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How Piracy Made 'Go the Fuck to Sleep' a No. 1 Amazon Best-Seller

103 points by ssclafani 15y ago

asanwal 15y ago
I think the artwork of a children's book, especially one as good as Go the F to Sleep make piracy beneficial. The content and the artwork are both very funny. So the PDF makes you realize it's actually quite good and then want the actual hard copy. For parents on HN, if you haven't seen the book, you should. It'll make you laugh when you're having one of those nights.
citricsquid 15y ago
All this article does is massage the egos of pirates, it doesn't explain why this book was popular because of piracy or how it converted into real world popularity. This article has so little substance... it could be interesting if it had something worth reading.
- silencio 15y ago
  It probably has to do with how word of this book and the book itself was practically viral among parents and the content was good enough to deem buying in hardcopy for a lot of those pirates. I was under the assumption that this is generally how the piracy success stories work. A lot of people pirate something only to discover that they really like it, and they'll buy it to make up for the piracy. I'm not even a parent, but I saw the book on facebook through a friend-with-kids and was howling the entire way through. I preordered a copy on Amazon immediately after finishing reading the book and I bookmarked it for future reference for gifts to new parents. If it wasn't for the book being on facebook, I never would have heard of it and I probably wouldn't have bought it if I only saw the cover or a page or two on Amazon or at a physical bookstore.
  - bad_user 15y ago
    I'm not buying to make up for piracy. But I like books in printed form, so I usually try out reading a 2-3 chapters of the pirated version, then if I like it I'll buy it. The book in the article also appears to be a nice gift. You obviously can't give pirated PDFs as gifts :)
    - linerep43 15y ago
      Yeah, more I think about it, I think the gift effect is crucial here.
- rmc 15y ago
  This article is an example of where piracy has positively benefited a creative work. Previously the debate was that "All piracy is always bad". People are starting to find evidence that piracy can be good. This changes the debate.
  - scott_s 15y ago
    I don't think this changes the debate. It adds another data point to the idea that piracy can give exposure to works that don't have massive amounts of money to spend on PR campaigns; such things that if they weren't heavily pirated, you probably wouldn't know about them. This idea has been around for a long time.
  - rick888 15y ago
    I suppose it's similar to the debate that "pulling out" is a safe contraception method. It works in very few cases.
    - Sapient 15y ago
      Coitus interruptus has a failure rate of 15%-28% per year, 4% when used perfectly. In comparison, condoms have a failure rate of 10%-16% (2% when used perfectly). You were perhaps aiming for a sound-bite, but saying "It works in very few cases" is inaccurate.
      - rick888 15y ago
        I think it made my point quite nicely. Piracy works in a very small percentage of cases. We shouldn't be clinging to this fact and saying that it's an effective way to market and advertise.
- tgraydar 15y ago
  If we were able to say why, definitively, something went viral, then viral wouldn't seem so unusual or special, would it. We're all left to guess when something like this takes off in an organic, viral way. What's more interesting than guessing at that is what the fallout will be for business--and the publishing model. That's what this story explored.
Joakal 15y ago
I suggest those who plan to use a kid theme with adult content to consider strong legal backing in USA [0]. [0] http://hypervocal.com/news/2011/update-youtube-musician-evan-emory-sentenced-to-60-days-in-jail/ http://hypervocal.com/news/2011/update-youtube-musician-evan...
- robryan 15y ago
  Crazy that that would get taken so far.
- kiteaton 15y ago
  Oh America, oh... dear.
ajkessler 15y ago
I think books are becoming more souvenirs than strictly vessels for information. People I know get most of their information digitally, reading books, articles, news, doing research, etc., all via computers, ipads, kindles, etc. It's just an easier way to consume information. But, a physical book can easily serve as a party favor or a souvenir, of an event or of an idea. If some information is particularly valuable, or moving, or memorable, it's nice to have something to put on your coffee table or shelf. I would guess that the types of books that fit that description, just like Go the Fuck to Sleep does, are going to be the only books that are still profitably printed a decade from now.
- bad_user 15y ago
  You're talking about "doing research" but reading a technical reference on a PC / iPad / Kindle DX is very painful - first you need a big screen (plain Kindle won't do), devices like the iPad don't do so well in strong light, and one thing I really miss - taking notes, which is very hard, if possible at all. That said, a device like Kindle DX could very well replace my printed books someday.
  - ajkessler 15y ago
    I can't really speak to doing technical research digitally. I've read many coding/graphics/web books, all digitally, and found it pretty much the same as reading a book. Literally all legal research is done online now, though. What, specifically, is so difficult about replicating technical references digitally? Is it just the screen/notes aspect? (I bet that is fixed within 2 generations) Layout? Graphics? Is it limited by the reproductions rather than the physical displays?
    - bad_user 15y ago
      My biggest problem is that I like taking notes, especially for programming-related stuff, using a pencil. I'm reading books in my dead time, like the daily commute, and I don't have the luxury to use a notebook. I like marking important paragraphs, or add notes on stuff that was previously defined in former chapters, or add question marks reminding me to do further research online. And yes, the device has to have a big screen with good resolution, and that screen has to be readable in sunlight. And my problem with E-Ink is that it doesn't come in color (making them useless for reading some topics, like design/photography stuff for example). Of course, I will be very happy when such technical limitations are removed. And I'll also be very happy that such reading devices are more green, and my reading habits aren't the reason for cutting down forests :)
brandnewlow 15y ago
This is blogspam. Here's the original post that this one lifts all its facts from and references explicitly 4 times: http://www.baycitizen.org/books/story/go-f-sleep-case-viral-pdf/ http://www.baycitizen.org/books/story/go-f-sleep-case-viral-...
arn 15y ago
Bad conclusion. The same factors that make something inherenty viral or popular will also make something highly pirated. You can't draw causation because they are born from the same factor. (Just from the excerpt in this article, I sent a link to this book to 3 people this moment.)
bluedanieru 15y ago
>There are many reasons why Go the Fuck to Sleep deserves to be a best-seller, and probably would have attained that status anyway. No, it wouldn't.
yuvadam 15y ago
Misleading title. Correlation does not imply causation, etc...
jvdh 15y ago
A childrens book is not a regular kind of book. The book is filled with full-page images that support the texts and these are better appreciated in hardcopy form. Also, you're not going to sit down with your baby and read them a bedtime story from your laptop.
- erikstarck 15y ago
  > Also, you're not going to sit down with your baby and read them a bedtime story from your laptop. No, but from your iPad.
  - gregpilling 15y ago
    My three year old loves to read books on my Nook.
makeramen 15y ago
I think this effect may only be successful in very specific cases of certain genres. For example An Awesome Book (http://veryawesomeworld.com/ http://veryawesomeworld.com/), a similar adult/everyone children's book is offered for free and in full on the website while still quickly selling out on Amazon.
pchristensen 15y ago
I think every kid that has stalled at bedtime is what made this the #1 best seller.

