Monday, May 7, 2012

Why The Bourbon Country Reader Is Not Available Electronically.

I often receive inquiries about making my American whiskey newsletter, The Bourbon Country Reader, available electronically.

Although Kindle's system for e-publishing periodicals is a bit over my head, I really can't plead technical difficulty. It would be easy enough to distribute is as a PDF, since that's how I deliver it to the printer.

The truth is, I'm reluctant to put them into circulation electronically. People are just too caviler about the way they share intellectual property. Tell you what; just because it's you, if you will click on the newsletter icon to the right (or here), I will give you one free sample issue.

But, really, I get it. I have two alternative solutions. You are reading one of them. Obviously, the blog is free, and although I may cover some of the same subjects in both, there is virtually no overlap between the newsletter and blog. This is your free taste. If you want more, pony up for one or more of the choices on the right.

Please note that I'm not sponsored by any distilled spirits company. Similarly, The Bourbon Country Reader accepts no advertising. My magazine writing is strictly freelance, piecework, I don't have a staff gig at any publication or, for that matter, anywhere. I have been self-employed for close to 30 years. You know how you like to go to the farmer's market and buy carrots directly from the farmer? Well, that's me. I'm the farmer.

I don't use Google Ads or any other advertising here on the blog. The only advertising I subject you to is for my products, the stuff over there on the right, all of which I personally endorse.

The Hirsch book is an example of the other alternative solution to distributing The Reader electronically, which is to take stories from past issues, perhaps (as I did with Hirsch) enlarge them a bit, and then release them as ebooks.

I also sell back issues of the newsletter but those are on that pesky paper too. If you would like to influence my future ebook output, look at The Bourbon Country Reader Issue Contents in Chronological Order, which is the back issues index, and suggest stories you would like to read. Click on my profile, to the right, for my email address.

If you want to do that, that would be great.

While we're on the subject of The Bourbon Country Reader, I have a message for current subscribers. Yes, the current issue is overdue. I'll get it out shortly, I promise.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is it possible that you might sell the back issue volumes in a Kindle format in the future?

I'd be more than willing to pony up for that but I've got enough hard-copy books lying around my humble abode :).

Chuck Cowdery said...

Probably won't do that as such but that's the idea behind the Hirsch and Small Barrels ebooks, to take stories that originated in the Reader, flesh them out a bit more and make them ebooks.