Simon & Schuster is going to sell individual chapters of
medical books. People can search for an answer to their questions on the Ask Dr
Oz site, and then purchase a related chapter—and go on to buy the entire book if
they like.
S & S’s chief digital officer said, “We plan to expand
both the chapter selling model and use of our e-commerce widget in other
content categories.”
This could be a way to go a step beyond the “look inside”
feature at sites like Amazon: let the potential buyer purchase a chapter for a
low price, on the basis that if they like what they get they are pretty likely
to buy the rest as well.
If you’re writing non-fiction you could aggregate enough
single-chapter purchases to make some money even when the sampling doesn’t
result in the person buying the whole book.
If you write fiction, maybe you’d offer the first chapter
for a low price and end with a strong cliff hanger or tease. Of course you
could also offer it free (which many authors already are doing) but if you can
coax even a dollar out of the potential buyer, persuasion psychology tells us
that having made that commitment makes them more likely to go on to buy the
rest.
(for more innovative ideas on how to write and sell what you write, get my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey; and to ramp up your creativity, get my book, "Creativity Now!" published by Pearson--both available from your favorite online retailer.)
