Writer's Grove

The Bonus Content

I generally look upon the traditional vs. self-published ebook debate as I would upon a pit of esurient alligators: once you get in the middle of it, you’re gonna get your ass chewed. I’ve been carefully avoiding the topic as a result, since I’m rather attached to my ass and would like to keep it a while longer.

Still, I thought I’d point out something that folks might start to see more of from the Big Six: bonus content. The Big Six aren’t going to be lowering their prices down to ninety-nine cents anytime soon. They might occasionally run limited-time specials on certain titles (like Orbit is doing right now with Nicole Peeler’s debut, Tempest Rising, sellin’ it for only $2.99), but they can’t afford to lowball everything and still pay the editors and spiffy cover artists and the utilities and such. So how do they compete? By giving ebook buyers a little extra bang for their buck. Del Rey is doing it with the ebook edition of Hounded, bundling two bonus short stories along with the novel for the same price.

One of those stories, “Clan Rathskeller,” is already up on my Goodies page for free. It’s gonna stay free for EVAR. The version being packaged with Hounded is only slightly tweaked in terms of some phrasing, because writers just can’t leave stuff alone until an editor says “ENOUGH!” but if you read the free version you’re not going to miss anything in terms of content. The other story, “Kaibab Unbound,” is a really neat little yarn that delves more deeply into Atticus’s relationship with elementals and his official duties as a Druid. Plus, there are naked witches! (Or, if you prefer, nekkid witches.) It takes place two weeks before the events of Hounded, so you get to see what Atticus’s life is like before his world goes kablooey.

I have no idea if the bonus content is going to make a difference in my sales or not. But I imagine that providing extra value in the ebook format is one strategy (among others) that traditional publishers will employ to compete against people offering their books for less than a buck. I doubt anyone knows yet whether it will be an effective strategy; all I’m saying here is you can expect to see more of this until publishers figure out if it does work. If it doesn’t, then bonus content will be rare; if it does, it’ll become de rigueur.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the appeal of bonus content—would it make you more likely to buy an ebook, or would it make no difference?