3
that people WILL pay money for something they've already read if they liked it enough. They can always get books for free via the library anyway. Besides, I'm not trying to recruit people to buy one book; I'm trying to recruit lifelong fans who will still be reading Brandon Sanderson novels twenty years from now.
On top of all that, I believe that releasing at least one novel for free will bring my work to many readers who wouldn't otherwise be familiar with my work. The potential gains far outweigh the potential losses.
Still, I worry a little bit. But artists tend to do that.
The second fear I have relates not to releasing a work on-line, but releasing an Unfinished work on line. Though this is the fourth draft of the book, my novels usually see somewhere near eight drafts before they go to press. This is still a work in progress. What if readers pick this up, read through it, and judge me flawed as a writer because their only experience with me comes from an unpolished work?
This one really bothers my agent. He's got a good point. Still, I think the opportunity that this affords my readers-particularly the aspiring writers among them-was too great to ignore. It is done, and I intend to stick to my original plan. I will post every draft as I complete them, then will eventually post comparisons of the drafts so that readers can follow the changes made to the book.
Know, however, that this is still a work in progress. Don't judge me too harshly based on its flaws.
Conclusion
My hope is still to let readers collaborate a little bit on this book. Feel free to visit my forums and email me with your impressions of the novel. Your feelings and questions are important to me and can help this book grow better.
I hope that you enjoy this book. If you do, the best thing you can do to say thanks would be to purchase a copy when it is released! (It's looking like Spring 2009.) You are also welcome to share it with friends (see the rights explana