I feel very satisfied so far with yesterday’s little experiment of releasing my novel “ Managers from Hell ” free under a Creative Commons license . There were quite a few reasons why I did it. Of course, I want as many people as possible to read my book, but that was not the main reason. I wanted to try to show that the world that the pirates advocate is not a stingy and wicked world, but actually quite a nice world if you put in the effort and look past the war headlines of scary record company executives and writers with stone age mentality.
Since yesterday I have:
1. Got a lot of new, nice readers for the blog (and by extension for the book too)
2. Went from zero distributors to twelve distributors on Pirate Bay
3. I’ve hopefully gotten some other creators to check this out with Creative Commons licenses
I think that’s great, considering that everything has happened in just one day. If Ask and gang get their way and directly or indirectly throttle the Pirate Bay and other similar services, it would be difficult for me and other creators who choose this path to spread our work the way we want. I realize that this is exactly the same argument that the opposing side uses: “We want to spread our work on our terms!” The difference is that my way absolutely does not exclude their way and it does not threaten people’s privacy. I have no plans to give up the traditional book business that I love (although it would need some modernization like so many other industries), but I want to be free to spread my work as I please. It’s about the creator’s freedom, not the industry’s,
Which one is the best? The completely selfish alternative where you only look out for yourself or the one where you share and keep several paths open? A few months ago, I would have chosen the first. After pulling myself together and deciding to educate myself a bit more in the field and absorb the actual technical reality, my obvious answer is now option number two. And the money then? As the world looks today, I at least have better future prospects than Jan Guillou, because at least I have taken a step out into the fresh air and left the stone age cave behind me.
Yesterday Not-So-Jolly Roger came to stay over Easter . Nice. Yes, except that the first thing he did was call me the extremely derogatory epithet “Hobby-Pirate”.
Hobby-Pirate… Taste it, eh… Well, the reason he called me Hobby-Pirate was because he thought I was “the biggest fraud since Milli Vanilli” because I preach my pirate beliefs far and wide, but still sit and holding on to my novel ” Managers from Hell ” like a “nun holding on to her virginity.”
Well, he was probably right the good Roger, but not now anymore. For now I intend to remedy and improve it. In Norway they have a nice tradition called ” Påskekrim “. This means that every Easter you lock yourself in your little cabin and read crime novels. I think that is an absolutely excellent idea. So I’ve decided to give you all some free Easter crime fiction to numb my pirate conscience and make Roger happy. (He thinks I should be ashamed of myself for making the pirates wait until May 6 for their prize. )
“But”, you may say who have already read the book, “it is not a crime story!” To you I only say:
Not all crimes are committed with a knife or gun, some are committed with emails and Post-It notes.
Not all crimes have victims, because some victims refuse to be victims.
“Boss from Hell” is truly gasp-hugging suspense, because who wouldn’t rather get an ax to the head than an email from Preben? Come along to Preben’s four local offices and experience the horror!
By popular demand, I have now acquired two small new buttons under the menu on the left. If you click on “Donate”, you can donate any amount. If you click on “Subscribe” you donate SEK 10 a month. (You can choose to end it whenever you want.) It is completely voluntary if you want to donate or subscribe. The Hells Angels won’t come visit if you don’t.
But since Björn Felten now intends to track down Preben’s Finnish lawyer and sue me for lost block time (he apparently got stuck in my book a bit unluckily and therefore didn’t have time to search for used light bulbs on the Block), I would be happy if the total amount at least reached 50,000 euros within a month or two, so that the lawsuit does not cause me to have to live in a shoebox in the middle of the highway or in a septic tank. 🙂
I can also report that Not-So-Jolly Roger has promised dearly and sacredly to grant me an interview before he weighs anchor tomorrow. I hope he keeps what he promises, so you can read it in a couple of days.
