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As far as secondary revenue streams go, authors can license their IP to TV, Movie and Video Game makers or they can sell merchandise themselves.

That's a bit like saying coders can just make a game then license the IP to TV stations, moviemakers, writers and merchandisers as a secondary revenue stream. It happens but it's rare enough that it may as well not exist for most. Musicians on the other hand almost all play gigs (as well as being able to sell their music to videogame makers, TV shows and movies), and the movie industry practically invented merchandising as well as other avenues of income.

But that requires they build a fanbase. And in that endeavor, a literary agent is far more beneficial than an industry trade group

Literary agents liaise between writers and publishers/producers etc. They have nothing to do with building up a fanbase, most authors do all of their marketbuilding themselves, in their own time, on their own dime.

And it's been pretty well established that there's few (if any) people who pirate media that would run to Amazon or iTunes and buy something if they couldn't obtain it via piracy.

Certainly established to the satisfaction of people who pirate books anyway.

And most of the books I buy from new authors these days most often comes from authors who do things like release the first book in a trilogy for free or via word of mouth suggestions from people who are where I was in my teens and twenties and read stolen or borrowed versions of their books.

Freely released books are a very different matter to piracy, especially from creators who can least afford it.

what other means does a writer have to earn money beyond direct sales?

As far as secondary revenue streams go, authors can license their IP to TV, Movie and Video Game makers or they can sell merchandise themselves.

But that requires they build a fanbase. And in that endeavor, a literary agent is far more beneficial than an industry trade group whose only interest in an individual author is whether they've paid their membership dues who goes out and does boneheaded things that are more likely to incite spite in burgeoning literary fans and thus encourage and spread piracy rather than stifle it.

And it's been pretty well established that there's few (if any) people who pirate media that would run to Amazon or iTunes and buy something if they couldn't obtain it via piracy. People usually pirate things when buying isn't an option. I was no different. In my broke ass teens and twenties, I first got all my books from a library and then later when things like BBSs and gopher became available to me, via piracy. Authors didn't earn a dime from me for a couple decades, except perhaps via a few people who weren't as broke as me who might have bought books based on suggestions from me that I based on the books I borrowed or stole.

But what they did earn during those decades was my loyalty to their "brand". Now that I'm older and have a far greater amount of disposable income and far less patience for digging around looking for books I want on virii and annoying ad infested piracy sites, I'm a prolific purchaser of books (and other media). I've since bought many of the books I'd previously borrowed or stole. And most of the books I buy from new authors these days most often comes from authors who do things like release the first book in a trilogy for free or via word of mouth suggestions from people who are where I was in my teens and twenties and read stolen or borrowed versions of their books.

Forget Asimov.... flog Robert Jordan to finish the Wheel of Time. No insult to Brandon Sanderson who did a good job finishing it with the notes left behind.

A Mistborn reference!

Brandon Sanderson (an excellent Fantasy Writer for adults) wrote a series through schoolastics for 5th to 7th grades kids. The series is about a bot named Alcatraz. It's a great read and worth exposing kids to.

http://www.brandonsanderson.com/book/Alcatraz/

And if you want to know why he split them, sit down and he'll tell you. It wasn't about the money - it was just too big.

It should be noted that Tor didn't actually consult the author about the release date

Funnily enough, the concept of life energy transfer you outlined resembles the main story line of Brandon Sanderson's novel "Warbreaker".

But then again, if life imitates art, is Steve Jobs a God??? :P

PS. Legally available to download from his site: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/drafts/warbreaker/Warbreaker_hardcover_1st_ed.pdf

>>That's fine. I knew I'd get people scoffing at my lack of reading - plenty of people do. I

Sorry if it came out negative. There's just so much good stuff out there in books, I've gone without TV for the last 10 years. Actually, I have TV now, but only because getting 50mpbs service from AT&T requires a bundled TV service. :/

Most people dislike books because they were forced to read them in school, and there's nothing worse than being made to read a book you hate (Wurthering Heights... eugh).

