Aspiring Writers Take Note

Tobias Buckell has a great promo idea for his new book, Crystal Rain. It's sort of like the bonus features of a DVD. If you've got a copy of the book, you can access goodies such as short stories with the characters and universe of the book, a sneak peak at Tobias's next title, and author commentary on what it was like to write a scene or why it was written the way it was. This is a very neat idea, one that I'll put in my toolbox for that glorious day when I get published. Not only does it give buyers more bang for their buck, but it gives Tobias and his book an edge over the crowd as this is a new thing (or I think it is...have I been missing out on cool extras for other books?) and grabs the interest and attention. I know I'll be visiting his site often to see what new features he's added (there's a "coming soon" spot for deleted scenes). Maybe this is the writer-geek in me just going "squeeeeee!!!!" but I think this is something that even the casual reader will find interesting. Go. Buy. Get the goodies.