# A Question from a Writer to Readers



## BlakeCrouch (Apr 18, 2010)

Do you have any desire to read fiction in the same way you watch your favorite television series (Breaking Bad, Justified, Damages, etc.)? In other words, would you be open to reading a book on an episodic-release basis. There would be Episode One, approx. 7000-words (or one hour long), followed a week later by episode 2, and this would continue for a 10-12 episode season. When it was finished, all episodes would be packaged together into a full length novel. Individual episodes would be priced at .99, and the full-length season (around 75,000 words) would be sold for $4.99. Assume for the sake of argument that the premise of this work intrigues you. Would you buy episode by episode? Thanks so much for any and all feedback. Best, Blake


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## ML Hamilton (Feb 21, 2011)

The way Charles Dickens did? I think it's worth a shot. If it was well written and interesting, I'd probably purchase it in series format.


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## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

I don't own a television but I seem to recall Stephen King doing that a few years ago. If the novel was in a genre I enjoy I'd give it a try.

I'm old so what I really remember are the cliff hangers from the Saturday matinee at the neighborhood theater. At the end of each Saturday's episode the hero would die and at the beginning of the next episode he would be resurrected.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

No!  I've been burned by an author who started a book on-line and then took 6 years to finish it.  With no updates sent to subscribers.  So I'm a little leery of trusting again.
Basically, I do not want to have to wait for things.  I want to read at my own pace and if I need to stop and start, I will.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

no. It would really irk me. I would end up reading 5 books between every installment, and then what's the point? By the third installment I would just give up on waiting, and move on to an author who can complete a book in a timely manner.


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## gina1230 (Nov 29, 2009)

No, sorry, that wouldn't interest me.


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## ErinW965 (Aug 15, 2011)

I think this format could work if the writer was really good and the premise sounded fantastic. My problem would be that I'd probably just wait until the 4.99 version came out.


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## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

No, how do I know it would ever get done? (Been there, done that, there are a few book "serials" I'm still waiting to be finished.) What if I lose interest, then I'm still on the hook for more episodes? I have a hard enough time keeping track of what happened in the last full novel of series I'm reading, I don't want to have to keep track of weekly short stories. If I want a story delivered this way, I already have comic books, and with those, I get art too.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Absolutely no interest on my part, either.

Mike


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

No not really.

Produce the entire story...I can decide how I'd like to consume it.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Writers did it for hundreds of years, from Dumas to Dickens.  Stephen King did it a few year back, though it was hardly worth reading.  I actually find the concept quite intriguing.  If a writer I liked started a novel and published it one chapter at a time - I'd give it a whirl.


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## Bellagirl (Jul 23, 2011)

With my attention span and busy schedule, no. I'd probably get distracted and forget all about seeking the following segment. 
I really believe it worked for Dickens, Dumas et al before this century precisely because there was no internet, no tv, not much entertainment other than books, theatre, opera, and hosting seances in one's parlor


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## kisala9906 (Sep 4, 2011)

I would not be interested either. =( Sorry


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Not for me. I read a book in a day or two so reading such a short amount each time and having to wait a week would never work for me.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

No, it would basically be like releasing the chapters of a book individually and I don't see the point of that. Part of the reason I read is so I can experience the story at my own pace. When I really like a TV show, I HATE having to wait a week or for the next season to see the next episode. With books, I don't have that frustration unless I'm waiting for the next book in a series. Why would I want to make that frustration worse?


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

I am not sure that would work for me. The need to build individual episodes - with the beginning, their own own plot development and their own end, even if it's a cliffhanger, would most likely have a negative impact on a flow of the narrative in a long novel. But everything of course depends on how it is done - I wouldn't probably give it a try and see how it goes.
Generally speaking though, I do not like to wait for another part of any series - what if I get hit by a bus and never find out what's next? I don't watch TV series on a "regular" TV for the same reason - I wait when I can get the whole thing from Netflix, uninterrupted and commercial free.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Wouldn't interest me either. 99 cents for each of 10 to 12 "episodes" comes to $10 to $12.  I rarely spend that much on a book unless it's an author I know well and I am VERY sure I'll enjoy the book.  Unknown author?  Not so much.

So I'd not buy the episodes; may buy the full work when it's completed, though $5 is still at the upper end of my "unknown author" price point. . . .would really depend on word of mouth.

The other thing is, how do I know the author will finish it?  If it doesn't sell well, they might give up after 4 or 5 episodes.  And I'd have spent $5 for something that's never going to be finished.  Will not endear me to trying anything else by that author, even if sold as a complete work.

FWIW, I am also not a huge fan of the TV shows that have a whole lot of story arcs.  I don't mind some minor ongoing background character development.  But I really am not keen on the ones that leave you on a cliff at the end of every episode and you haven't learned anything much new to what you learned last week.


