Great News for Hal Spacejock Fans

Hal Spacejock books 2, 3, & 4 will be released as low cost, DRM-free ebooks in February 2009! This is wonderful news for fans who’ve read the ebook version of book 1 (which is a completely free download) and wish to continue reading the series in ebook format.

I read book one last year and found it such an enjoyable read I ran a competition and gave away the entire print edition. Winner, Shane Hockings had this to say

I’m sorry to say that they didn’t last two days before I finished them and now I’ve got to wait for number 5. *sigh*

Author Simon Haynes announced the good news on the Spacejock blog.

Hal Spacejock ebooks ahoy

I had a meeting with my publisher just before Christmas, where we discussed a few things about the Hal Spacejock series. The main topic was ebooks.

I’m a strong believer in DRM-free ebooks, and I also believe the price point should reflect the fact there’s zero cost required to pump out each copy of an ebook. I put this to my publisher, and they were happy to go along.

You may not be aware that the first book in the Hal Spacejock series is available as a free download. It was released as a freebie when book 4 (Hal Spacejock No Free Lunch) hit the shops, and to date it’s been downloaded over 40,000 times.

However, there are two questions which land in my inbox again and again:

1. When can I buy the Hal Spacejock books in (insert country here)?

2. Can I buy the rest of the series as ebooks?

The answer to question one is … no idea. Sorry.

The answer to question two is … next month.

Yes, Hal Spacejock books 2, 3 and 4 will be released as low-cost, DRM-free ebooks in February 2009, barring any last-minute hitches.

Text, RTF and HTML files will be included, and most likely a Mobireader PDB as well.

As for the price, the target is A$5 or so, which translates to US$3.50 at the current exchange rate. (Don’t hold me to that – it might be a little bit more depending on payment processing costs.)

So there you go – both of my ebook goals met. Now I just have to pray people buy the things so my publisher doesn’t see me as a deluded idiot with the business sense of a certain inept freighter pilot.

However, with all three books selling for less than the cost of one paperback, anyone with more business sense than an inept freighter pilot will see that it’s going to be a pretty good deal.