Tuesday News: Pre order for free content now a *thing* for HarperCollins; Amazon buys screen tech company; Young blood can keep old people young (be warned young people)
Publishing NewsAmazon / Author Promotion / eink16 Comments
Pre-order for free content – Divisions of HarperCollins are experimenting with publicity stunts designed to drive up pre orders. With three of their upcoming titles (or at least three that I’ve noticed), HC has promised to release certain unpublished writings (a certain scene from a different POV or in James’ case, a short novella) if pre orders hit some internal level. My guess is that they’ll release it at some time prior to publication without regard to the pre orders because they won’t want to admit that the book didn’t garner enough interest.
Do you find this promotion to be entertaining or annoying? (On a personal note, I rarely pre order anything and I wouldn’t likely pre order a book even to read an outtake) avonromance.com
Download Buzz Books 2013 Fall/Winter – In conjunction with BEA, Publishers Lunch has put together a downloadable ebook filled with excerpts from 40 of the most buzzworthy fiction and non fiction stories published in 2013. There won’t be any romance fiction in there but if you are interested in seeing what the publishers will be pushing this fall, the collection will give you a good idea. Publishers Lunch
Young blood can breathe fresh life in older ones | officialsaypeople on Facebook – I have a friend who is about 10 years older than the rest of us. He married into the group by sweeping a younger friend of ours off her feet. We always joked that he looked so young because he sucked the blood of a younger woman. Who knew that this was actually true! Researchers have found that blood of youngsters can rejuvenate the heart of the old ones – at least in mice. Oh, and who remembers the Druid movie with the tree who drank the blood of babies? Shudder.
But I guess the thing to do is NOT yell for the young people to get off your lawn but invite them in and make a nice meal out of them.
Confirmed: Amazon Bought Liquavista – Color Kindle to Follow? – Nate over at The Digital Reader received confirmation that Liquavista was purchased by Amazon. Liquavista was a Samsung company that offered, among other things, a color eink-like screen. The purchase of this company is prompting rumors that Amazon may be producing a color eink device. The Digital Reader
I dislike this trend of “bonus” content. Especially when it means there are multiple versions of an ebook available.
I do like to pre-order, though I usually only do so to take advantage of a sale price or coupon code. I’ve pre-ordered from Samhain, ARe, Carina, and Harlequin. After accidentally buying a book I had already pre-ordered I now keep a list in Evernote with the release dates of any books I’ve pre-ordered.
One of my friends owns a Kindle and pre-orders a lot. She says she likes when books “magically” appear on her device.
I can see where they’re going with the pre order bonuses. It has been used to great effect in the gaming industry. They tend to just release the extra content to those who actually pre-order it, as opposed to everyone if it reaches a certain level, though.
>>>Researchers have found that blood of youngsters can rejuvenate the heart of the old ones
I’d like to take this opportunity to announce my start-up: Bloodstarter. I expect all of you to Vein Up!
As for Liquavista, who knows? Amazon could be starting a business signage company for all we know.
I pre-order a lot (in bulk, actually, when it comes to print books by auto-buy authors) using coupon codes, especially now that prices have gone up a bit for me. But I’m not sure pre-ordering print books is good for me. That tingle of anticipation for the book, that “OMG it’s here, READ NAO!!!” has turned to “eh, another one for the TBR that will soon topple over and crush me in my sleep,” due to the weeks or months I wait between pre-ordering and release. (Of course, some of that may be due to my historical fatigue slash* broader romance fatigue slash trying to force myself to read stuff when I’m not in the mood for it…) I also do quite a bit of pre-ordering from the Samhain store and Kindle. Though digital pre-ordering is a totally different experience from print pre-ordering for me. Not annoying at all.
But pre-ordering for bonus content? Nah. It would have to be something truly awesome. (I’ve been burned too badly when the “bonus content” in Book Title With Bonus Content has turned out to be excerpts of the author’s other books. Yes, indeed, I am still bitter.) And I’m price-conscious. You can’t make me pre-order something that belongs on my “buy when the price is reasonable, I can wait” list.
*(So I hear writing “slash” instead of using “/” is a thing now so I thought I’d try it out. I’m okay with it, I think. And explaining that made me So Not Cool.)
The only time I preorder, deadwood or electronic, is when it is an author I truly love and trust. All other authors I note the release date and then download a sample.
I noticed the preorder thing with Eloisa James since she was promoting it on Facebook. I don’t think I have ever preordered a book… wait that is not true. I did preorder the Harry Potter books once upon a time.
Will this added content make me preorder the book? I thought about it, but then my brain flitted somewhere else. From what I have seen author bonus content really isn’t worth it for me to pay more.
Also I think I would ditch the Nook that I have for a color eInk device. I would at least give it a hard think.
@ms bookjunkie:
I believe writing “slash” has been a thing for a while now. ;)
+puns and hides+
On that note, do romance books/series/characters have a slash following?
@Claire:
Oh yeah and man does it work. Not only they make me preorder all my games (and even some I’m not sure just yet I’ll actually enjoy), but they’re so good that they can make me change the estore from which I make my preorder, depending on the extra that I want. (Bonus soundtrack? Buy from Amazon! New weapon DLC? Get it from EBGames! An extra familiar? Get it from Best Buy! An extra ending? Download the game straight from the PSN! You don’t want no bonus? Get it from Walmart! etc.) Drives me nuts, having to figure out which of the extra I’d actually use most and make my selection. Damn them.
My Grandma did this just last week! She’s 91 years old, mostly blind and crippled with arthritis, but is still mentally very alert and just as tyrannical as ever. My mom was concerned that she was sleeping all the time – even more than one would normally expect a very elderly woman who enjoys a good nap to sleep – and called her doctor in to give her a check-up. He prescribed a blood transfusion and my mom says the difference was remarkable. By the end of the transfusion (which took several hours as she is so frail that they didn’t want to overwhelm her system) my grandma was much more alert and had roses in her cheeks.
My mother’s side of the family is very long lived. They joke that their peripherals may fail but their core (heart, brain, lungs) just keep plugging along. Several of my great-aunts have made it to 100 and beyond, and my grandma jokes that she’s determined to live to 103 to beat out her sister, who died at age 102 and with whom my grandma had a lifelong (mostly) friendly rivalry. I know that my grandma doesn’t want any major efforts to extend her life, and if she gets cancer again or has some other life threatening event she’s given instructions to refuse treatment, but things like this blood transfusion can do a great deal to help her live out her life, whether that be another six months or 12 years, as comfortably as possible.
I don’t pre-order, but I’m not keen on bonus content, either. A good novella might be an enticement, but extra scenes are a no-no. Either they weren’t needed in the book and putting them in will slow the pace, or they were needed and the book is crippled without them. It’s not likely the publisher or author is going to tell you which it is.
The preorder and get bonus content idea I think stems from promotional tactics I see (and have used) in self publishing. I didn’t have the preorder option but I would use for instance, “Once I hit xx number of followers on Facebook, I’ll share a deleted scene.”
It works. Readers seem to love it. So kudos to Avon for giving it a try.
Keep your hover cars! I’d be happy with color eink.
I can see how people love thinking they’re getting that special something extra for their money and so will pre-buy but it does nothing for me and the idea that deleted scenes might get me to buy a book gives me rage face. I can see how it works in gaming because it often is about extra or enhanced play. So perhaps a related novella would be a better enticement but I figure any reader who is a big enough fan will probably pre-buy without the added incentives. I don’t though and happily buy the books I want when they are released.
I’m just curious, because looking at the pre-order content for Halo 4 at my local EB Games, it says that you get an Armor Suit skin as well as a Battle Rifle skin. If the codes do come with the pre-order, would they be valid? Or would they be invalid until the game’s release?
Bonus content for preordering? No — that wouldn’t interest me or inspire me to preorder. I don’t read the “bonus content” at the ends of books either.
I occasionally preorder the next book in a series, or a new book I want.
Sounds like a silly idea to me, but it may get some additional sales.
I’ll pass on pre-ordering…unless its by Ilona Andrews or some other “I must have this NOW” author (and I don’t have many of those). I don’t care about the novellas, etc. Besides, the free content will show up – for free – eventually. Either a website or a new promotion etc.