Jim Baen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jim Baen
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
James Patrick Baen
October 22, 1943 Pennsylvania
|
| Died | June 28, 2006 (aged 62) |
| Occupation | Science fiction publisher and editor |
James Patrick Baen (born October 22, 1943 – died June 28, 2006) was an American science fiction publisher and editor. He was known for creating his own publishing house, Baen Books, in 1983. This company focused on exciting stories like adventure, fantasy, military science fiction, and space opera. Jim Baen also started Baen Software, a company for video games. In 1999, he launched an electronic publishing business called Webscriptions, which later became Baen Ebooks. It was one of the first successful places to sell e-books.
Contents
Jim Baen's Early Life
Jim Baen was born in Pennsylvania. When he was 17, he left home and faced challenges for a few months before joining the United States Army. He served in a place called Bavaria.
After his time in the army, he attended City College of New York. He also managed a folk music coffee shop in Greenwich Village in the 1960s. He began his career in publishing at Ace Books in 1972, where he became an editor for Gothic fiction books.
A Magazine Editor
In 1973, Jim Baen became the managing editor at Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. The next year, he became the main editor for Galaxy and If magazines. He made Galaxy much more exciting, publishing popular authors like Jerry Pournelle, Charles Sheffield, and John Varley. His work at Galaxy even earned him nominations for the Hugo Award, which is a big honor in science fiction.
Famous author Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Jim Baen and others. This shows how much he was respected in the science fiction world.
Starting Baen Books
In 1977, Jim Baen went back to Ace Books to lead their science fiction section. Later, in 1980, he moved to Tor Books and started their science fiction line there.
Then, in 1983, he got the chance to start his very own company, Baen Books. This was a big step, and his friend Tom Doherty helped him make it happen. Baen Books quickly became popular with fans who loved adventure science fiction.
Growing Success
Baen Books grew steadily, publishing many well-known authors such as David Weber, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Eric Flint. The company became very successful, partly because of Jim Baen's smart ideas for selling books online. He believed in making books easy to find and read. He even gave away free titles on CD-ROMs and offered special "bargain samplers" of e-books. This strategy helped more people discover and buy their books.
Jim Baen's E-book Innovations
Jim Baen was a pioneer in the world of e-books. He started an experimental online publishing business called Webscriptions in late 1999. This service was later renamed Baen Ebooks.
No DRM Policy
Unlike many other e-book publishers, Jim Baen strongly believed that books should not have Digital Rights Management (DRM) or encryption. DRM makes it harder for people to read books on different devices. He thought DRM was bad for both readers and authors.
This idea was very new and different at the time. However, Baen Books' sales of regular hardcover books actually increased because their e-books were easy to access and affordable. His approach proved that giving readers freedom with their e-books could lead to more sales. Webscriptions became one of the first e-book services to make a profit.
The Baen Free Library
Along with Webscriptions, Jim Baen created the Baen Free Library. This is a special place where authors can offer their books for free. The idea was that if people could read a book for free, they might like it and want to buy more books from that author. This strategy also helped increase sales, even though some people thought giving away books for free was a bad idea.
Connecting with Readers
Jim Baen was very active on the Baen website's online discussion area, called Baen's Bar, which he started in 1997. He enjoyed talking about many topics, including evolutionary biology, space technology, and military history.
His involvement on the forums even helped John Ringo become a published author. Ringo was a regular on Baen's Bar, and after discussing his writing with Jim Baen, his novel A Hymn Before Battle was accepted for publication. This shows how much Jim Baen valued connecting with his readers and discovering new talent.
Later Projects
In 2000, Jim Baen was honored as the editor guest at Chicon 2000, a major science fiction event. He continued to innovate, helping to expand popular book series like Eric Flint's 1632 by encouraging other writers to contribute to a shared universe.
He also supported the creation of The Grantville Gazettes, an online magazine that published fan fiction related to the 1632 series. Some of these stories were later published as physical books.
Jim Baen's Universe
In late 2005, Jim Baen announced plans for a new online science fiction magazine. It was first called Baen's Astounding Stories, but later renamed Jim Baen's Universe. The magazine, edited by Eric Flint, released its first issue in June 2006. It featured stories from authors like David Drake and Timothy Zahn.
Sadly, Jim Baen's Universe closed down in August 2009 because it couldn't get enough subscribers to continue publishing.
Jim Baen's Legacy
Jim Baen had two daughters, Jessica and Katherine. He suffered a serious stroke on June 12, 2006, and passed away on June 28 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He did not regain consciousness, but he was able to see the first issue of his new magazine, Jim Baen's Universe, before he died.
Jim Baen's ideas about e-books and his strong stance against DRM have become more accepted over time. Many in the publishing world now agree with his methods. His courage to try new things and prove that non-encrypted e-books could boost sales is considered a very important part of his legacy.
See also
In Spanish: Jim Baen para niños