103 points by ssclafani 15y ago

I think the artwork of a children's book, especially one as good as Go the F to Sleep make piracy beneficial. The content and the artwork are both very funny. So the PDF makes you realize it's actually quite good and then want the actual hard copy. For parents on HN, if you haven't seen the book, you should. It'll make you laugh when you're having one of those nights.

citricsquid 15y ago

All this article does is massage the egos of pirates, it doesn't explain why this book was popular because of piracy or how it converted into real world popularity. This article has so little substance... it could be interesting if it had something worth reading.

silencio 15y ago
It probably has to do with how word of this book and the book itself was practically viral among parents and the content was good enough to deem buying in hardcopy for a lot of those pirates. I was under the assumption that this is generally how the piracy success stories work. A lot of people pirate something only to discover that they really like it, and they'll buy it to make up for the piracy. I'm not even a parent, but I saw the book on facebook through a friend-with-kids and was howling the entire way through. I preordered a copy on Amazon immediately after finishing reading the book and I bookmarked it for future reference for gifts to new parents. If it wasn't for the book being on facebook, I never would have heard of it and I probably wouldn't have bought it if I only saw the cover or a page or two on Amazon or at a physical bookstore.
- bad_user 15y ago
  I'm not buying to make up for piracy. But I like books in printed form, so I usually try out reading a 2-3 chapters of the pirated version, then if I like it I'll buy it. The book in the article also appears to be a nice gift. You obviously can't give pirated PDFs as gifts :)
  - linerep43 15y ago
    Yeah, more I think about it, I think the gift effect is crucial here.
rmc 15y ago
This article is an example of where piracy has positively benefited a creative work. Previously the debate was that "All piracy is always bad". People are starting to find evidence that piracy can be good. This changes the debate.
- scott_s 15y ago
  I don't think this changes the debate. It adds another data point to the idea that piracy can give exposure to works that don't have massive amounts of money to spend on PR campaigns; such things that if they weren't heavily pirated, you probably wouldn't know about them. This idea has been around for a long time.
- rick888 15y ago
  I suppose it's similar to the debate that "pulling out" is a safe contraception method. It works in very few cases.
  - Sapient 15y ago
    Coitus interruptus has a failure rate of 15%-28% per year, 4% when used perfectly. In comparison, condoms have a failure rate of 10%-16% (2% when used perfectly). You were perhaps aiming for a sound-bite, but saying "It works in very few cases" is inaccurate.
    - rick888 15y ago
      I think it made my point quite nicely. Piracy works in a very small percentage of cases. We shouldn't be clinging to this fact and saying that it's an effective way to market and advertise.
tgraydar 15y ago
If we were able to say why, definitively, something went viral, then viral wouldn't seem so unusual or special, would it. We're all left to guess when something like this takes off in an organic, viral way. What's more interesting than guessing at that is what the fallout will be for business--and the publishing model. That's what this story explored.

