Last night, I read Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi. It's an online shareware novel, as good as 90% of the paperback SF on the shelves now.

The author, after working out that a successful midlist author earns about a dollar and fifty-eight cents a day for the labor of writing a book, elected not to go through the aggravation and the years long process of getting published, and so instead put it online. All he asks is that if you like it, sent him at least a dollar and tell other people that you liked it. Well, I've sent him a couple of bucks, and now I'm telling you.

It's a good read. Go take a look.