Author to give up Writing due to Illegal Downloads

[Stephen Palmer]

Giving away the first couple of chapters of a novel is a well-worn technique. And I'm sure I've got quite a few books where the first chapter of the next book is at the end. It could certainly work as an ebook technique.

 

[jojajihisc]

The latter also makes sense though because ten thousand times the amount of readers are reading your work and being affected in some way by your words and that's a powerful thing. That has it's own value.

On the face of it, that appears to be true. In reality, when people pay little or nothing for something, they generally hold it cheap.

The value I'm talking about here is not for the consumer but for the author. There is value in simply having your book reach ten thousand potential readers as opposed to one.

More people having the book does not necessarily mean more people being moved by it in some way.

The one person who has that singular copy isn't even necessarily going to read it for that matter.

But it's true what you say here it doesn't necessarily mean more people are going to moved (although the word I used was affected). What it does mean is that the odds are considerably higher though. The scenario I proposed (1 person vs. 10,000) was an exaggeration but done to make a point. The more people who have the opportunity to read your book the more likely it is to affect somebody - for better or worse.

 

[jojajihisc]

The latter also makes sense though because ten thousand times the amount of readers are reading your work and being affected in some way by your words and that's a powerful thing. That has it's own value.

I probably should be more clear hear too and say that the value to the author is not a monetary one but a more elemental satisfaction. I think if the money is equal (and maybe for some authors this isn't even necessary) this is a natural reason why a writer would like to reach more readers.

 

[Ursa major]

It is certainly true that many authors really do wish their work to be "out there" and (theoretically) being read, to the extent that they will pay to have it published; hence the existence of vanity publishing**.

One could argue that for this type of author, the public acceptance of ebooks as a valid way of publishing is a boon. Putting their own free copies of their work on the web Internet is likely to be much cheaper for this type of author than getting a vanity publisher to produce a paper version.



** - Well it's one of the reasons for the existence of vanity publishing; a more important one will probably be the greed of the publisher.

 

[Cayal]

From http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/dec/20/spanish-novelist-quits-piracy-protest​

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If you thought some GRRM fans could be stroppy, that's nothing to some of those who have downloaded, for free, Etxebarria's books:

The entitlement lobby in full voice, it seems.

.

I'd be curious to see this authors sales of books vs ebooks. Is she actually losing sales, or are people reading her books who normally wouldn't?

Be an interesting comparison I think.

 

[Arkose]

Maybe I am taking the issue lightly but it seems to me that the book industry did not learn from the music industry and so was doomed to repeat it.

It will take some time but the industry will change and rectify the problem. Yes, hackers will always be able to crack/break a copy but you could never stop shoplifting of books either.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

There is the book industry and its mistakes, and then there are the individual writers who may be helped or hurt by piracy. The book industry is NOT like the music industry. Somehow people insist on comparing the two. It may just be that the industry as a whole benefits from wider distribution of books -- therefore, they only put up a token resistance -- yet while it may benefit some authors and through them their publishers, writers of lesser stature might be caught up in the machinery and ground to pieces by the practice.

Surely whether to take the risk should be up to the individual writer, and not up to others -- particularly the pirates who, when it comes down to it, don't give a damn about whether it helps or hurts the writers. They may use the "it's all for your own good" mantra to excuse what they've done, but who among us doesn't believe that they would do the same regardless?

 

[jojajihisc]

It should be up to me to determine if I want my home burglarized as well. Now, how do I ensure that my choice is respected?

 

[Elaine]

I have very mixed feelings about piracy on the internet and the "free" flow of information that generates then internet. I am an author, although my work is with ghostwriting, mostly creative pieces. Additionally I work for a small, new publishing company, Booktrope Publishing, and I see the issue from two sides.

The internet has changed the way people publish, hence the way they get paid for their work. Writers write no matter what. The joy and craft of writing is the main motivation - and, of course, it's a noble one. But a writer would rather write full-time. That makes sense, doesn't it? It is preferable to work on what you love full-time than an alternative. The problem with that is that you have to sell your ware using that model, otherwise starve. Writers don't want to starve so they sell using the old model way through large publishing houses.