Joakal 15y ago

I suggest those who plan to use a kid theme with adult content to consider strong legal backing in USA [0]. [0] http://hypervocal.com/news/2011/update-youtube-musician-evan-emory-sentenced-to-60-days-in-jail/ http://hypervocal.com/news/2011/update-youtube-musician-evan...

robryan 15y ago
Crazy that that would get taken so far.
kiteaton 15y ago
Oh America, oh... dear.

ajkessler 15y ago

I think books are becoming more souvenirs than strictly vessels for information. People I know get most of their information digitally, reading books, articles, news, doing research, etc., all via computers, ipads, kindles, etc. It's just an easier way to consume information. But, a physical book can easily serve as a party favor or a souvenir, of an event or of an idea. If some information is particularly valuable, or moving, or memorable, it's nice to have something to put on your coffee table or shelf. I would guess that the types of books that fit that description, just like Go the Fuck to Sleep does, are going to be the only books that are still profitably printed a decade from now.

bad_user 15y ago
You're talking about "doing research" but reading a technical reference on a PC / iPad / Kindle DX is very painful - first you need a big screen (plain Kindle won't do), devices like the iPad don't do so well in strong light, and one thing I really miss - taking notes, which is very hard, if possible at all. That said, a device like Kindle DX could very well replace my printed books someday.
- ajkessler 15y ago
  I can't really speak to doing technical research digitally. I've read many coding/graphics/web books, all digitally, and found it pretty much the same as reading a book. Literally all legal research is done online now, though. What, specifically, is so difficult about replicating technical references digitally? Is it just the screen/notes aspect? (I bet that is fixed within 2 generations) Layout? Graphics? Is it limited by the reproductions rather than the physical displays?
  - bad_user 15y ago
    My biggest problem is that I like taking notes, especially for programming-related stuff, using a pencil. I'm reading books in my dead time, like the daily commute, and I don't have the luxury to use a notebook. I like marking important paragraphs, or add notes on stuff that was previously defined in former chapters, or add question marks reminding me to do further research online. And yes, the device has to have a big screen with good resolution, and that screen has to be readable in sunlight. And my problem with E-Ink is that it doesn't come in color (making them useless for reading some topics, like design/photography stuff for example). Of course, I will be very happy when such technical limitations are removed. And I'll also be very happy that such reading devices are more green, and my reading habits aren't the reason for cutting down forests :)

brandnewlow 15y ago

This is blogspam. Here's the original post that this one lifts all its facts from and references explicitly 4 times: http://www.baycitizen.org/books/story/go-f-sleep-case-viral-pdf/ http://www.baycitizen.org/books/story/go-f-sleep-case-viral-...

arn 15y ago

Bad conclusion. The same factors that make something inherenty viral or popular will also make something highly pirated. You can't draw causation because they are born from the same factor. (Just from the excerpt in this article, I sent a link to this book to 3 people this moment.)

bluedanieru 15y ago

>There are many reasons why Go the Fuck to Sleep deserves to be a best-seller, and probably would have attained that status anyway. No, it wouldn't.

yuvadam 15y ago

Misleading title. Correlation does not imply causation, etc...

jvdh 15y ago

A childrens book is not a regular kind of book. The book is filled with full-page images that support the texts and these are better appreciated in hardcopy form. Also, you're not going to sit down with your baby and read them a bedtime story from your laptop.

erikstarck 15y ago
> Also, you're not going to sit down with your baby and read them a bedtime story from your laptop. No, but from your iPad.
- gregpilling 15y ago
  My three year old loves to read books on my Nook.

makeramen 15y ago

I think this effect may only be successful in very specific cases of certain genres. For example An Awesome Book (http://veryawesomeworld.com/ http://veryawesomeworld.com/), a similar adult/everyone children's book is offered for free and in full on the website while still quickly selling out on Amazon.

pchristensen 15y ago

I think every kid that has stalled at bedtime is what made this the #1 best seller.