Well, I'm a scab. :) Then again, I don't have that many stories on my website, much less published. However, I have planned on setting up most of my novels as being free on the web, as part of their "end of life" efforts. Kind of a one-last chance. In what I do have published, I have pretty much always given 1-2 chapters away.
Personally, I don't have a problem with giving away things or people who do it. Yeah, there is a case of cow verses milk, but I believe in gift communities and I donate to web comics and buy their books, even though they are free. There is a balance act, what you give away for free means you won't get as much money, but in some ways, the tradeoff is worth it. Free books (or obscenely low-cost ones, i.e. "one random person posting will get a copy") will get you known where you won't unnecessarily be otherwise. In building a "brand" it could be very useful.
But, if you are in this for the money... it isn't the right approach.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-04-30 08:09 pm (UTC)Personally, I don't have a problem with giving away things or people who do it. Yeah, there is a case of cow verses milk, but I believe in gift communities and I donate to web comics and buy their books, even though they are free. There is a balance act, what you give away for free means you won't get as much money, but in some ways, the tradeoff is worth it. Free books (or obscenely low-cost ones, i.e. "one random person posting will get a copy") will get you known where you won't unnecessarily be otherwise. In building a "brand" it could be very useful.
But, if you are in this for the money... it isn't the right approach.