Interview with Simon Haynes

British born/Australian national Simon Haynes is the author behind the Hal Spacejock series. Last year his publisher caused a stir by giving away the first book as a free download, and now they've followed up by releasing low-cost, DRM-free ebooks of the rest of the series: Hal Spacejock Second Course (Book 2), Hal Spacejock Just Desserts (Book 3) and Hal Spacejock No Free Lunch (Book 4)

Why are you charging for Hal 2, 3 and 4 instead of giving them away free?

The first novel was offered as a freebie so readers could take a look and decide whether the series would suit their taste or not. We could have been stingy and offered a few chapters, but a cut-down sample has little perceived value and hardly anyone would have bothered to share their discovery. Offering the complete ebook as a freebie has resulted in 40,000 downloads, most of them referred via blog posts, chat forum messages and science fiction news sites. (You can still grab a copy here.)

The same reasoning wouldn't apply to the rest of the series. If someone didn't like the first Hal book there would be no point offering them the others, and if they DID like the first we'd really like to sell them the rest. There's a reason book four is called 'No Free Lunch'!

However, although the publisher is charging for the books, the price is very reasonable. You can grab all three for less than the price of one paperback.


Why do you believe in DRM-free ebooks?

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, and it's a fancy term for copyright protection.

Electronic gadgets are released at a staggering pace, and there have been situations where encrypted files purchased a few years ago are no longer supported by new and improved devices. I have hundreds of paperbacks which were published thirty and forty years ago, and somehow they don't seem to suffer from the same flaw.

Ebooks should be like paperbacks. Once you've bought them they should be readable on whichever computer program or ebook device you own now, or in the future. They shouldn't be locked to EbookReaderWidget 2000 when you really want to read them on EbookWidgetPlus 2008. (You may have no intention of upgrading, but what if your ancient but workable ERW 2000 falls in the bath?)

Another point: Once the aggrieved victim of a DRM scheme has finally managed to get at the content, they're MORE likely to share the book than recommend others buy the same encrypted file they were tricked with.


What are the dangers for you as an author when releasing your books this way?

In terms of lost sales, the danger is that one person could buy all three Hal Spacejock novels and share them with the entire planet. However, there's a good reason why this isn't the world-shaking problem it's made out to be: many people don't like reading ebooks. (Yes, they could print a copy, but have you seen the cost of ink lately?)

Typically, someone will read a few chapters before deciding whether they like an ebook or not. If they don't, end of story. If they DO, it's possible they'll seek out a printed copy so they can read it in comfort, assuming it's available in their country. And if they enjoy the series, it's likely they'll mention it to friends & workmates, or even give buy the books as a gift for others.

The more ebooks floating around, the more likely a series will gain a decent following. Stores order more copies to meet demand, the publisher extends contracts for more books, and everyone's happy.

There's only thing which is guaranteed to turn a series into a commercial success, and that's word of mouth. Ebooks can drive word of mouth in a way that printed copies hidden away in bookstores and warehouses simply can't match.

You could spend tens of thousands of dollars trying to promote a new book, or you can release low-cost ebooks and let them do the work for you. Seems a logical choice to me.


What are the benefits to you in releasing Hal 2, 3 and 4 as e-books?

Despite a very strong presence on the web, the Hal Spacejock series is only widely available through bookstores in Australia and New Zealand. Ever since the first book became a bestseller in 2005 I've been fielding emails from eager readers in the UK, US, Canada and about half a dozen other countries, asking me when they can go into their local bookstore and pick up a copy of Hal.

The free Hal Spacejock ebook led to even more of these emails, plus another set of people asking when and where they could buy the rest of the series in electronic format.

Now, at last, anyone on the planet can get hold of the ebooks. And who knows, if word of mouth spreads far and wide, maybe an overseas publisher will take up the rights and release local printed editions.

On the financial side, both publisher and author make more money from a $5 ebook than they do from a $20 paperback. There's no labour involved - it's just an electronic transaction plus a download. With the growth in ebook readers, it makes sense to offer these books in electronic format. And, after all, I'm writing science fiction.


Will Hal 1 continue to be free and why?

Yes. It was offered free to entice new readers, and with the new ebook release this is even more important. Click click, pay, click, read - they can grab all four books for under twenty bucks, and they'll have enough reading material to keep them laughing for a week or two.


What is Hal Five about and when will it be released?
 
An inheritance, a pile of furniture, a new dam, an abstract art expo and an abandoned spaceship. Pick any four.

As for the release I'm really hoping for November 2009, which is why I'm working so hard on the manuscript. I've set myself a deadline of Feb 28 for the completed first draft, and that means writing and rewriting up to 3000 words per day. I write around 200,000 words for every Hal Spacejock novel, then throw out all the boring bits until I end up with 90,000 words. That's why they seem frantic at times - the 'extended edition' would be twice as long.


Final question: How many copies of the ebooks do you hope to sell?

I honestly have no idea what the demand will be like. If one percent of the people who downloaded a free copy of Hal Spacejock come back and buy the rest of the series, that will mean 1200 ebook sales, and I think that would be very good indeed. I'd be absolutely stunned if we reached 5000 or more, but I fear it may be more like 120.

I'm not that good at forecasting, though. When Hal Spacejock first hit the shops in September 2005 I asked half a dozen family members to go buy a copy, so as to avoid the embarassment of absolutely no sales in week one. Instead, it outsold the 'adult cover' version of Harry Potter 6. My family are very supportive, but unless they have a warehouse I don't know about, it wasn't all down to them.


The Hal Spacejock ebooks can be ordered via the publisher, Fremantle Press. Please visit this page on the Hal Spacejock site for details.

Tags: interview,ebooks

Posted 09 March, 2009 . . .
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