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## Katie Salidas (Mar 21, 2010)

I need to be able to read on my own time. Just like with DVR devices letting you record whole seasons of shows that you can watch at your leisure, books are the same. I may want (or have time) to read 10 chapters today. I don't want to wait a week after reading chapter one to find out what happens next.


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## Lursa (aka 9MMare) (Jun 23, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Wouldn't interest me either. 99 cents for each of 10 to 12 "episodes" comes to $10 to $12. I rarely spend that much on a book unless it's an author I know well and I am VERY sure I'll enjoy the book. Unknown author? Not so much.


You're so practical Ann! Good point.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

No.  But this question has been asked a lot over in the writer's corner.


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## BlakeCrouch (Apr 18, 2010)

Thanks all for the info....which is confirming what I suspected..


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## ToniD (May 3, 2011)

As a reader, I wouldn't go for it. Once I'm into a book I want to keep reading...on my own schedule.

As a writer, I'd think it would be more work than releasing the book as a complete file.


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## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

Hmmm... back again with an exception to my "no." 

IF each episode was accompanied by a new and different cover art (that appealed to me,) I'd be interested.


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## BRONZEAGE (Jun 25, 2011)

Not to put tooo fine a point on the original question,  but

this reader does not watch any television series.


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## S.A. Reid (Oct 3, 2011)

Absolutely, if the story intrigued me, I would gladly pay.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Nope, no interest here.


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## B. Justin Shier (Apr 1, 2011)

It has worked. It could work. But it would have to be good.

Having said that, the Dickens comparisons are a bit tenuous. Most of the writers who serialized in Dickens time wrote their serialized novels, cut them up, and sold them. This guaranteed to both the publisher and the reader that the author wasn't going to up and die of tuberculosis and leave them hanging. (Dickens was somewhat of an outlier in that he wrote as he went.) Also, people may have opted for serialization out of concern for the cash outlays rather than the format:

_The publication of fiction in parts grew dramatically in the 1830s, as a direct result of the wild success of THE PICKWICK PAPERS. Serial publication had several advantages. For the reader, it substantially reduced the cash outlay required to pay for fiction: for a novel in monthly installments like PICKWICK, one had to pay only one shilling a month, instead of a guinea (21 shillings) or more for an entire novel. For the publisher, it expanded the market for fiction, as more people could afford to buy on the installment plan; it also allowed the opportunity to advertise, as ads could easily be incorporated into the little booklets in which a typical Dickens novel was issued. And for the author, it created a greater intimacy with the audience, something Dickens always relished. _

- http://www.pbs.org/wnet/dickens/life_publication.html

Having said that and that, serialization still works quite well for Manga. Weekly Shonen Jump and others have pretty huge circulations. The trick here is in the bundling. You get to sample a number of different mangas in one issue, and _Shonen_ goes through the effort of assuring some modicum of quality.

Having said that and that and that, I know of a few authors on this board that started their careers by writing serials on their blogs. They built up a email readership and later released anthologies and new novels. Their readership has grown to trust the quality and consistency of their writing, and are now willing to make further investments in their stories.

My personal philosophy (as a reader) is to wait for the 20th installment before reading anything. I don't care how good the reviews are. I'm not touching a serial until I see consistent output. I don't want to experience another Firefly.

B.


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## normcowie (Jun 21, 2011)

Nope, not all all. I'd rather control the pace of my own reading.


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## dggass (Apr 3, 2011)

I read Stephen King's Green Mile series before it became a movie.  I think if it's done well, it could work...however, I also have to admit that I waited for them all to hit the shelves before I bought them.


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## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

Lursa (was 9MMare) said:


> No not really.
> 
> Produce the entire story...I can decide how I'd like to consume it.


Exactly what I thought when I read the thread. I would tire of this very quickly.


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

Blake, It seems like you've got plenty of good responses for a sample here, but I also blogged about my own 8 month experiment with this concept.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

_*** reminder: here in the book CORNER, self promotion (links to your own blogs/books/websites) is not allowed. ***_


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

Sorry, didn't realize that.  Thought it was relevant.  Apologies.


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## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

A weekly podcast might work, but I wouldn't want to read a book this way, too frustrating to wait for the next installment.


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## GerrieFerrisFinger (Jun 1, 2011)

I'm not fond of cliffhangers, if that's what you mean. Take a show like NCIS. The plot has a resolultion. We know who did it and why and how. The characters have their foibles, etc. and it carries over into the next installment, but with few exceptions the story has an ending. This is week-to-week, not year-to-year as in a book. If a writer leaves me hanging to buy another book, I "ain't" gonna buy that book. Too much like a scam to me.


