Are services like Scribd and Oyster going to be like Netflix for Books?

I hadn’t given much thought to Scribd and Oyster until recently. If you are not familiar with these services, they have been compared to Netflix in that paying a monthly fee offers the subscriber the opportunity to read as many books as they like. Having my books on Smashwords brought these distribution options over the last few months. As part of their deal with Smashwords, I received a free year subscription to Scribd. Will and I downloaded the app and immediately searched to find my books there.

I can’t help but think this is a good thing for indies as each avenue that opens up for us to get more readers should help us to build a fan base. I do wonder, though, what this type of thing means for books/ebooks in general. As I understand it, an author gets paid if/when someone reads over a certain percentage of a book, doesn’t seem like a bad deal. Not much different than offering a free sample, or similar. Would you be willing to pay a monthly fee to read books? If you haven’t read my books, I know they are on Scribd, they are also supposed to be on Oyster. I think both services have a free trial. I’d love to hear your thoughts about such services and I would certainly be honored to hear your thoughts if you choose to try my books this way.

Happy Reading!
Natalie