Paulo Coelho uses free books on internet to dramatically increase printed book sales
David Kirkpatrick writes: Author Paulo Coelho’s profitable Net obsession.
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Coelho explained why he thinks giving books away online leads to selling more copies in print: “It’s very difficult to read a book on your computer. People start printing out their own copies. But if they like the book, after reading 30-40 pages they just go out and buy it.”
Intrigued by his growing sales in Russia, Coelho used the Bittorrent site - a favorite for illicit distribution of media - to seek out and download online translations of his books as well as audio versions.
By 2006 he was hosting an entire sub-site he called The Pirate Coelho, with links to books in many languages. While he did not play up his own role, he did quietly include a link on his official site.
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“Publishing is in a kind of Jurassic age,” Coelho continues. “Publishers see free downloads as threatening the sales of the book. But this should make them rethink their entire business model.”
[via Sramana Mitra]