Starting Monday, people can log on to the HarperCollins website to read some books online. The entire contents of five books, including a cookbook, will be available to view online, but only on the HarperCollins website. These books will only be available for one month, and will have the print functions disabled, as well as not allowing readers to download them to a computer. Also, two weeks before hard copies of select books go on sale, 20% of them will be offered on the site for sampling. HarperCollins is doing this because they believe that people will be more inticed to buy the book if they can see what it is about, much like people who are able to flip through books at the library or book store.
I think this is a great idea for this company to offer this. I'm not very big into reading, but if I find a book that sucks me in within the first 15-20 pages, I'm normally sold! With being able to go on this site and read the first 15-20 pages or more, people will know if it is even worth it to buy the book and continue reading.
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5 comments:
I agree, the HarperCollins Website is a great idea. Many people who read books would like the idea of viewing a book before going to a bookstore and purchasing the book. The website is a good tool for readers like myself. It's a way to view a book before wasting the time and energy to go to a store to purchase one.
Yes this does seem like it shall be a good idea and advertisement for these books. It will help people know if they want to purchase the whole book and from the comfort of there home instead of at the bookstore flipping through pages.
I think that the novelty of the idea might work, in theory. There are many different factors that can make or break this type of "hype". One of them would be if they are looking to lure more people in than just those who know about this website, how are they going to advertise to the masses. I wasn't aware that this website even existed until I read the blog. What genre of books are going to be made available, and exactly who are they targeting? If they are trying to draw in a new demographic of computer-age readers, then this would one way to accomplish it. Personally, I like going to a bookstore to peruse the categoric aisles of books, thumbing through pages to see if they are of interest to me. I enjoy the way a book feels in my hand. It is the ritual involved that I appreciate. I don't think that I am in a minority with this feeling. Reading is personal to me, and I would much rather pick up a book and read it in person, than pick out a book and read it online. It can be a fantastic tool to interest people, and I hope it is and does. I would be interested to know if the authors of these books will see any residual from this, or will there be a threat of an author's strike in the future?
I need to say that I'm a skeptic when it comes to new ideas for advertising, but this sounds like it could work. when thinking of the idea of having a book fully available, it just reminds me of a book store. Now, I know for a fact that mtv uses this same concept with new music allowing people to listen to the whole album. So this might actually work out really well for HarperCollins.
This sounds like a great way for books to be previewed without having to buy them or take a trip to a book store. Its seems like a good way to get peopl interested in reading and we all know Americans needs to read more.
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