy of such a gesture would be a nice bonus.

*EDIT* Good websites that people have had experience with/ heard good things about

You can post it on your own website and add a Paypal button at the end of each post. Dean Wesley Smith and his wife do this with their blog posts, so you can look there for an idea.

Wattpad allows people to post their books, but I'm not sure about a donation button.

RLMcKeown · May 26, 2013

LeanPub might be what you're looking for. I haven't personally tried it, though. The site is https://leanpub.com

Old Hack · May 27, 2013

Note that Leanpub's site makes most of its efforts to sell its services to authors. Nowhere on my brief visit there did I spot any attempts to sell books to readers. This doesn't bode well.

Also, it advises writers to "publish early, publish often" and implies that it's acceptable to expect your early readers to give you feedback which will help you polish your book. That's exploitative of your readers, and really not the way to go.

Self Publishing for Donations

Kaarl

Novice Wordsmith

shelleyo

Just another face in a red jumpsuit

RLMcKeown

The rambling bard

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman