![]() ![]() However, this has not prevented many from attempting to analyze the issue from a variety of perspectives. The question of whether releasing free digital versions of books increases sales cannot be determined through experimental research because it is impossible to simultaneously release and not release books. These authors include individuals writing to both academic and general audiences in a wide variety of genres, including technology, law, education, and science fiction. The present study undertakes to answer the question, how does giving away digital books currently influence the print sales of those books? Review of LiteratureĪ growing number of authors are using free digital distribution of their books in order to increase the visibility and sales of their work (Hilton and Wiley 2010b). Society would obviously benefit from books being freely available however, if sales collapse, it seems unlikely that authors and publishers will be willing to make them freely available. In contrast, others have suggested that sales are not negatively affected by free digital content (Doctorow 2008 Hardawar 2009 Kusek 2008). For readers of my non-Dilbert books, I inadvertently set the market value for my work at zero. I know they loved it because they e-mailed to ask when the sequel would also be available for free. According to my fan mail, people loved the free book. My hope was that the people who liked the free e-book would buy the sequel. Adams, the author of the “Dilbert” cartoon strip, wrote of his disappointment with readers after he released one of his older books for free online. Although making books available as free educational resources may be beneficial, an obvious objection to the making of books available for free is that the availability of free online copies may harm the commercial viability of printed books, thus making fewer quality books available (Rich 2010 Adams 2007). Some prominent Internet and publishing figures have spoken out on the importance of making books freely available to the world (Lessig 2004, 2008 Boyle 2007, 2008a, 2008b Doctorow 2008). Keywords: open educational resources, e-books, open access, open culture, e-commerce. There was a modest correlation between book downloads and print sales. Comparisons with historical book sales and sales of comparable titles indicate that that this increase may have been connected to the free books being available. Online sales increased at a much higher rate. ![]() Over a 10-week period, these books were downloaded 102,256 times and sales of these books increased 26%. The cost to put these eight books online was $940. This study examined the financial viability of a religious publisher that put free digital versions of eight of its print books on the Internet. Abstractĭigital technologies now enable books and other digital resources to be openly available to those with access to the Internet. This paper was refereed by the Journal of Electronic Publishing’s peer reviewers. ![]()
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