I knew that some people would just read it online and not buy it and that’s all right. I would hope that those who really enjoyed the book will pick up copies, but you know, I don’t mind if they just read it and don’t pick up a copy—I mean, it’s there for free!
I like the idea of a free sample, and for a writer I feel that a free sample needs to be an entire novel so that you can get a real feel for how that author writes and tells a story. When I listen to music, I would like to be able to listen to an entire album and say, “Okay, is this an artist that I like?” Before I pay money for it. I want people to be able to do that with my writing. And what that means is if WARBREAKER doesn’t sell any copies, but it has tens of thousands of people read it who are then willing to buy and read my next books because they know they like my writing, then WARBREAKER is incredibly successful.
Was Tor irked? I wouldn’t say that; I mean, I got approval from them first. I don’t think it’s what they would prefer for me to do, but they were certainly willing to let me do it. My agent didn’t like the concept at all, and I listened to his counsel, but I’m very interested in the way the internet is acting as a medium for entertainment distribution, and I wanted to experiment with that.
I think it’s been a successful experiment. I think that a lot of people who were interested in me because of THE GATHERING STORM and the Wheel of Time announcement were able to try out my books and read one of them for free and therefore somewhat know who I am as a writer. For good or for ill. If they don’t end up liking my writing, I’d rather they not have paid for it—I’d rather they not have to pay for something they don’t enjoy. I think I’ll end up better off—at the very least they’ll think, “Well, I didn’t really like his book, but he gave it to me for free,” and still have a good impression of me. If they do end up liking my book, I would hope that they go and read other copies of my books. And that would increase demand on the libraries or the bookstores. Either way I think I come out ahead.