Author to give up Writing due to Illegal Downloads

[j d worthington]

But those who are upset with the author for never writing again have a point[....]

(Interference: This is not directed at you personally, but rather at that argument, specifically at that statement/sentiment, which has long been a bugbear of the writing profession.)

I don't mean to be too curt or rude here, but... the hell they do! When anyone expects a writer -- or any other artist -- to continue working to provide things for them just because of the love of their art and with the recipient providing no recompense, the writer (or other artist) doesn't owe anyone squat.

Readers have the right to purchase a writer's book or not, as they choose. They have absolutely no right to dictate how the writer does his/her work, what they write about, how they write about it, or anybloodything else having to do with their art, except the right to support it or not, as it pleases them or doesn't. If they don't like what the writer is writing, then don't read it. If they do, then, like everything else from cars to candy-bars, they bloody well need to pay for it!

Yes, it is difficult for most writers to stop writing (though it does happen); but seeking to get what they write published... that's another thing. If all they get in return for their efforts (which, as Teresa has stated, is often back-breaking labor for long hours/weeks/months/years with darned little financial remuneration to begin with) is to have their work stolen, then why on earth should they put themselves through the added trials and tribulations of submissions and the long wait for publication, etc.?

All the self-serving rationalizations in the world don't do away with the simple fact that this is stealing, period. It is taking the product of someone's labor (not to mention the emotional input which usually goes into the best writing) without any form of payment to the laborer. As others have said, with any other kind of product besides the arts (whether writing, music, painting, or what-have-you), this discussion wouldn't even get off the ground. I see no reason why these should be seen any differently.

If a writer chooses to put their work out there for free, that's quite a different matter; but it is theirs, and not someone else's, and no one -- at least, no one who has not bought all the rights to such a work -- has the moral or ethical right to say anything about what said writer does with it.

Jojahisic: I refer you to Teresa's post above, where she tells of the writer who lost her publishing contract due to such pirating. Such a case may be unique... but I sincerely doubt it.

 

[HareBrain]

She hasn't said she won't write again, only that she won't publish.

I've been following a similar approach for years.

 

[Scarfy]

"We decided against publishing it as an ebook because that is easy to pirate. It would have been like throwing it straight to the lions," Etxebarria said.

Um... what..? Upload it to Kindle, iBookstore, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, etc, charge 2 euros for it, and you'll then make at least *some* money, rather than *no money*. Silly, silly idea!

 

[Dave]

"If you had a real vocation then you wouldn't stop writing."

It is this statement that I find most fascinating. Why do people single out writers for this among other professions?

Lots of people enjoy their work so much that they could never do anything else, and while they are very lucky to do so, because many others do not, they still need to put food on the table, and pay the mortgage like everyone else. There are a lot of jobs that are seriously underpaid because they are considered partly charitable, or in some way worthy, but the workers still get given a living wage.

Is this the view of a majority of people? (It also strikes me that the illegal down-loaders are more likely to be younger and therefore the comments might be from people who really need a little more life-experience.) Not being Spanish I don't know the demographics of her readers, so is this a view expressed often to all authors?

On a wider note, something has to give on this front soon. If we don't start to pay properly for creativity then we will get none. Not just in books, but in games, TV, design - across the board everything will become beige and bland.

 

[Boneman]

"Stealing is not a profit-making job, but a passion," said Kelly Sánchez, one of the least vitriolic critics. "If you had a real vocation then you wouldn't stop stealing."

I think this sums up Kelly Sanchez and all the others... And maybe now Publishers might think a little harder about being so quick to put their author's work in a position that is so easy for Ms Sanchez and the other thieves to take. E-Publishing is in its infancy and I applaud Extebarria for her stand. The attendant publicity of what the internet is sanctioning might bring some changes that protect both the publisher and the writer.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I don't know about the economics of the internet, but it seems to me that this problem will always exist as long as there are means to do so. I just wonder are the current revenue streams outdated and is there an argument to say this will happen, so link it to advertising etc and seek to get the authors revenue through another way other than sales. People are reading the work; maybe we're just looking at payment from the wrong end of the microscope.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Let me first say that I was shocked to read this article, and even went to her facebook site to read the messages for myself.

First it seemed to me (and the translation program is woeful so I could be a little off) that the people who supported her outnumbered the 'trolls' by at least ten to one - which strikes me as a good thing.

Second, the other thing I noticed there was that she does public appearances in Spain, and personally invited the trolls to appear in person. None came. (why does that not surprise me?)

Last, and the thing that bothers me most, is that she has won some serious awards worth a lot of money, one was over half a million euros.

So what does that tell me when taken as a whole? First, piracy is a problem and a lot larger then people seem to want to accept. If a writer of her status can't make a living writing, then it strongly suggests that the hope for the rest of us is bleak.

Even if we write a masterpiece, actuyally especially then, the likelihood is that we will see only a small proportion of of our royalties coming back to us. I don't know about you guys, but I like my royalty checks even if I can't live on them. Now if my books were suddenly to be pirated and my royalty checks were halved or worse, I would be distinctly unhappy.

