Print Story OK, I'm lazy, perhaps slow, I
Diary
By johnny (Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 06:03:05 PM EST) paddy one-tune, torrents, laziness (all tags)
admit it.

But also I'm generous, maybe?

Comments welcome, but be kind, OK? I may not be a true power geek, but remember, we're not that other site. Are we?



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OK, I'm lazy, perhaps slow, I | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 hidden)
lazy? slow? by Kellnerin (2.00 / 0) #1 Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 05:03:18 AM EST
You bet. I don't know about this torrent business, but where are those chapters, mister?

Seriously, though, I wonder if it's worth trying alternate formats -- I hear that young kids these days are all reading books on their cell phones, and I bet PDF doesn't work very well for that. You would lose G2's elegantly crafted formatting (and half the point of CCD) -- but maybe Acts would get more exposure if it were in a more malleable format. (Actually, I seem to recall that your pal Cory offers his works for download in a number of formats -- I wonder if he would share with you which ones get the most downloads.)

--
"Late to the party" is the new "ahead of the curve" -- CRwM

Jesus wept by johnny (2.00 / 0) #3 Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 12:30:23 PM EST
That's what the Irish say, some of them, and don't forget that I'm Finno-Irish on my father's side.

The demands on my time seem not to have diminished, if you can believe that.  But I can work tonight.  Hope it storms all night, as it's snowy and windy now, which is conducive.
Buy my books, dammit!

[ Parent ]
understood by Kellnerin (4.00 / 1) #7 Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 04:58:05 PM EST
I just worry that if I don't show some indignation when you do something other than send me chapters that you'll think I don't love you anymore, or worse, that I have anything other than a singleminded determination to help you get this book done.

--
"Late to the party" is the new "ahead of the curve" -- CRwM
[ Parent ]
The thing is by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #2 Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 09:52:38 AM EST
I'm not sure downloads become popular because they're available via bit-torrent or they become available as torrents because they're in demand.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.

Not clear am I either, but it by johnny (2.00 / 0) #4 Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 12:34:59 PM EST
would be interesting to do some experimenting & see.

Of course, I'm nearly sold out of my first print run of 5k copies of Acts, so if I suddenly magically became the "it" author, I don't know what I'd do.
Buy my books, dammit!

[ Parent ]
I really enjoyed A of the A by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #5 Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 01:28:24 PM EST
I don't think there's anything difficult about uploading something (creating a torrent) to one of the torrent sites. You would then need to always have a bit-torrent client up and running to make sure it's got at least one seed, until it takes off and becomes popular, at which point other people would be (in theory) seeding it for you.

Initially you would need some way to drive people to torrent, unless you're planning on them finding it by pure happenstance while browsing around the torrent sites.

As a side note - are your books available in any libraries?

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.

[ Parent ]
Thanks and by johnny (2.00 / 0) #6 Sun Jan 27, 2008 at 02:05:03 PM EST
It's hard to know how many libraries picked up Acts. I sold perhaps 50 or 100 to libraries directly, but libraries also buy through distributors, and I sold a similar number through distributors that serve libraries (as well as bookstores). If we guess that half of my distributor sales went to libraries, then we get a range of between 50 and 200 libraries that at one time had Acts on their shelves.

Given the type of book it is, and how old it is, it's probably been discarded from most libraries that had it. Sad to say, most public libraries are circulation libraries, not archival libraries, and they get rid of "popular fiction" after a few years, unless it remains wildly popular.

I think I'll just set up a torrent client on the box that hosts wetmachine. I don't expect it's especially complicated. But as I recall, when I went to do it a few weeks ago, I landed on a page that said "click here for more information" and that led me to a page that had some more info and "click here for more information" and so on, which I did a few times until I landed up where I had started, still without a clear idea of what I needed to do.  So I said, "heck with it; not now, maybe later."

As for driving people to the torrent, I don't have any giant plan other than what I'm now doing to drive people to wetmachine, and I will continue to spend most of my hobby time writing new books instead of pimping old ones. But if it is available as a torrent for those who are into that kind of thing, perhaps that will give it a little boost. Or launch me to best-sellerdom! Who knows.
Buy my books, dammit!

[ Parent ]
OK, I'm lazy, perhaps slow, I | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 hidden)