Good blog about e-books, publishing and piracy

[John McFetridge]

This blog post by Paul Cornell makes some good points about e-book, publishing and piracy:

 

http://www.paulcornell.com/2010/12/twelve-blogs-of-christmas-ten.html

 

Including stuff like:

 

1: Publishers have always thought that when you buy a hardback, what you're paying more for is the chance to own it on the day of publication. Paperbacks are cheaper because they come out a year later. The reading public, on the other hand, always thought what they were paying more for was the extra physical mass and quality... From this difference in perception stem all subsequent horrors.

 

Worth a look, I think.

 

[I. J. Parker]

Yes, but we are still assuming that the buyer remembers the title a year later, having waited patiently all this time after the initial publicity phase is over. I'm not sure it works that way.

[John McFetridge]

No, there's no reason to wait - make every version available at the same time. If the buyers of hardcovers and paperbacks and ebooks are really distinct then it won't make any difference.

 

 

[I. J. Parker]

:)  That's what I've been saying. The current system is flawed in so many ways.

[Pepper Smith]

Actually, paper books get pirated.  Sometimes it's by a company in a third-world country that prints knockoffs, and sells as the real thing in mostly third-world markets, or by people who scan in the text and offer it as an ebook online at pirate sites.

[I. J. Parker]

Well, I get pirated, and I am by no means successful. And I resent every single copy that someone gets for nothing, or next to nothing, or even at regular price, because that just means the loss of another sale, and a publisher who dumps the series. To the lesser known author, pirating can be extremely damaging.

[Pepper Smith]

Okay, I'm looking at this from the perspective of an author with a small press that offers ebooks and trade paperbacks.  I hear all the time about authors who are basically, to the majority of readers, unknown, who are being pirated so badly that there are more copies of their work being given away on pirate sites than are actually being sold.  One author had to abandon a series unfinished because more copies were being handed out free than she was selling.  Yes, it was already in ebook form.  But the point is, you don't have to be a nationally recognized author to get pirated.  You just have to write something that someone unscrupulous enjoyed reading and wants to share with his/her friends.  If they like it enough, they'll take the time to scan it in and share the file.

[Pepper Smith]

Yes, much of it is given away.  These people are often avid readers who just don't want to pay what the publishers want for the books, so one person will buy the book, scan it, and make the file available online for anyone in their group that wants to read it, for free.  Sometimes they live in countries where the book isn't available. Sometimes it's books that are out of print.  Some people don't realize they're doing something wrong, but the hard core pirates usually do know.  There are those out there who do try to sell the files, but much of it is done free.

[Pepper Smith]

Many people who pirate justify it with the thought that the author has already been paid, through the advance they get from the publisher.  They also believe publishers are making money hand over fist.  They don't tend to believe it when told otherwise.

 

When you're with a small enough press that doesn't pay an advance, and you don't make money unless people buy copies of the book, you tend to be much more aware of the damage pirates do to the careers of writers, and to the publishers, who often just survive on a very, very thin profit margin.  Pirates often claim to be fans of the authors they're pirating, joyfully sharing each new book as it comes out with their friends, and don't seem to realize they're destroying the careers of the very people they claim to be fans of.  They believe the myth that all authors are rich and get big advances.

[I. J. Parker]

Piracy is theft, pure and simple.  It's a criminal act, not a hobby for people trying make friends and influence people.

[I. J. Parker]

Most of my books are available as e-books, so that's probably true.  But Google Books scanned two of my print novels.