The narrative can be downloaded and, unlike his previous Web novel, Riding the Bullet , which was read-only, The Plant can be printed out and passed on. Each instalment comprises some 5,000 words. There is no purchase price or charge. If you don't, the story folds. The initial response on the King Web site has been positive, but the crunch will be how many new subscribers are drawn in and whether they act honourably or not.
Human nature being what it is, one has one's doubts.
Has to be. Take what you want and pay for it,' as the old saying goes. Publishing historians of the future will probably see The Plant as an interesting technical experiment - perhaps a breakthrough. Authors of the world can unite around him. No longer need novelists be in thrall to the stony-hearted publisher and bookseller.