He’s right about a couple of things: the wording about the “Preview” option does seem a bit vague, and 20% of ad revenue generated from it is low, but I am following up with WOWIO to see how that will be. If it’s only a few pages, then I don’t care; it’s in service of getting people to download the full book.

His concerns about the “eCommerce” option (paid downloads) are also well-placed, but he ignores the fact that it is an OPTION and only effective if you opt-in. You can (as Multiplex currently does) offer free eBooks through WOWIO and paid ebooks on your own site rather than through WOWIO — or, rather, that’s the way I’m reading it, and I have asked WOWIO for clarification.

I think he’s OFF-base about the “when sponsors are available” bit; the full, operative phrase is “for free distribution with embedded advertising when sponsors are available.” They will still be available, just without advertising, and you get paid with or without ads. I thought that one was pretty obvious. The embedded ads are bought in bulk, not per book, for God’s sake. They’re not going to take down a giant section of their titles just because they don’t have ads for them — they need to build up a user base for WOWIO *as a service*, and books vanishing and reappearing without apparent reason to the downloaders cripples the value of that service.

And of course, the fact that it’s Platinum is inarguably a cause for concern.
All that said, my contract is up in five months, and I may give the amended contract a shot for a few months to see how it goes. I am looking forward to these rumored “PDF-related announcements,” though…

I remember commenting to one of the other dudes that I was surprised I didn’t see you there…