Next, despite all the views constantly expressed here and in other fora that piracy pushes an author's sales or at least does no harm to them, the prima face evidence in this case seems to suggest it doesn't. Piracy does not seem to be helping at all. I would suggest that the former view was always a little pie in the sky.

Then we turn to the pirates themselves. A few of them seem to have had the guts or gall to express themselves as annoyed by this author's decision to stop writing. But it would seem that most of the pirates have said nothing at all. Do they feel guilty? Are they maybe willing to pay for her books that they have stolen? It would seem not. A handful have defended themselves, very poorly, as believing they have a right to take for free and that artists have no right to expect recompense for their work, the rest have simply remained anonymous. But I doubt it's guilt that silences them. Merely the possibility that they might be opening themselves up to criticism and maybe even prosecution.

But, and here is the important question, are these thousands (?) of pirates going to amend their ways? My thought is no. They like getting things for free, and they aren't concerned in the least that they might be hurting someone. After all it's not like they actually wandered into her house and stole the book off her bookshelf. That would be theft plain and simple. This though seems like something else to them. They don't see the victim and so to them it's a victimless crime.

I think having looked at this case as best I can, which is limited since I don't speak Spanish, it throws a gauntlet down to all of us. If we want to write and never have any intention of publishing for money, then we can publish for free and piracy will never be an issue. But if we dream of making an income from it, of perhaps writing full time, then piracy has to be seen as a threat to that dream.

All the bashing about the pain of DRM and the oft quoted view that piracy helps an author, does not help.

So I put the questionback to all of you. Do you have that dream? And if so, do you now see that dream as being in danger?

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

This is the curse of the internet. Creativity is being killed. Enjoy the future...

 

[Anne Lyle]

I agree that the real problem is the ever-growing "entitlement society" rather than the loss of sales for an individual author. After all, many of the people who download these massive torrents are doing so because it's easier than finding and selecting individual books for download - maybe they're into epic fantasy and would never in a million years read your space opera, free or not. A thousand downloads of a given book =/= a thousand lost sales. But if books in general are not being paid for, then authors as a group suffer.

I also don't think it helps when retailers like Amazon make it easy for people to sign up for freebies and then push a load of random stuff onto their ereaders. I've noticed a sudden trend in 1-star reviews on Amazon that basically say: "I got this through Amazon Vine and I hate SF/romance/(insert disliked genre)". I mean, WTF? That isn't a review of the book, it's a review of Amazon Vine!

The whole culture is one of "ebooks aren't real books", which is depressing...

 

[Boneman]

And dammit, I can't find the article now, but I read in the Telegraph an excellent treatise on the e-book phenomena, which said that there would be an initial massive surge of interest worldwide (which we're seeing) followed by the world and his wife putting books on the internet, 99% of which will be unreadable, and interest would plummet. There will be millions to choose from and no way of sorting the wheat from the chaff, so normal service would be resumed in a few years.

As Anne has pointed out, Amazon is already effectively shooting itself in the foot... they are becoming an online bric-a-brac shop. I've made a conscious decision not to use Amazon for any book purchases, except to track booksellers, if I have to.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

And I think there's a real danger for all of us in this; I've been thinking about this and whether to go the ebook route and have pretty well decided that I won't, even if I don't get the blinking thing accepted. It's just that my effort's bound to get tarred with the same brush and seen as unprintable rubbish.
Perhaps we need a little time for the industry to respond to the changes, to consider their economic models, and find a way to cope with it all?

 

[Anne Lyle]

My books will be published as DRM-free epubs, as well as the usual Kindle et al, so no-one has to resort to piracy to get it in the format they want*. It's one of the things I love about Angry Robot's approach to publishing - they totally get digital.

On a personal sales level, piracy doesn't bother me too much, because genuine fans will pay for books - it's the wider implications, esp the devaluing of books in general, that's the killer issue IMHO.

* the only piracy motive that I have the slightest sympathy with, having gone through several incompatible ereaders in the last five years

 

[Lilmizflashythang]

Hey Interface, I have a story, not that it's happened, more of a moral one.

Let's say you are a video game developer. You create this wonderful sci-fi epic. Beautiful graphics, tight storyline, characters that anyone can relate to. You decide to cut the cost of the hardcopy. It's an online download for $29.00. You get all the money.

Because it's an online download, a teenager decides that he shouldn't have to pay, and neither does anyone else. He hacks into your website and steals the game. Then he loads it into a torrent download.

Now people can still pay $29 a copy, or they can go to any of this guy's torrents and get it free.

How much money do you think you just lost?

 

[psychotick]

Hi Anne,

I think the question I would have for you is who exactly are these 'genuine fans'? What proportion of the people who read your books are they? Because I suspect most people who read your books would much rather read them for free. Being a fan doesn't mean that you want to pay if you don't have to.

This woman is an acknowledged and respected author. She has a sales history and some big awards behind her. She is in a way where I suspect most of us would one day dream of being. But she's saying that she can't make an income from her writing any more. So clearly her 'genuine fans' are not a large enough chunk of her readers to pay her bills.

