stephen kings new internet experiment seems to be something along the lines of counterpane’s street performer protocol. the idea is that if paythrough surpasses 75% of the downloads, he’ll write another installment. personally, i think that while the idea can work, asking for checks or money orders is silly (paypal anyone?). also, it’d be fairer to readers to also set a solid dollar threshold – i mean, come on, if he ends up getting a million downloads, but only 50% pay, will the half million not be fair compensation for his work? would that be fair to the people who paid in good faith? it can be that even that the 50% who didn’t pay (or even 30%) just didn’t like the book…
with all that being said, however, i have to say that the idea brings a smile to my face. it’s a good first step. incremental improvements: create an automatic account for each person who buys a book. give them an option to participate within a community w/ there purchase. provide personalization (store the books for em, etc.) that’s only available with a purchase. i think that ultimately, that’s the best way to sell digital, provide value adds that make it better and simpler to buy than steal. i do share stephen kings opinion that most people do fundamentally want to support artists. it’s just being made too inconvenient right now.