I recently stumbled upon this article and thought it was too interesting not to share. People are always talking about new publishing models when it comes to the book business. And while this one probably won’t revolutionize the industry, it deserves a mention just because it’s so cool.
To summarize, the article focuses on Concord Free Press, a new publishing house recently launched in the US. It acts like any other publishing house, except its books are free. Readers can head to the publisher’s website and order a book of their choice.
But here’s where the generosity part comes into play. Readers who order a book also commit to donating to a charity of their choice. It’s all honor system, dependent on the kindness of their readers. And it’s pretty awesome.
What surprised me the most is that this isn’t some little company run out of a garage somewhere. This is the real deal. It’s overseen by an advisory of writers, including Joyce Carol Oates, Russell Banks, Megan Abbott and Gregory Maguire, and goes through all the steps any other book at a big publishing house would. And these aren’t ebooks, either. These are physical, hold-in-your-hand books.
What do you guys think?
Read more about it here.
Nick thinks this this model is just perfect for the holiday season.
Chris Eboch
Greg R. Fishbone
Nick
lindajoysingleton
Parker Peevyhouse
Joni Sensel
What a cool idea! Thanks for writing about this.
Interesting. It’s amazing to watch the evolution of what our society values, how much, and how many odd steps or middlemen can be between the provider of the value and the recipient of it.
I saw a display of these free books at a bookstore recently. It was a large table in a prominent location at the front of the store, and it generated a bit of interest, but I didn’t see anyone walking off with any of the books.
It may be that people thought it was a gimmick or maybe they didn’t perceive a book as having sufficient value unless paid for with cash money. I know that was my first thought: “I have enough books in my to-be-read queue that I’ve actually paid for, so when would I ever have time to read this free book?”
I also wonder whether the business plan behind this book can be sustained. Acts of charity on the honor system don’t cover editing, book design, printing, publicity, warehousing, and shipping–so what does?