When reporters ask me why I give away the full text of my novels online, for free, the day they're available in shops, I tell 'em: "It's about word of mouth. My readers have large social circles of friends whom they never see face to face. Books like Sisters of Ya Ya Sisterhoood became a success because one friend went to another friend and handed her a copy of the book, saying, 'You must read this, it changed my life.' I want to give my readers the same ability, so I have to give them a form of the book that they can 'hand' to their friends over the Internet. Even if it displaces some sales, the most valuable thing an author can get is a personal recommendation, it's the thing that is most likely to sell more copies of my books."
Now a study has concluded the same thing: the thing that made The Da Vinci Code, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night and Memoirs of a Geisha into best-sellers was word-of-mouth: not advertising, not cover design, not marketing. Friends telling friends about the book. [from bOINGbOING.net]
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