5 ms·

Show HN: I built a website that lets you read classic books as email newsletters

39 points by andrewedstrom 3y ago

acqbu 3y ago
Interesting! Clean UI, good execution. Am I correct in thinking that these are all copyright-free books? Also, which vendor do you use to send emails and how many customers do you have so far?
- andrewedstrom 3y ago
  Thanks, glad you like the site! Yes that is correct—all of the books I sell are in the public domain. I use Sendgrid to send emails, which has worked great so far although it took a while to get my account fully set up. Re: customers, so far I've had more than 10 and less than 1000. One encouraging sign is that many people are coming back after finishing their first book and buying another.
  - dmitkov28 3y ago
    Very cool! Did you have any issues with Sendgrid mails ending up in spam?
    - andrewedstrom 3y ago
      I haven’t had any issues with that. However I don’t send any marketing emails, and since people are paying me to send them these emails I think the chance of getting flagged as spam is particularly low.
epanahi 3y ago
Are you aware of https://www.serialreader.org/ https://www.serialreader.org/? How would you differentiate yourself (besides email VS app)?
- andrewedstrom 3y ago
  Serial Reader is great! I came across it a year ago while looking for a service that would let me read classics as email newsletters. I used it for a couple of weeks. The app is slick and it has some really cool features (like letting you import your own ebooks) but I kept forgetting to open the app and then falling behind. Also the daily reading length of 20 minutes per day felt too long for me, personally. Ultimately I got it in my head that I'd be more likely to actually read issues if they showed up somewhere that I already had a habit of checking daily (my email inbox), and if the issues were shorter (~10 minutes each) with more fine-grained controls about when they were delivered. So that's what I built! I actually emailed Michael (the person behind Serial Reader) back in June, hoping to get his blessing to use the word "Serial" in my product's name. Never heard back and eventually I decided to move forward with the name.
drewmcmanus 3y ago
I’m on my third book from Modern Serial. (Disclosure: I know @andrewedstrom). It works great for me, and getting the segments via email ensures I don’t forget to read. Andrew has also been super-responsive to feedback and feature requests.
potsandpans 3y ago
I've gotta ask... how many people are paying 8 bucks to read a free book?
- andrewedstrom 3y ago
  Haha well, it's no secret that the books are free. Instapaper users pay to read free articles from the internet in a way that fits into their lives better. Same concept here.

39 points by andrewedstrom 3y ago

Interesting! Clean UI, good execution. Am I correct in thinking that these are all copyright-free books? Also, which vendor do you use to send emails and how many customers do you have so far?

andrewedstrom 3y ago
Thanks, glad you like the site! Yes that is correct—all of the books I sell are in the public domain. I use Sendgrid to send emails, which has worked great so far although it took a while to get my account fully set up. Re: customers, so far I've had more than 10 and less than 1000. One encouraging sign is that many people are coming back after finishing their first book and buying another.
- dmitkov28 3y ago
  Very cool! Did you have any issues with Sendgrid mails ending up in spam?
  - andrewedstrom 3y ago
    I haven’t had any issues with that. However I don’t send any marketing emails, and since people are paying me to send them these emails I think the chance of getting flagged as spam is particularly low.

epanahi 3y ago

Are you aware of https://www.serialreader.org/ https://www.serialreader.org/? How would you differentiate yourself (besides email VS app)?

andrewedstrom 3y ago
Serial Reader is great! I came across it a year ago while looking for a service that would let me read classics as email newsletters. I used it for a couple of weeks. The app is slick and it has some really cool features (like letting you import your own ebooks) but I kept forgetting to open the app and then falling behind. Also the daily reading length of 20 minutes per day felt too long for me, personally. Ultimately I got it in my head that I'd be more likely to actually read issues if they showed up somewhere that I already had a habit of checking daily (my email inbox), and if the issues were shorter (~10 minutes each) with more fine-grained controls about when they were delivered. So that's what I built! I actually emailed Michael (the person behind Serial Reader) back in June, hoping to get his blessing to use the word "Serial" in my product's name. Never heard back and eventually I decided to move forward with the name.

drewmcmanus 3y ago

I’m on my third book from Modern Serial. (Disclosure: I know @andrewedstrom). It works great for me, and getting the segments via email ensures I don’t forget to read. Andrew has also been super-responsive to feedback and feature requests.

potsandpans 3y ago

I've gotta ask... how many people are paying 8 bucks to read a free book?

andrewedstrom 3y ago
Haha well, it's no secret that the books are free. Instapaper users pay to read free articles from the internet in a way that fits into their lives better. Same concept here.