Going from free to sponsored by...

Hello all,

Writers and readers - this is a very interesting post by Scott Nicholson on where ebooks will go after the big change created by KDP Select's promotional program: http://bit.ly/waCN4X

Thoughts?

{shudder!} It's the Wild Wild West in ebook publishing and nothing surprises me. I'm hoping we don't have to go to ad-sponsored, but who knows? One fact keeps me going: 80% of all books sold are still paper. I love those Kindle checks each month, but authors can't ignore that "other" market. Paper books will never be free. (Did I just use the word "never"? Bad me!)

>2 "I'm hoping we don't have to go to ad-sponsored, but who knows? " I'm just waiting for product placement ads in Tom Clancy novels... People at one time said it couldn't happen in movies....

Ad sponsored? So, if the sponsor doesn't like something in the book it would have to be changed to suit them (which has happened often enough in television in the past.) Or you would end up only writing to the specifications of those who would pay the best. No thanks.

The entire point of being an Indie author is the 'independent' part. It seems to me that people are looking way too hard to find some way to replace publishers, though they may not realize the implications at first.

It's not that big a change if you look at things historically. During the Renaissance, artists used to have patrons who would support them financially and this often led to their best work. In comic books, you've always had advertisements in the single issues that come out each month. And don't forget actors, actresses and directors in Hollywood often have to do 'star' roles so they can get their own projects off the ground. Without the Dark Knight, there would have been no Inception. As an indie author, you're essentially an independent business so you don't have to kow-tow to your sponsors, no, but if we work backwards from that, this suggests that it would be best to choose your sponsors wisely. If I get to that stage, I'll be looking at sponsors who will support me in writing horror fiction rather than those who would like me to write something more 'agreeable'. The flexibility doesn't necessarily go away with a certain amount of compromise.

Readers are used to buying books where the authors are supported by publishers. Readers are not used to, and some may be very resistant to, buying books where the authors are supported by ads. I'd encourage any author considering this business model to think long and hard about exactly why they're doing it and what they hope to accomplish.