When rogue author Tao Lin set out to write his second novel, he realized he would need to raise some capital to sustain himself. So he has decided to sell shares in 60 percent of the U.S. royalties for his forthcoming, as-yet-untitled book.
Not only will the scheme defray his financial risk if the book does poorly, but Lin hopes that shareholders will promote his book out of self-interest.
Dubner has wondered if public libraries could be created from scratch today. If the novel were invented today, would they all use Lin’s startup model?
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How does one get to be a rogue author?
Is it his refusal to use upper-case letters? (at least in the piece I looked at.)
If the concept of a library hadn’t previously existed, the publishing industry would clearly use the DMCA to go after anybody who even thought of setting one up.
Libraries are just a form of piracy, plain and simple
XWL: I’m a retired librarian who never thought of libraries that way. I believe you’re so right with entirely to me a new way of looking at libraries.
Does that mean any dues collected from a title should be passed along to the author?
Thanks for such an interesting horizon.
Lenore R.
@Lenore, I’m a bit confused. Did you just come back over the top of @XWL’s sarcastic jab at the DMCA with more sarcasm, or did you think the original comment was in earnest?
I honestly can’t tell, but if it’s the former, kudos for a wonderful feat of meta-sarcasm.
Libraries are just a form of piracy.. don’t make me laugh. I guess utilizing tools for research is looked down upon in your family.
Fab idea. If the people who promote IPOs did the same for the book industry, everyone would be reading instead of watching reality TV.
What kind of incentives are at play here for the author? If he’s transferring his financial risk to outside investors (and therefore diminishing his personal gains), won’t this affect how “rogue” the book will be. If he’s playing with house money, why not? I wonder if investors get a chance to see the final product before fronting money?
If someone buys 41%, will that give them creative control over the novel?