I have an ever-growing collection of books I will never, ever read again. And I have no idea how to get rid of them.
I am a writer, a would-be novelist, even, and so I want to dispose of them in the best way possible for the author. Unfortunately, that would be destruction, and as an eco-conscious person, this goes against my grain (reuse coming before recycle in the ecologic hierarchy of positive actions). As far as I know, there is no way for an author to collect on the resale of a book. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Another viable option would be to give them away. Many of the books I've purchased in the last year have been the result of buying another in the same series at a $0.50 book sale at work. The books are donated by employees and then bought back up by other employees for half a dollar. I think I've purchased over 5 books recently (by only two different authors), directly because I'd received another by the same author for a nominal fee. I'd say that helped the authors out a bit.
Now, the shrewd businessman in me says, just giving my piles of books away to be sold does me no favours! I want something in return. I want someone else's books, so I can try new authors out (and then possibly go out and purchase their books).
To keep it fair to the authors, You'd have to keep it from being a mere book exchange. I see it as an online barter market, where I, as a user, would list books that I'm ready to get rid of. As people request them and I ship them out (paying for postage myself), I earn points. So many points for book given away, locally shipped books are worth 1 point, international, worth 2, and overseas are worth 3 points. 5 points, earned by giving books away, earns you a book from someone else, anywhere in the world. (To get the ball rolling, you give everyone 20 books to start off with when they sign up.)
I am a writer, a would-be novelist, even, and so I want to dispose of them in the best way possible for the author. Unfortunately, that would be destruction, and as an eco-conscious person, this goes against my grain (reuse coming before recycle in the ecologic hierarchy of positive actions). As far as I know, there is no way for an author to collect on the resale of a book. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Another viable option would be to give them away. Many of the books I've purchased in the last year have been the result of buying another in the same series at a $0.50 book sale at work. The books are donated by employees and then bought back up by other employees for half a dollar. I think I've purchased over 5 books recently (by only two different authors), directly because I'd received another by the same author for a nominal fee. I'd say that helped the authors out a bit.
Now, the shrewd businessman in me says, just giving my piles of books away to be sold does me no favours! I want something in return. I want someone else's books, so I can try new authors out (and then possibly go out and purchase their books).
To keep it fair to the authors, You'd have to keep it from being a mere book exchange. I see it as an online barter market, where I, as a user, would list books that I'm ready to get rid of. As people request them and I ship them out (paying for postage myself), I earn points. So many points for book given away, locally shipped books are worth 1 point, international, worth 2, and overseas are worth 3 points. 5 points, earned by giving books away, earns you a book from someone else, anywhere in the world. (To get the ball rolling, you give everyone 20 books to start off with when they sign up.)
