One benefit is publishing competition. You can buy most popular public domain novels for $2~$5. On Amazon right now, the first hit for A Modest Proposal (a very short piece) is $2.25, and the first hit for Huckleberry Finn is $4.05. There may be even cheaper options if you dig through the hundreds of other editions.<p>And of course you can get digital copies from sites like Project Gutenberg.