Sci-fi author Cory Doctorow has always been adamant that making his books available for free online has actually improved sales in hard copy. Currently, on BoingBoing.net, he has an interesting discussion going about Tor Books and their attempts to test that theory. The contributions from posters provide a lot of food for thought. One of the most succinct and convincing pro-free-downloading comments comes from someone calling themselves “Angusm”:

“The first fix is free” is an old and proven marketing tactic, and giving a whole book away may be a better way to pique interest and build loyalty than just offering an extract. Doing what Tor did in some cases – give the book away and then add the first chapter of the sequel on the end – may be the smartest move of all, because it gets the reader when they’re at their most vulnerable, er, enthusiastic.