That's a lovely model. It has worked for years, even centuries. But even with that model, in order to make money, the writer (and publisher) has to sell many, many books to make a living. But, book piracy was much harder with print because it is painstaking. The internet (not to overstate the obvious) has changed all of that.

With the internet and the advent of the e-reader, a writer need no longer publish paper. They can publish digital. Digital sales means selling huge volumes of books - many more books - in order to make a full-time living out of writing. Then there is piracy - downloading books is easy. And of course, piracy means the author is giving away books for free. That has changed the landscape. Writers, therefore, need those day jobs.

It may, however, mean that the full-time writer needs to add internet marketing. As I said, I also work for Booktrope Publishing. Booktrope sells through social media. They also offer their books for free - its the old word-of-mouth, get it out of the library model and it seems to work. It does require, however, that the writer get into social media and connect with people.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that it is possible to be successful as a writer, but that the writer has to use the internet to their advantage.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

A good analogy, in that the pirates are thieves, although they like to present their activities in a different light entirely. They are thieves and should be treated as thieves by our law enforcement officials. We can install alarms, we can get a dog (which experts say is the best burglar alarm around), we can put extra locks on our doors, and to a certain extent these are effective, but in the end, law enforcement is our final recourse against housebreakers (as well as pickpockets, the kid who hot-wires your car and steals it, etc.)

Unfortunately, when the law comes down on pirates or those who take advantage of what they offer, there is a big fuss, as though innocent people are being persecuted. Ah, poor kids, they didn't know that they shouldn't take what belongs to other people without asking first. It's no different than receiving stolen property. The public should be made aware of that fact and educated as to the penalties. Then if they do it, let the consequences be on their own heads.

Some of them would be discouraged if they knew the penalties. Blaming the victim is counterproductive.

 

[jojajihisc]

Cracking down on ebook piracy with increased law enforcement (and I'm guessing you'd be in favor of litigation too?) is exactly like the music industry approach - prosecuting fans and alienating customers. Good luck with that. Saying it should be the author's choice if his works are pirated is meaningless because it is not something one can decide when theft will occur regardless.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

People who think they have a right to your work without paying for it aren't customers. If they can be alienated if a writer asserts his or her rights, then they certainly aren't fans, though people like to pretend that they are.


And it may not be up to the writer whether his or her work is pirated, but it is up to him or her to decide what to do about it, right up to litigation. If there is risk in that, then again, it's the writer's decision to make.

The culture of entitlement is widespread, not limited to book or music piracy, and hurts us all. Those who defend it are complicit. I somehow doubt that when it touches them many of those who dismiss it's effects on others will remain silent ... or appreciate those who insist that they should.

 

[Boneman]

Cracking down on ebook piracy with increased law enforcement (and I'm guessing you'd be in favor of litigation too?) is exactly like the music industry approach - prosecuting fans and alienating customers. Good luck with that. Saying it should be the author's choice if his works are pirated is meaningless because it is not something one can decide when theft will occur regardless.

Forgive me if I'm wrong Jo, but you still seem to be condoning it... 'prosecuting fans and alienating people'?? Prosecuting thieves and alienating wrongdoers, surely???

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I think what was being said was that if someone downloads a book they're a reader, regardless from what source, which shouldn't condone theft.

There's a lot to be said for the educational aspect, and this is where ISP's need to step up to the mark. If I do a search through say google or AOL and it throws up a site, I assume (wrongly I now know, as of yesterday actually) that there has been no quality assurance check of this, even to check for legality. So, now I know it's illegal, and that the authors and publishers aren't getting paid for it, I won't download.

But I wouldn't have before I ended up sinking into the miasma of the Chrons and would have downloaded, without a care in the world, because I would have assumed it was okay. So, why are they on the search engines and being given validity. It's a worldwide issue and needs a worldwide solution. But since they can't even decide how to run the euro in what? 12 countries; what's the chances of that?