>>while reading I'll find myself thinking about other things still, and not really processing what I'm reading!

This is one of the best things! I keep a notepad handy and write down any random ideas I get while reading or listening to audiobooks in my car. Getting and processing new information is one of the best things to spur creativity, I've found.

Anyhow, as someone who reads things online but not in books, you sound like the opposite of me (I can read books in PDF, but it annoys me). Perhaps you're the target audience for a Kindle or Nook?

Anyhow, if you're interested in getting into fiction, you might be interested in reading Warbreaker online, by one of my favorite authors (he made the whole thing available online for free as he wrote it):
http://www.brandonsanderson.com/library/catalog/Warbreaker_Full-Books/

Its not that I dislike books - the biggest problem I have is knowing what books to read! I used to read a bit when I was younger - Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, Hitchhikers Guide, Discworld, I've read all those and enjoyed them, but then I just wasn't sure what to read next, so I kind of just stopped.

And I'm thinking about "other things" all the time, so when I'm reading, that just continues. It has nothing to do with what I'm reading though, and I'll find that I can read a few pages and then realize I don't even know what I read. That kind of defeats the purpose of reading.

Mostly I'm just working on so many things that I don't have much time to just sit down and read. I don't really watch TV much either - i put Cosmos on at work when I'm doing monotonous things mostly.

But I've hit a place where my brain is moving too quickly - to the point where I'm thinking about a million things at once, but not really getting anywhere - its just becoming a bunch of noise. So I'm taking a break from all my projects and figured it would be nice to read and relax.

I'm just not sure if I'll ever have the time it takes to really be a solid "reader" per se.

And I don't read PDFs of books, i read articled and datasheets on things. I'm learning about how MOSFETS work so I can build my own motor controller, and things like that. Its learning, but its not really "reading" in the normal sense.

Its not that I think I'm even right per se, I just haven't figured out when I would read normally. But hopefully this book will get me in the groove? Its hard to say with me.
-Taylor

>>That's fine. I knew I'd get people scoffing at my lack of reading - plenty of people do. I

Sorry if it came out negative. There's just so much good stuff out there in books, I've gone without TV for the last 10 years. Actually, I have TV now, but only because getting 50mpbs service from AT&T requires a bundled TV service. :/

Most people dislike books because they were forced to read them in school, and there's nothing worse than being made to read a book you hate (Wurthering Heights... eugh).

>>while reading I'll find myself thinking about other things still, and not really processing what I'm reading!

This is one of the best things! I keep a notepad handy and write down any random ideas I get while reading or listening to audiobooks in my car. Getting and processing new information is one of the best things to spur creativity, I've found.

Anyhow, as someone who reads things online but not in books, you sound like the opposite of me (I can read books in PDF, but it annoys me). Perhaps you're the target audience for a Kindle or Nook?

Anyhow, if you're interested in getting into fiction, you might be interested in reading Warbreaker online, by one of my favorite authors (he made the whole thing available online for free as he wrote it):
http://www.brandonsanderson.com/library/catalog/Warbreaker_Full-Books/

I'm worried that he was tweaking the first book for his 10 volume series The Way of King, and "growing immensely as a writer" while he was working on finishing WoT. The thought that he could be in any way influenced by that needlessly detail heavy series while writing his own mega series makes my pessimism act up.

Ah well, at least it won't involve skirt smoothing, sniffing, and braid pulling, while thinking how inferior all of creation is.

I really, really prefer reading books in dead tree form, regardless of what kind of book it is. I find I retain the information much better that way - I guess because I'm not constantly distracted by messenger, e-mail alerts, and so forth. As such...

...paper copy as well - I did that for e.g. Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker. I...

...preordered a signed hardcover copy.

For programming books, I think all paper copies should come with a free electronic copy. It's nice to be able to pull up a...

