Piracy
I have this post in mind that I want to write, about book piracy over the internet and the sharing of electronic-format books, but I can't figure out how to get it properly arranged.
As an aspiring author, and online friend (they keep getting restraining orders to keep me away from them in person) of Real Authors, I can certainly understand how it would be maddening to lose revenue. If you're only getting $0.65 per copy sold, then every single copy that gets read is important to maintaining a living, or at least living on name-brand mac and cheese.
On the other hand, I can understand where some* of the people participating in the sharing come from. If I had to buy every book I wanted to read, I would be going without the name brand mac and cheese myself. I'm lucky that my sister and I can share some series and I occasionally get offered an ARC or author copy. Which leads me into a long socio-economic diatribe about our instant gratification mentality mixed with 24 hour news and the internet, which is where I get bogged down. If I was a Harry Potter reader, for example, or a Twihard, and the Final Book Ever was coming out...it's not just a question of being greedy and wanting it instead of waiting on the list at the library. It's the fact that, in that little bubble following release, facts and plotlines are going to be readily discussed and out there, often without any warning. It's also the fact that libraries, in these days of budget cuts, aren't ordering as many books.
I don't know if there's an answer. I mean "don't steal" is a pretty clear guideline. It's not complete, though, in addressing the unfilled demand of voracious readers or ever-increasing price points that don't reach the artist/creator. It's a "Just Say No" approach that mirrors the proper approach, but fails to incorporate the reasons why people are saying "yes" and breaking the law.
*I'm envisioning the person that buys a bunch of books, fairly regularly, but still downloads others. Through completely unofficial and unverifiable anecdotal evidence, I believe this model is fairly prevalent and worth discussing. To me, this is a question of "how do we serve existing customers" instead of a question of dealing with the snaggly-tooth internet rats who don't buy anything and steal just to steal.
As an aspiring author, and online friend (they keep getting restraining orders to keep me away from them in person) of Real Authors, I can certainly understand how it would be maddening to lose revenue. If you're only getting $0.65 per copy sold, then every single copy that gets read is important to maintaining a living, or at least living on name-brand mac and cheese.
On the other hand, I can understand where some* of the people participating in the sharing come from. If I had to buy every book I wanted to read, I would be going without the name brand mac and cheese myself. I'm lucky that my sister and I can share some series and I occasionally get offered an ARC or author copy. Which leads me into a long socio-economic diatribe about our instant gratification mentality mixed with 24 hour news and the internet, which is where I get bogged down. If I was a Harry Potter reader, for example, or a Twihard, and the Final Book Ever was coming out...it's not just a question of being greedy and wanting it instead of waiting on the list at the library. It's the fact that, in that little bubble following release, facts and plotlines are going to be readily discussed and out there, often without any warning. It's also the fact that libraries, in these days of budget cuts, aren't ordering as many books.
I don't know if there's an answer. I mean "don't steal" is a pretty clear guideline. It's not complete, though, in addressing the unfilled demand of voracious readers or ever-increasing price points that don't reach the artist/creator. It's a "Just Say No" approach that mirrors the proper approach, but fails to incorporate the reasons why people are saying "yes" and breaking the law.
*I'm envisioning the person that buys a bunch of books, fairly regularly, but still downloads others. Through completely unofficial and unverifiable anecdotal evidence, I believe this model is fairly prevalent and worth discussing. To me, this is a question of "how do we serve existing customers" instead of a question of dealing with the snaggly-tooth internet rats who don't buy anything and steal just to steal.