stackyFACTS
Culture & entertainment

Pay-per-chapter reading apps obscure massive total costs

HERE’S THE INTERESTING PART

Microtransactions have successfully ruined literature. By chopping a mediocre romance novel into two hundred tiny digital chunks and charging a few meaningless digital coins to unlock each one, these devious platforms trick mathematically challenged readers into spending fifty dollars on a story they could buy in paperback for ten.

From the Stacky collection1 min read
Pay-per-chapter reading apps obscure massive total costs
STACKY / Culture & entertainment
Topics in this factmicrotransactionsPublishingTechnology
One discovery leads to another.

Keep exploring facts in this topic.

Culture & entertainment →
STACKY FOR IPHONE

A bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.

Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.

Download on the App Store
ONE MORE DISCOVERY?

Keep exploring

All in this topic →
Why mail-order hardcovers use cheaper paper
Culture & entertainment

Why mail-order hardcovers use cheaper paper

That exclusive hardcover you received in the mail is actually a highly optimized knockoff. To save massive amounts on shipping weight and manufacturing, these…

Discover more
Why cookbook recipes aren't always tested
Culture & entertainment

Why cookbook recipes aren't always tested

Unless the author is a rigorous culinary professional, the gorgeous cookbook you just bought is full of culinary gambles. Publishing houses rarely hire…

Discover more
Why most authors never earn royalties
Culture & entertainment

Why most authors never earn royalties

When a writer receives an upfront payment for their manuscript, they do not see another dime in royalties until the publisher's profits entirely cover that…

Discover more
Ripley's bizarre empire began with a sports cartoon
Culture & entertainment

Ripley's bizarre empire began with a sports cartoon

Before it became a chain of dusty museums filled with shrunken heads, it was just filler material. Robert Ripley was a sports illustrator scrambling for…

Discover more
Crime magazines thrived before forensic science
Culture & entertainment

Crime magazines thrived before forensic science

Before standard DNA testing ruined the fun, pulpy rags could confidently publish the most unhinged, heavily fictionalized theories as absolute, unquestionable…

Discover more
The first Forbes rich list was meant to shame the wealthy
Culture & entertainment

The first Forbes rich list was meant to shame the wealthy

Before the billionaire index became a highly coveted status symbol, it was used as a weapon of public humiliation. B.C. Forbes created the initial list of…

Discover more
StackyMore discoveries in the app
Download on the App Store