Thaagp.org Niche News

pIn the Internet Age, book publishers are having a difficultnbsp; time running their businessnbsp; in the black. Even with the addition of such devices as the Kindle and iPad, publishers must do an superiornbsp; job selectingnbsp; and then marketing each book they publish./p
pBut it seems there arenbsp;new types of publishers coming on the scene. The Concord Free Press is currently publishing books and then giving them outnbsp; for free. There isnbsp; a catchnbsp; , but its a fairlynbsp; modest one at that. The Concord Free Press merely asks you to make a donation to a charity in tradenbsp; for your book.nbsp;/p
pAnother model that is rapidlynbsp; becoming a new nbsp;benchmarknbsp; is purchasingnbsp; a title=Discount Books Online href=http://www.discountbooksonline.org/ target=_blankdiscount books online/a. Multiple services have become popular offering books at a considerablenbsp; discount ./p
pFree books sound too good to be true? Theyve been operatingnbsp; for two years and looknbsp; to be picking up steam , not dropping off the planet./p
pWe just ask people, one, make a voluntary donation to a charity or person in need; two, chart your donation on our website, Stona Fitch, of The Concord Free Press says. And three, pass the book along to someone else so that this project keeps going./p
pAnd in those last two years, readers have contributednbsp; nbsp;overnbsp; $140,000 to charities./p
pThe company itself also relies on donations, and has producednbsp; a total of four books. While this doesnt make them a powerhouse, or even a large publisher, they seem to have begunnbsp; a revolution in the way books are publishednbsp; ./p
pYou know, were not saying all books should be free, Fitch explains. Were just saying this is one way to put out a book./p
pWhile Fitch has many supporters, he has just as many detractors. Hamilton Fish, former publisher of The Nation, said his first thoughtnbsp; was pure anger toward The Concord Free Press.nbsp;/p
pAnd Stona Fitchnbsp;was waltzing around inviting people to help themselves to the books that Concord Free Press was publishing free of charge, Fish says./p
pFitch, of the Concord Free Press, says he remembersnbsp; Fish saying: This is the death of publishing./p
pEventually Fish had to come to a solid conclusion about this novelnbsp; model, and in general came to the conclusion that any new model in the book business was good for the book business. The publishing industry has mostlynbsp; been a stagnant force for some years, even with the growth of new mediums, and he believes that this will putnbsp; new life into the industry./p
pObviously, the big publishing houses are facing tremendous challenges, Fish says. Their financial viability is very much in question. We need as much innovation and independent spirit as possible./p
pAgain the pressures of sites offering a title=Discount Books Online href=http://www.discountbooksonline.org/ target=_blankdiscount text books/a look to add salt to a growing wound in the book industry./p
pIn an industry where nine out of 10 books dont make money anyway, the real issue is: What does the reader think the book is worth? he asks./p
pIt seems that The Concord Free Press allowsnbsp; that judgment in the hands of its readers./p