Podiobooks

Podio

It may have some benefits, but I always thought "Exposure" is what you get from standing out in a cold rain too long. People die from exposure every year. For way too many, what "exposure" really means is "your work isn't worth buying."

We had a pretty good discussion of this sort of thing not too long ago in this thread.

ChunkyC said:

We had a pretty good discussion of this sort of thing not too long ago in this thread.

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That was, overall, a good thread.

Sometimes, giving away books works wonderfully. I've spoken before about how impressed I am by my Baen Books disc, which not only has complete novel text on it, but a complete audio book too. I love it.

That said...I'm well past the point, as a writer and a person, where I'm going to write much of anything that I intend to give away. Harlan Ellison had some rather pointed things to say on that subject, and I agree with him. If I can find the quote, i'll post it.

If you have an extensive backlist I think free ebooks and audiobooks may be a great strategy. Otherwise you would probably do better to sell them at a profit

I'm sorry, I think "podiobooks" is a stupid, stupid word.

That said, I think here are huge uses for audiobooks, uses that are just going to grow in the coming year or two. But, just like the internet, I don't see the use as being "here's my stuff for free, an' I hope yer likes it."

Audiobooks for ipods does strike me as a new market for short stories. They tend to work better than whole novels in a 'walk about' form.

veinglory said:

Audiobooks for ipods does strike me as a new market for short stories. They tend to work better than whole novels in a 'walk about' form.

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My thoughts exactly. Although I adore having novels on my ipod, what i've enjoyed most is Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things short story collection. It's wonderful for walking.