Can Giving Books Away Pay Off? No Starch Press Publisher Bill Pollock on his decision to offer two of his key titles as free downloads.
Extra: How does the traditional book-selling model eventually come into play in this equation?
Pollock: Offering books through file-sharing is a way to take back what I’ve fought [against] personally. I fought book pirates. It’s like playing Whac-A-Mole. You hit one, and another pops up. … But just because we’re releasing [these titles] for free doesn’t mean that I’m giving up all copyright. It’s not giving everything away for free. This is a way that we can control an outlet that we haven’t been able to control. Instead of people saying, “I’ve cracked this book,” we’re saying, “Here it is. Enjoy. This is an official pirate version.” … I’m going to use this as a way to let people know that these books are out. Ultimately, I want people to buy the book.
- Companies:
- No Starch Press