...your bookshelf isn't handy. (And no, "google it" isn't always the best answer.)

Sorry, what were you saying? I got distracted.

I really, really prefer reading books in dead tree form, regardless of what kind of book it is. I find I retain the information much better that way - I guess because I'm not constantly distracted by messenger, e-mail alerts, and so forth. As such, if a book is available for free online, and I like it, I'll buy the paper copy as well - I did that for e.g. Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker. I read the last pre-publication draft in PDF form, then preordered a signed hardcover copy.

For programming books, I think all paper copies should come with a free electronic copy. It's nice to be able to pull up a PDF for quick references when your bookshelf isn't handy. (And no, "google it" isn't always the best answer.)

I always wanted stuff explained, both in fiction and in life. "It's magic" never worked for me.

Then you should read Wheel of Time by the late Robert Jordan. "Magic" (his own personal twist) plays a central but not all-overshadowing role and is treated much like a science by the characters. I agree that magic ala "I cast lvl2 Fireball which drains my mana a bit" is boring. Compare to WoT where the characters have to learn/discover and practice different weaves consisting of "threads" of any of the traditional 5 elements, or Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker (free download on his website) and it's Awakeners, who collect "Breath" bought from the poor and use it for awakening things. Both Jordan and Sanderson have made their "magic" systems rather "sciency".

By the way, do you like Tolkien because of the way magic works in his works, or despite it? I feel he hints almost continuously at incredibly strong magic but never do you see any direct application of it in the traditional sense. No fireballs, no summonings or banishings, just people like Fëanor, Fingolfin and Gandalf who's spirits were so strong the very strength of their will could change things. Gandalf didn't cast "Flame Barrier of Anor lvl 17", he simply stated with all the force of his spirit, that the Balrog was not allowed to pass. Not much of a systemized, logical magic system there, yet you mention Tolkien as someone who explains stuff.

If you actually read what you're quoting, you'd see that he was referring to what he was contemplating doing, before Tor had him split it into three volumes.

He said splitting the book into three volumes

was not an easy choice. I knew it would anger some readers. I knew it would take a lot of time, and I would end up dedicating a great deal more of my life (and my family's life) to the Wheel of Time than I'd initially anticipated. At the very least, I was contemplating writing a book three to four times the length of the initial contract - essentially, doing four times the work for the exact same pay.

In other words, he knew that to get the whole story out in one book, he'd have to write three to four times as much as the initial contract specified, therefore doing four times the work for the same pay. And he was willing to do it, too. Remember, Tor wanted a book by November; Sanderson had to choose between "publish a railroaded, crappy story" and "split it into multiple coherent volumes".

Agreed. Also, Warbreaker (his newest book) was released recently, and is available both in hardcover and as a PDF:

http://www.brandonsanderson.com/drafts/warbreaker/Warbreaker_hardcover_1st_ed.pdf

I'd suggest you grab Warbreaker online for free, it's Brandon Sanderson's most recently published book; it was also available as a PDF through Brandon's website during the whole course of its writing.

http://www.brandonsanderson.com/drafts/warbreaker/Warbreaker_hardcover_1st_ed.pdf

Here's Sanderson's post on why he split the book into 3 parts: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/article/56/Splitting-AMOL

I recall Stephen King trying this and giving up.

And the Red Hot Chili Peppers shouldn't give their music away for free either, at least not in an attempt to make money. For people who are already extremely successful in the traditional methods, they're not going to see the same amount of money using this new technique. However, for people like Brandon Sanderson who are just getting into it, letting out free works can be a good way to get entrenched and build good will.

If you go to Brandon Sanderson's website, www.brandonsanderson.com you can read sample chapters from each of his novels. He also has a book Warbreaker, that he has released free under the Creative Commons License. It's a full book, that will be published by Tor and sold in 2009, but you can also download it, print it, send it to friends, etc free of charge.