Throw That Book: Celebrate Freedom

Freedom. Glorious freedom.
Liberation.
Independence.

Tis a gift to be free. Yes...or is it?

I'm not talking about the holiday coming up. I'm talking about the liberation of books.

FREE OUR BOOKS! BOOK LIBERATION!

A tweep of mine recently had her books show up on a piracy site and as many would be, was upset by this.

The first thing I thought?

I wish one of my books had enough attention to be on a pirate site.

Yes, I would probably lose some money on that book...but...I might gain some fans.

There is a tension between possession of a creative product and accessibility. I think of Louis C.K. who put up a special, DRM free, and had a tip jar situation. He made a bunch of money even though he didn't require payment. Was it a question of demographics? Celebrity? Product itself? Or was it simply the fact that he ventured to trust people enough with his craft they were so moved to support him despite its free price tag?

I have in the past made books free as well as had give aways. I have also given free chapters and of course, my ZEPHYRS short story has always been free. I don't have a tip jar, though I wouldn't mind listing a book on NOISETRADE (can I please?). All my books on Smashwords are DRM free. I did that because I want to trust people and encourage them to support art because it is good, brings them joy, and they want more of it.

On the one hand, if I was on a pirate site, I can see getting mad. On the other, would I be doing my job if my books weren't free somewhere...somehow? Probably not.

So while I don't require payment, I do expect some kind of compensation. PR will do nicely. Money would be good too. :-)