 

[Boneman]

But I'm sure they'll end up killing the goose that lays the downloaded eggs - Publishers of very successful authors won't release e-books. I know someone can scan the whole book and do it that way, but then it's plain who is stealing, isn't it? And if paedophiles can be tracked on the net, then maybe the industry will collectively invest in the sort of software than can track book thieves as well?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

You know, games manufacturers seem to be able to do; or maybe I just don't know enough, by using their little cartridges. Is this the way forward? Or are they just more savvy?

 

[Arkose]

This is what I was getting at with the link between Music industry and Book industry. I wasn't talking about the views each have but what was done and when it was done. I was NOT taking the arguments used for each side, I was talking about how the book industry took no steps to stop something that was bound to happen as history has shown us (not if its right or wrong, or even justified).

Music was pirated as soon as CD burners appeared, but took off with MP3s. The Book industry had books stolen by scanning but it really took off with ebooks. The first comment against piracy was the musicians and thats the same you see with ebooks. Nothing was done though the music indusrtry untill the actual companies start caring. There is no reason why illegal downloads can not be tracked, and there is no reason why no one can't be prosecuted. We are just waiting until it becomes a big enough issue (loss of company money) that action will be taken.

Again, all I was saying is that the book industry failed at learning from the music industry past experience with MP3's, and now we are slowly repeating the same process. I am not blaming anyone but the book industry lack of staying a step ahead, its still the "pirates" fault, but a company needs to think ahead to thrive.

But I'm sure they'll end up killing the goose that lays the downloaded eggs - Publishers of very successful authors won't release e-books. I know someone can scan the whole book and do it that way, but then it's plain who is stealing, isn't it? And if paedophiles can be tracked on the net, then maybe the industry will collectively invest in the sort of software than can track book thieves as well?

Your right, and it will happen when publishers start throwing money at stopping it.

 

[jojajihisc]

Forgive me if I'm wrong Jo, but you still seem to be condoning it... 'prosecuting fans and alienating people'?? Prosecuting thieves and alienating wrongdoers, surely???

Still? I never have condoned it. Don't confuse condoning it with suggesting it may not have the effects people seem to assume that it does and those effects might make all the difference. You assume every person that is caught up in any mass attempt to reign in piracy will only catch those who are guilty of it to begin with. It won't if it's done in the same inefficient way the music industry has gone about it.

 

[AMB]

Music was pirated as soon as CD burners appeared, but took off with MP3s.

So you are telling me no one ever made copies of cassette tapes and gave them out to friends?

 

[Christopher Lee]

This is not the first writer I have heard who had this problem ... except that the other writer (I forget her name) was cancelled by her publisher because her book earned practically no money, meanwhile there were thousands and thousands of pirated downloads.

Which, if true, would rather shoot down the idea that if people like something enough they will turn around and pay money for it even after they've been able to get it for free.

But, hey, if writers are supposed to work merely out of passion, why not actors, musicians, dancers, engineers, computer programmers, accountants, doctors ... if you don't have a passion for what you are doing and aren't happy just because people want to avail themselves of your services, you're obviously in the wrong job.

Right? Is everyone willing to live by that principle, or is it only writers who aren't supposed to be paid for what they do?

When only the writers who are willing to work for free are writing, I think we will see that only writers who are willing to turn out garbage are writing.

Why? Because those who put little effort, time, or passion into their writing are the only ones who will be able to fit it into their busy schedules.

I mean give me a f---ing break. Most of us get paid less for a year or two of work than most people make in a couple of months. And those with comfortable jobs who can afford all their little electronic toys they use to read a writer's pirated work are going to take our pittance away because we're supposed to do it all for love and be glad they deign to read our work which they don't even value enough to pay for the same as they pay for all their other entertainment? We do do it for love. Otherwise we'd spend our time doing something that would allow us to maintain a decent standard of living.

Right on the money Teresa