A Wicked Idea

They've only gone and done it again.

Concord Free Press have published another book.

So, what's the big deal? You might well ask.

The big deal, dear reader, is that they give all their books away for free. They are true publishing revolutionaries. That's right, they print brilliant books in beautiful packaging and then give the blighters away.

All they ask is that you make a donation, not matter how small, to a charity or worthy cause of your own choosing. And that you pass the book on to someone else once you have finished.

It is a fucking beautiful publishing model.

They have just released their third book, The Next Queen of Heaven by Gregory Maguire. Yes, that Gregory Maguire, the bloke who wrote Wicked. A new novel from him would normally be published as a hardback and sell millions. Instead it is being given away for free.

I have written about Concord Free Press before and I have interviewed the founder, Stona Fitch. If there was any justice in this world they and he would be walking away with all manner of Publisher of the Year awards but I am guessing they won't. Not that they give a shit. They are doing this for all the right reasons.

There are 2,500 copies of The Next Queen of Heaven available. Due to overwhelming demand they are releasing them in batches of 100 every day. To stand a chance of getting your greasy mitts on one you need to check in at the website.

I've got mine and will be reading and reviewing it soon.

Comments

[Mary Hoffman]

Er, how do their writers make a living?

[Jane Henry]

That's what I was going to ask, Scott. Great idea, but how can the publishers afford it? And in an age when digital content means people expect to get something for nothing, this kind of thing could potentially lead to the public thinking they don't need to pay for books. Perhaps they don't, perhaps in an egalitarian world everyone should have access to reading, but alot of us would be out of a job then. Best get my P45 (-:

[George Stirling]

It's a "publishing model", but it's not exactly a business model. It's great that books can be published without there being an overriding commercial interest, but let's not pretend this is "free".

[Andrew Wheeler]

There are plenty of government agencies and non-profit organizations that release documents, many of them book-length, and don't charge for them. The difference is that those organizations don't pretend that giving something away for free is a "publishing model" -- as with Concord Free Press, giving away the documents is part of a larger strategy that is funded from somewhere else.

I don't see anything at all good that can come from a widespread belief that good fiction can or should be free. And I don't see why authors would want to so radically devalue their hard work.

This doesn't pass the Kant test -- not even close.

[Jamieson Wolf]

Personally, I think that what Concord Free Press is doing is flat out incredible.

Yes, it's true, no one makes a dime. The authors, printers, publishers do all of this for free.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that the author and those involved are devaluing their work by giving it away for free.

What Concord Free Press is doing really is re-inventing the way books are published and doing a heck of a lot of good doing it.

Think about it: you can request a free book and all they ask for is for you to make a donation to a worthy cause. So not only are they getting books to people who may not read, may not have enough money to buy books, who may not donate at all, etc. They are not only helping others but they are doing an incredible amount of good in the world by doing this.

In an age where everyone is concerned with money, with the economic downfall, Concord Free Press has given us all the gift of reading and made reading actual books (instead of ebooks) cool again. And they are doing an amazing, wonderful generous act that has already raised thousands for different charities.

No, they don't make money, so this is clearly a labour of love. But think of what they ARE doing: producing beautiful books for people to enjoy and uniting people in a common cause: helping others in need.

And isn't that the coolest thing of all?

Kudos to everyone at Concord Free Press. Not everyone will understand why you are doing what you are doing and not everyone will get it. But you've got my support 100%.

I already requested my copy of The Next Queen of Heaven and it's on its way to me! I can't wait to get it, read it, review it and pass it on...

[Scott Pack]

I am genuinely fascinated by the response this post is getting, particularly as the exact opposite reaction prevailed last time I discussed Concord Free Press on this blog.

Where to start?

The authors involved in CFP, three so far, have gladly and happily made their work available for free. If authors want to do it what's the problem?

Also, although the books are given to readers free of charge, the recipients are asked to donate money to a worthy cause. Effectively the author and publisher are saying "don't pay us, give the money to someone in greater need instead". Again, where's the problem?

No one, least of all CFP, are saying that this is how all publishing should be done. This is their model and it works for them. And with other $90,000 raised so far it seems to be achieving what they set out to do.

So, consenting adults give stuff away for free and raise money for charity. Seems fair enough to me.

Now, as for the 'devaluing' argument and the 'how do the authors make a living?' questions.

Let's be clear here, all of the authors involved make livings elsewhere. Gregory Maguire, for example, wrote the book that inspired the international hit musical Wicked. I am guessing he is not short of a few quid. He could have sold this new book traditionally but chose not to. He is not looking to make money out of this.

But it isn't all altruistic and fluffy and lovey-dovey.

Each CFP book is a numbered limited edition. For The Next Queen of Heaven it is a run of 2,500 copies. Once they are gone, they are gone. Those copies will get passed on but the CFP edition will not be reprinted. That isn't to say that the book won't appear elsewhere. Stona Fitch's Give + Take was the first book from CFP using this model. Now that the original edition has been exhausted it will receive a traditional publication from a commercial imprint (which will be Two Ravens Press in the UK). The free edition ensures that there are already lots of readers talking about the book and that there is a great deal of goodwill.

Someone said it was like a proof edition that raised money for charity. Not quite, but they have a point.

So, on the one hand a bunch of worthy causes get some unexpected money because of the way CFP operates. On the other, the authors get their work to a wide audience. Seems like a win win situation to me.

[Scott Pack]

A couple of interesting articles on the project here:

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2009/10/22/gregory-maguire-free-nove/

and

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/22/free-book-if-you-find-the-good/

[Mary Hoffman]

There's no problem, as such, among consenting adults. But I can't see it as a publishing model, apart from writers editors designers etc who make their money elsewhere and want to do something charitable.

But it takes me six months hard work to research and write a novel so I can't see it working for me. (Unless someone wants to make a hit Broadway musical out of one of them, in which case I'd be happy to oblige).

[Lauren Ace]

Can I have your copy after you, Scott? Maybe at the next book swap.

[jenn topper]

When I was a young child my folks used to take me to a place called a library. It's an archaic concept, so I must be at least 300 years old. But these places used to be filled with books that were all free! So it's not a new concept. The catch with the libraries though, was that you had to eventually give the book back. There was no enforcement authorities, no book police to haul you off to jail and garnish your wages if you failed to return the book, though the library ladies at the desk had menacing scowls.

Before Amazon, people used to borrow books--en masse! Tons and tons and tons of books were borrowed, returned, and the cycled continued, until Amazon changed the model to buy, buy, buy, and pay for shipping. We are all mindless sheep for following the Amazon model, but, alas, it kicked the libraries' ass and now, municipalities have cut funding for libraries and the one by me is not even open on the weekends. *Library Not Open On Weekends*

So as a writer I've been lucky enough to join Year Zero Writers (http://yearzerowriters.wordpress.com), a collective where we jointly market, write, publish and kvetch.

I don't know what the answer is. But I keep writing, and I also keep my day job.

~jenn
http://dontpublishme.blogspot.com

[Lee]

It may very well be that publishing, as a model, is finished. Not writing, just publishing.

[David H]

As long as the limitation is set correctly, and there is a well-timed follow up with a commercial edition, this is a business-model (or rather a promotional model) - and a pretty good one at that.

This is much better than traditional proof distribution because it's a self-selecting group and probably more talkative than usual proof recipients as well.

Obviously publishing with no income stream hasn't got much of a future but this isn't what this is about. Chances of Gregory Maguire not publishing a big trade edition of The Next Queen of Heaven? Put me down for zero.