With 30 published books translated into 80 languages and a total of 175 million copies sold across 170 countries, Paulo Coelho without a doubt knows writing and publishing extremely well. So when Coelho has a new idea, the publishing world listens. And his latest idea could be ground-breaking.

Here is the time-old model for publishing (and, indeed, all product-based businesses):

1. 1. Consumer buys book.
2. 2. Consumer reads book.

Money comes first, and then art.

But the problem facing all writers/publishers is how to convince new readers to engage with Step 1. How can you encourage readers to part with their cash and invest in an unknown – in a book they haven’t already read?

Well, Mr Coelho has an idea: swap the steps around as follows:

1. Consumer buys book.
2. Consumer reads book.

Art comes first, and then money.

Using this ‘reverse method of bookselling’, as he calls it, Coelho is offering two of his books online: the English version of his non-fiction book The Manual of the Warrior of Light and the Portuguese version of his novel Brida. He suggests that readers download the books, read them and then pay– but, crucially, only if they’ve enjoyed what they read. He writes:

Dear Reader, if you like the text, please buy it – so we can tell the publishing industry that this idea does not harm the business.

Radical, don’t you think? It’s in part a magnanimous gesture, but I think it’s also a clever marketing move: it’s excellent publicity and will drive sales of Coelho’s other books (particularly as the English translation is incomplete).

Coelho knows well that ‘free’ can pay: back in 1999, for example, when his book The Alchemist was pirated in Russia, it provided a huge boost for legitimate sales. He has argued passionately in favour of piracy, declaring, ‘Pirates of the world, unite and pirate everything I’ve ever written!’ He writes:

The more people ‘pirate’ a book, the better. If they like the beginning, they’ll buy the whole book the next day, because there’s nothing more tiring than reading long screeds of text on a computer screen. […] ‘Pirating’ can act as an introduction to an artist’s work. If you like his or her idea, then you will want to have it in your house; a good idea doesn’t need protection.

Controversial, certainly, but I see his point – as do countless other authors who offer works for free from time to time to connect with new readers.

What do you think of this move? Could ‘Buy after you read’ catch on as a new paradigm? I would love to hear your thoughts.

If you’d like to download Paolo Coelho’s free works, or read more about him and his views, you can visit http://paulocoelhoblog.com/.