So I come back to what I was saying. If you never had any real hope or dream of selling enough books to make a living, then piracy is not an issue for you. If on the other hand you do have that dream, then it looks like piracy is placing it in real jeopardy.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Dozmonic]

I guess it comes down to what you need to live. Half a million euros is £416,000. That's some years of living, especially if you're thrifty.

 

[Anne Lyle]

Hi Anne,
I think the question I would have for you is who exactly are these 'genuine fans'?

Well, the people who know me on- and offline who have already ordered my book, for a start. People who aren't part of that "entitlement culture" and don't mind spending a few pounds to support a friend. They do exist, you know!

What proportion of the people who read your books are they?

That would be hard to answer, since my book isn't out yet, except as a paperback ARC that's been sent to a few reviewers.

Because I suspect most people who read your books would much rather read them for free. Being a fan doesn't mean that you want to pay if you don't have to.

Absolutely. Free books are always nice - and book bloggers can sign up to join the Robot Army and get free review copies.

However "would rather read them for free" is a million miles from "will resort to piracy rather than buy the book".

So I come back to what I was saying. If you never had any real hope or dream of selling enough books to make a living, then piracy is not an issue for you. If on the other hand you do have that dream, then it looks like piracy is placing it in real jeopardy.

Absolutely. I do think piracy is a bad and annoying thing, and I worry what it will do to books and literature in the short/medium term. But there's zero I can do about it, so why get my knickers in a twist?

 

[Brian G Turner]

I have to admit, I'm tempted to file this under "prima donna tantrum".

Reading up on her, it seems she's no stranger to controversy, not least proven accusations of her directly plagiarising from other writers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc%C3%ADa_Etxebarr%C3%ADa

It seems her current spin is that as her last novel did not reach the bestseller lists, then pirates must have killed the sales.

Which to me a spurious association, especially as her last novel was published before the financial crisis.

We can all pontificate about piracy, but I think we've all done it. When I was younger my friends always shared taped music - it allowed us to explore and find which artists we really liked. And then we went out and bought their albums and went to their concerts.

True, digital media creates a sense of low value, and yes, ebook publishing will create new issues with piracy. But I think it'll only be similar to what happened with music. The world's most popular bands have not been killed off, and artists have challenged outdated business models the music industry pushed on.

I think the publishing industry will be challenged with their own models. After all, I see ebooks selling a mere £1 cheaper than the book form which creates a perception of greed and skewed value.

We will see a lot of serious issues raised, but we'll also see a lot of fluff and nonsense published about it as well.

And I'm sorry, I think Etxebarria is part of the fluff: a writer with almost a million in prizes for writing, now claiming she'll give it up for a day job? I don't think so.

 

[psychotick]

Hi Anne,

"However "would rather read them for free" is a million miles from "will resort to piracy rather than buy the book"."

And I think that's where your argument falls down. Sure in the physical world it is a million miles from buying a book to going into someone's home and physically flogging it. That's theft and it's so clear and obvious that no one could argue it. But in the digital world it's just a few clicks of a mouse. It's still theft and you can't argue it. But it's so quick and easy, and you never have to see the person you're stealing from or go to their house. It's theft but it doesn't look like theft to so many.

And then you get the issue obfuscated by all these people who believe that all information should be free. They're wrong, but I think the only way they would realise it is if you told them that the free information was on a book in someone's house and told them to go and steal it. Then they'd probably turn around and say that's theft. But until that physical reality hits them in the face they'll stick to their flawed principles.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Can I ask a really stupid question? you know I'm going to anyway.

When I was a kid there was a book in the library which was read by every single girl in my class and we all wrote a couple of words at the back about it; by the time I read it the 2nd time, there were about 40 of us who'd read it, without paying the author anything. Anyway, this particular book went out of print for years, and finally, by popular demand was reprinted (thus saving me hours in 2nd hand bookstores looking for a couple to sell on Ebay, it was worth a couple of hundred quid at one point).

Or, i bought One day; girl's night to the cinema and I reckoned I wanted to read the book first, I nearly always do. So far my mum's read ir, my best friend, my ex-childminder's best mate, my work colleague and her mum and one of the mum's at Rainbows. All one copy. Nothing unusual there; I could put my hands on many many books here which someone else bought and recycled to me, or vice versa, plus loads and loads of 2nd hand ones; I have a habit, I'm afraid, and the rest of the family are worse.

So, what's the difference? I've rarely paid full price for any book - or anything else for that matter - I'm happy to blag and I'm happy to also be the first in the chain, too.

I'm sure I'm being dense, but there you go; passed around books, nothing new.

 

[HareBrain]

Springs, one major point is that each physical copy only exists once. A hundred people can't call you up and demand that you hand over your copy of a certain book instantly. So if someone wants a paper book, and doesn't know a friend who has it (or hasn't taken the time to find out) they might well buy it. With piracy, it's just a few keystrokes to get a free copy. In theory, only one e-copy need be bought for a billion people to read it -- this just isn't the case with paper.

Also, authors do get a small amount of money from library loans.