You just released Warbreaker on the Internet . Some other speculative fiction authors (such as Cory Doctorow and John Scalzi) have had some success with net-released material. What are you hoping to accomplish with Warbreaker online? (And how does the intellectual property work with that, anyway?)
Well, before I gave this a try, I spoke with Cory and with my editor at Tor. I didn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize the book being published. However, the people at Tor felt that it would be good exposure, and a good way to interact with the fans. So, we went ahead with the project.
I had (have) several goals with this project. First off, I wanted to give something as a free preview of my work on my website. I figure that the people who support an author’s writing addiction are usually the hardcore fans who read everything the put out. The more people I can convince to TRY my work, the more long-term readers I’ll pick up. So, if I give one book away for free, maybe those who read it will end up buying and reading my other books.
Secondly, I really did want to offer something as a “thank you” to those who’ve already read my works. If I’d just wanted a freebie on my site, I would have simply posted the finished Warbreaker about the same time that I released it in hardback. (This is what Cory does.) However, I get so much email from people asking about my writing process that I figured the best way to help out in this manner was to simply SHOW how I do it. So, I began posting early drafts of Warbreaker , followed by later ones, and so forth. My goal is to post each draft, then finally post the notes program I worked from, allowing people to see the process of how I develop a book.
As for rights, I’m really not worried. Tor is fine publishing the book anyway (they agree that right now, it’s better to give a novel away for free and hook more readers.) I’ve indicated that people aren’t allowed to sell Warbreaker copies, or to make money off of the setting. That’s all that really matters, as far as I’m concerned.
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