What Might Kindle's Business Model Mean to the Way Books Are Written?

Not a Portfolio.com Insider?

In This Issue of Condé Nast Portfolio

Home > Views > Blogs > Tech Observer > What Might Kindle's Business Model Mean to the Way Books Are Written?

Your Name

Your Email Address *
Send a copy to me

Recipient's Email Address *

Separate multiple email addresses (max 20) with commas.

Subject *

Message

0/1500

Email Confirmation

Tech Observer

Main

How Many Will Bolt From MicroHoo? Tough Day for Jerry Yang

Feb 7 2008 12:56PM EST

VC Josh Kopelman likes his Kindle e-book reader, and one of his reasons why really made me -- as an author -- stop and think. Josh writes:

My bookshelves at home are filled with books that I never finish. There's nothing more frustrating than buying a book, getting 20 pages into it, and then deciding that you don't like it. Amazon's Kindle allows you to download the first few chapters of a book for free - so you can make a purchase decision after you've started to read the book. Very cool. I've avoided purchasing more than six books because I didn't like how they began.

So, will authors now have to pack all the best stuff into the first couple chapters, the way rock bands used to put the best songs in the first two album tracks?

See more in

Big Ideas

Add Your Comment

Already a Portfolio.com Insider? Sign In

Comments*

Thank you for registering as a Portfolio.com Insider. Your comment has been added.

Create Your Public Profile

Recent Blog Posts

First Bytes: SEC Eyes Tweets, Waiting on a Verizon iPhone
Apr 27 2009 9:10AM EDT
Last Bytes: A New MySpaceFace, Technological Necessities
Apr 24 2009 5:22PM EDT
What the One Billionth Downloader Won
Apr 24 2009 2:37PM EDT
The End of Innocence at Apple
Apr 24 2009 11:25AM EDT
First Bytes: Social Videos, 1 Billion Apps, Mt. Everest Calls
Apr 24 2009 10:23AM EDT
Last Bytes: Microsoft and Amazon, Two Tales of the Economy
Apr 23 2009 5:40PM EDT
Dell's Plastic Surgery
Apr 23 2009 3:12PM EDT
Why High Tech Needs the Wall Street Quants
Apr 23 2009 11:20AM EDT
First Bytes: New Blood at MySpace, Steve Jobs Testimony
Apr 23 2009 9:05AM EDT
Last Bytes: Apple Profit Soars; eBay Profit Falls
Apr 22 2009 5:04PM EDT
Earth Day Special: Gadgets to Green Your Lifestyle
Apr 22 2009 1:52PM EDT
First Bytes: Cyberspies and Belgian Bots
Apr 22 2009 9:55AM EDT
Last Bytes: Is Texting Passé? Not Yet.
Apr 21 2009 5:52PM EDT
Happy 20th Birthday, Game Boy
Apr 21 2009 4:11PM EDT
Gaming Geeks (and Curt Schilling) Unite!
Apr 21 2009 12:43PM EDT

Links

Also in Portfolio.com

Visit our partner sites

Subscribe to a magazine:

Visit our sister sites:

Quotes delayed 15 minutes for NASDAQ. 20 minutes for NYSE and AMEX. Market Data provided by Interactive Data. Terms & Conditions. Powered and implemented by Interactive Data Managed Solutions. Company fundamental data provided by Hemscott. Economic data provided by Econoday. News provided by Comtex. Sec Filings data provided by Edgars. The Wall Street Horizon National Consumer Interest Rate Survey. ©2009 Wall Street Horizon. PMMS Mortgage Data ©2009 Freddie Mac. Mortgage averages are for conforming mortgages with 20% down.