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## JRainey (Feb 1, 2011)

Looks like I'm kinda in the minority here, but I would. IF it was well-written and had a good premise. Some premises don't work in an episodic format. Also, the price would have to be right; I wouldn't pay a ton per "episode."

As someone who is a fan of the show Sherlock, (which had a 3-episode first season and won't be back until a year and a half after the first season ended) I've worked up the patience to wait for anything_ if it's good_.


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

gina1230 said:


> No, sorry, that wouldn't interest me.


Nor me. I'd rather read a series of good one-offs, than wait for somebody working under pressure to fit pieces together.


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## Ethan Cobb (Jun 7, 2011)

No, I think I would be annoyed whenever the next episode came out trying to remember everything that had happened before, especially since I would have probably read several books in the interim waiting for the next episode.


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## Todd Trumpet (Sep 7, 2011)

I'm in the (apparent) majority here.

Books in their entirety have been around too long, and as readers we are used to being in complete control of how quickly we read them.

I notice this "consumer control" factor affecting how some television is viewed as well.  I know people who will wait to buy/stream an entire season's worth of (narrative) television, rather than watch it week by week.  This was particularly true of "LOST", and people who had heard so much about it but hadn't jumped on board early enough.  They waited until the series itself was concluded, then treated it like The Mother of All Miniseries.

Not a bad way to go, actually.  True, you miss out on the water cooler phenomenon...

...but you gain the advantage of not getting "lost" in the narrative!

Todd


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

B. Justin Shier said:


> It has worked. It could work. But it would have to be good.
> 
> Having said that, the Dickens comparisons are a bit tenuous. Most of the writers who serialized in Dickens time wrote their serialized novels, cut them up, and sold them. This guaranteed to both the publisher and the reader that the author wasn't going to up and die of tuberculosis and leave them hanging. (Dickens was somewhat of an outlier in that he wrote as he went.) Also, people may have opted for serialization out of concern for the cash outlays rather than the format:
> 
> ...


The original poster didn't say he'd be writing and publishing a chapter at a time. So the Dickens comparison is quite apropos. I'm actually not sure the "Firefly" comparison is very apt because the world of publishing and the world of television are not alike. That series was cancelled by the network, not by the creators. A writer can continue writing and publishing even if a publisher decided to stop. So the risk would be in the writer running out of ideas or getting bored with the project (or dying, I suppose); which isn't what happened with "Firefly."

What if George R. R. Martin started writing his new book and publishing chapters weekly instead of everyone waiting another 5 years for the next volume. I suspect a lot of people would be downloading those chapters.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

DYB said:


> What if George R. R. Martin started writing his new book and publishing chapters weekly instead of everyone waiting another 5 years for the next volume. I suspect a lot of people would be downloading those chapters.


This was part of my point earlier. This is an established author with a huge fan base. We can be pretty sure he'll finish it. . .eventually  . . .unless something happens to make it impossible.

I think Stephen King tried it some time ago too. . . .periodic chapters of a story on his blog or website. Again, HUGE fan base. . .and I think those were posted free.

But it's a big risk for a reader to take with an unknown author. Will he finish it? Will it be any good? Or will I have spent $5 and find it's no longer being written or decide it's not for me. Though, I guess, if it's not good, most people probably won't have wasted more than the $1 for the first installment.  But what if you DO like it but the author gets bored with it? Or there aren't enough subscribers to make it a go so he just gives up on it? ANNOYING!

So, for me, I'll wait until it's a whole book and decide to buy it or not based on my usual criteria. . . . .


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## MGalloway (Jun 21, 2011)

For me, it depends.

If the stories can each stand alone on their own, maybe. If each subsequent episode depends on last week's episode, probably not. Of course a third alternative would be to have stand alone short stories that are loosely connected to each other. 

Part of it is the pricing...although the once-a-week timing idea sounds good. Maybe there are other alternatives to marking each episode at 99 cents, though. For example, make some of the episodes free, and then at the end offer the whole bundled collection for a price.


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## Todd Trumpet (Sep 7, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I think Stephen King tried it some time ago too. . .


Stephen King published "THE GREEN MILE" in "installments" (not chapters, but thin, novella-length books). These were later combined into a single volume.

The point, however, is that I don't see him repeating the experiment, or other writers - even well-known writers - rushing to try it.

Unlike the mouse in TGM, even King can't resurrect serial novels!

Todd


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## KerriWoodThomson (Sep 26, 2011)

I think it is worth a try. With a limited amount of time to read I've been drawn to short stories lately.


