

Essay: The Future of the Book - gklitt
http://www.economist.com/news/essays/21623373-which-something-old-and-powerful-encountered-vault?fsrc=scn/fb/wl/pe/es/2/oaoyrustopixel

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gklitt
It was amusing to see that the modern startup trick of creating a launch page
or a broken link to gauge interest in an idea has actually been around for
centuries:

 _Publishers in the 17th and 18th centuries often sold books by
“subscription”, which meant that consumers would agree in advance to buy a
book after seeing a prospectus. It acted as a market test. If not enough
people were interested, the project could be dropped._

