An innovative approach to literature dissemination

[Marc Joan]

Now here's something new. A French company, Short Editions, is distributing short stories in all kinds of unexpected places -- but the innovation which really grabbed my attention is their idea of selling stories via vending machines placed in various places where people have to wait -- surgeries, ticket offices, government offices, etc. You can choose, say, a three minute or a five minute story, depending on how long you think you will have to wait, put your coin in the machine, and take the print-out of your chosen story. See here:

Découvrez nos distributeurs d'histoires courtes | Short Edition

Am I the only one who thinks this is fantastic? I wonder how the royalties work...

 

[Jason Byrne]

Now here's something new. A French company, Short Editions, is distributing short stories in all kinds of unexpected places -- but the innovation which really grabbed my attention is their idea of selling stories via vending machines placed in various places where people have to wait -- surgeries, ticket offices, government offices, etc. You can choose, say, a three minute or a five minute story, depending on how long you think you will have to wait, put your coin in the machine, and take the print-out of your chosen story. See here:

Découvrez nos distributeurs d'histoires courtes | Short Edition

Am I the only one who thinks this is fantastic? I wonder how the royalties work...

Agreed!

 

[J. Rook]

Imagine the frustration if the machine takes your money and no story appears!

 

[Marc Joan]

Or if the end of the ticket rips off in the machine, and you never find out how the story itself ends...

Maybe not such a great idea...

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Oh, there's a story in all that...

And I think it's an amazing idea!

 

[J. Rook]

Or if the end of the ticket rips off in the machine, and you never find out how the story itself ends...

Maybe not such a great idea...

Or if the ink cartridge runs out half-way through the print . . . But they have thought it through, that's clear. Perhaps we should offer ourselves as authors for the English-speaking branch of the Short Edition community. I'm sure they will have one before too long, if the scheme works in Grenoble. Just a minute! I have had an idea as well. What about printing "shorts" on the back of supermarket check-out dockets?

 

[Robinne Weiss]

What about printing "shorts" on the back of supermarket check-out dockets?

That would be great! Better than the useless coupons they print on them now.

 

[KG Christopher]

I think its pretty cool... but being instant.. if you chose a 3 minute story, it would have to dis-integrate after 5 minutes, so no one else could read it. I suggest some type of acid that burns the paper after the allocated time, or re-arranges all the letters.

 

[J. Rook]

I told this story to a writers' group that I attend. The response was that dispensing machines would probably do well in medical waiting rooms, particularly in the larger clinics, because the quality and number of magazines provided for reading has deteriorated seriously over the past couple of years as they disappear from print.