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## Matthew Bennett (Mar 4, 2012)

What if, instead of paying $0.99 for 12 'episodes' and then feeling cheated because the finished novel was $4.99, you could just pay one price and the author published revision to the SAME novel…?? So you could get in early as the first few chapters were published at, say $0.99 and then not pay any more. Buy it early, get a cheaper price for the whole thing, but you'd still receive it in installments as it was written.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

I think it would end up closer to the old serialized radio shows. The plots have to be more simplistic, with lots of repetition and recap, especially if there is a lot of time between episodes.


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## acellis (Oct 10, 2011)

There are writers who are already doing this for the Kindle. An example is the Yesterday's Gone serial, by Sean Platt.


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

Bellagirl said:


> With my attention span and busy schedule, no. I'd probably get distracted and forget all about seeking the following segment.
> I really believe it worked for Dickens, Dumas et al before this century precisely because there was no internet, no tv, not much entertainment other than books, theatre, opera, and hosting seances in one's parlor


I think Tom Wolfe did this with Bonfire of Vanities, published in chapters in Rolling Stone. That was Dickens, too -- writing for a newspaper. I think you need the built-in audience of an existing publication -- magazine, newspaper, or, maybe, a popular blog. Depending on readers to order every installment -- might as well just write the whole thing and release it all at once.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

For me the answer is a simple "no."  If my favorite author in the whole world tried this, I would wait until the whole thing was finished.  I might then be interested in finding out how to buy it as a volume or in pieces (reviews would play a role.)


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## montereywriter (Mar 17, 2012)

I like to write short stories, but I don't think I'd like to read (or write) episodes. Let's leave that to the TV generation.


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## Susan Alison (Jul 1, 2011)

I don't like serials in magazines so I definitely wouldn't like this idea. 

In books, I even wait until entire trilogies are written before reading the first one... Or - as in G RR Martin's case - I don't read one book until the next book is already out there.

I always wonder when I see this done if the writer has already written the entire thing first before releasing bits of it or whether it is genuinely being written as they go along. If I had to do it - which I haven't and won't - I'd have to do the former because I know perfectly well that if I attempted the latter there'd be something in episode four that meant I needed to change something in episode two.

...I know what I mean...


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

I've never been too crazy about serials in magazines either. But if this series came in sizeable enough chunks, and came out frequently, then I might be interested. That's the great thing about Kindle, isn't it? It lets people try out new ideas ... or in this case, retry very old ones.


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## J. Cooper (Mar 18, 2012)

I think it would have to be cheap, in order to work. 
i think the original CONAN stories were released in installments.

Computer games have started doing this. Most notably Half Life 2.
Massive game released, very popular, trend setter, but its sequels, in order to get them out quickly were called Episodes. 
Episode 1, 2 & 3. They are shorter and available to buy online (download) and continue with the story. Also a game called Alan Wake, where the game (although it comes as one big game) is split up into chapters like a TV movie that plays installments over a 4 week period. You play from chapter to chapter, then the game stops so you can have a breather, gather your wits and start the next chapter..... and that has proven to be a very popular game.

What you could do is have it so that someone doesnt buy a book, they buy a subscription to a book that automatically downloads the next major installment the day its released, straight to their kindle?


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## jackz4000 (May 15, 2011)

A serial? Not a chance. I don't like waiting in line either.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

If it was reasonably priced, heck yeah.

Loved RUN, by the way...one of my all-time faves.


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## Darlene Jones (Nov 1, 2011)

Not really. If I like a book, I want to read until I'm done or I want to read as much as I feel like reading at any given time.


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## jwest (Nov 14, 2011)

From a reader's standpoint the problem I have with that idea is that when I settle down to do some reading, I read and read and read. I can burn up a weekend while reading, and do so quite often. Having to stop after 7,000 words would leave me antsy, maybe even depressed.


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## flipside (Dec 7, 2011)

A serial novel?

Sure, assuming the writing is great.


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## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

I'm not sure if I could stay interested. Like others have said, I love being able to read at my own pace and I can see myself getting irritated if I had to wait too long for the next bit, and because I am a fast reader that would be like...tomorrow. Because reading is an addiction for me I would have to pick up another book in between and then I would most likely not want to put that book down. I would just wait for the entire book to be available.


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## Matthew Bennett (Mar 4, 2012)

Interesting to read your answers, thanks everyone. Can I ask another, related, question? Do you read the sample chapters that authors sometimes offer via their blogs and the 10% free sample on Kindle…?


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## Jedidiah (Mar 7, 2012)

You should probably make that a new post, but to answer your question. I usually just have to read the short sample and never waste my time with the 10%, but that is mostly because I generally buy a book from an author that I already know I like or has been recommended to me. I have recently started looking for more Indie Authors and so I may start checking out the 10%.


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## defygravity213 (Jan 10, 2012)

Of course not. Not only would it be a huge rip-off money wise, I don't have the patience for it.


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