Unglue It

Just when you think you've come to terms with everything there is to know about ebooks, along comes another curve ball. Unglue.it takes ebooks and gives them a new conceptual spin by asking 5 simple questions. . .

What if you could give a book to everyone on earth?

Get an ebook and read it on any device, in any format, forever? 

Give an ebook to your library, for them to share? 

Own DRM-free ebooks, legally? 

Read free ebooks and know their creators had been fairly paid?

Guess which one is my favorite question. Yep. The last one. Sounds too good to be true, eh? Stay tuned. Here's how it works. . .

Basically, you buy the book you want to be offered for free by making a pledge. If enough people are interested, voila. The author gets the money (with unglue.it taking a cut, of course) and bam! The book is released to a willing and waiting audience.

But that's not the only choice an author can make. Here are the 3 different campaigns from which an author may select.

PLEDGE

This is the one I just mentioned. Book lovers pledge support for "ungluing" a book. If enough support is raised (think Kickstarter) then the supporters credit cards are charged and an "unglued" ebook is released.

BUY TO UNGLUE

Every ebook copy sold moves the book's ungluing date closer to the present. There's no IF in this option. The book will be released no matter what, and hopefully sooner rather than later.

THANKS FOR UNGLUING

The ebook is already released with a Creative Commons license. Supporters can express their thanks by paying whatever they want for the ebook, kind of like a donation.

I know. It still sounds a little iffy, but the crowdfunding idea has been around for awhile. All it means is collectively pooling contributions (or pledges to contribute) to support a cause. using the internet for coordination means that strangers can be brought together, creating a larger pool to draw from. Also, because the number of supporters can be vast, individual contributions can be as large or small as people are comfortable up and still add up to an amazing amount.

Why in the world would an author choose to go this route instead of simply self-pubbing? Mostly to have a digital strategy that pays for itself even if you don't have or want to gain expertise in producing ebooks.

Sounds pretty intriguing to me. I'll be watching Unglue.it to see if it sinks or swims.