of blogs and ebooks
I mentioned in the comments the other night that I’d been having an interesting email conversation with a lurker–whose user name is Ithilien–about the purposes and validity of blogs and ebooks. I egged her on, I’m afraid, or possibly she found my cluelessness irresistible, and the end result is that she wrote me an essay. I found it entirely fascinating and asked if I might be allowed to post it. She said, post away, but that most of you would be bored to tears. Well, perhaps, because most of you more or less by definition are more clued in than I am. But not all of you. And while the stuff about ways to defend my books against piracy is probably more riveting to me than to anyone who does not write books for a living, much of the rest of it interests me more as a reader and book-buyer and -consumer than as a writer. So I think you might find it worth a look, and possibly thought- and/or comment-provoking.
(I’m also assuming that WordPress can cope: it’s pretty long. But it seems to have cut and pasted okay.)
1. Despite what the publishers say, I think blogs are useful.* IMHO,
blogging (apart from the diary kind) is about building a community.
This generates awareness and goodwill and fun distractions and
publicity for upcoming books. But it takes a lot of work to be a good
host, enforce rules, and encourage a community of people who like your
books (and thus talk about them and buy them later). Alas, blogging
won’t magically promote an author’s books to bestseller lists.
2. The thing about e-books is that they have different properties to
paper books. So they’re generally an additional market rather than
a substitute for paper books. A small additional market.
Unfortunately, piracy of e-books is a problem because it’s easy to
make copies. But piracy is a problem even if you sell only paper books
(because paper books can easily be converted to e-books due to the
existence of sharp knives and good scanners), so refusing to enter the
e-book market isn’t reducing your vulnerability to piracy. The ways to
reduce piracy are to make things easier for legitimate users when they
want to buy your e-books, encourage people to become legitimate users
through moral and legal persuasion, make things harder for pirates
through reinforcing social norms against piracy, and take appropriate
search and destroy action.
Essays may be found below. Feel free to point out gaping holes or
unfounded assumptions (if you can be bothered, of course). These are
things I feel passionately enthusiastic about, so it’s always good to
patch the holes before the next debate.
* Not necessarily in the way that they meant them to be useful, but still.
*Essay 1 – The Benefits of Blogs*
========================
Robin wrote: “Zowie. Okay. Well, I like the idea that this blog is
FINALLY GOOD FOR SOMETHING. I told you, didn’t I, that the *current*
publishing thinking is that blogs are NOT worthwhile as stirring the
zeitgeist toward a given author? Sigh.”
—-
You mean, they made you do all that work and now they don’t think it’s
makes a difference? Gah. *glares at publishers* Although I can’t
complain on my own behalf. I’m very glad that you have a blog.
More seriously, I think they’re probably doing it wrong. The problem
with publishers tends to be that they treat blogging as just another
corporate marketing exercise. For an awful example, see the EOS blog
(http://outofthiseos.typepad.com/blog/). It’s the blog of an imprint.
An imprint isn’t a person. It can’t share its interests or ideas or
amusing thoughts about the world. So all you have is a list of
vaguely-related marketing announcements. And frankly, that’s just
boring. Try the new Tor.com blog (http://www.tor.com). Tor has picked
a great group of hosts/moderators for their blog. Well-regarded,
entertaining hosts like John Scalzi, Jo Walton, Charles Stross,
Patrick Nielsen Hayden (PNH) who (are paid reasonable rates to)
publish entries about about diverse and fascinating topics related to
SFF. There are free short stories that reinforce interest in existing
books/series, as well as articles about the world of science, book
reviews, convention reports, etc. It’s just great content.
Of course, the best blogs aren’t just an entertaining newsletter from
SFF dignitaries. A good blog is a bit like a party or a convention.
You have a venue and a host and rules about what’s appropriate or not.
And gossip and serious discussion on interesting conversation topics
(nominated by the host in consultation with the guests). As you may
have noticed, half the value of a blog is the positive feedback loops
- the discussion with hosts and guests. So you end up building a
community of people who may never have met each other, but share
recipes and cool links and so on. (EOS has utterly failed here – there
appear to be no moderators, no regular commentors, no authors nor
editors who can be bothered to spend time there. I’ve commented a
couple of times with questions or problems and no one from EOS has
answered. So why would anyone go there?)
So why bother with all this work? Well, there are a few reasons. (Some
people had their publisher force them to do it.) Some people are
looking for human contact, particularly those who might not otherwise
see many people during their daily life. There’s a certain fulfillment
in sharing the stories of one’s life, both sorrows and amusements,
with others who can sympathise and give advice and sometimes offer
help. There’s the pleasure of spreading neat stuff amongst one’s
friends – like Dr Horrible and Blue Horse Matinee and new recipes and
so on. Some people want make their opinions public, to change the
world through persuasion or education. Others are trying to publicise
their work or gain income through advertising links. Some people want
to provide supplementary material to their books. Some people make
their blogs into books, e.g. (http://www.anonymouslawfirm.com). John
Scalzi has just published a second book featuring the best of his blog
over the last ten years.++ Often, some of these purposes get mixed up
in a single blog.
Most of the authors’ blogs that I see are a mix of the above things.
But personally, I think the best part of their blogs is those little
titbits of information that don’t justify a media release by their
publishers. Like sneak previews of their next book or little details
about what didn’t make it into the book itself.+++ It builds
anticipation as we watch the wordcount go up on the next book of a
series (e.g. Elizabeth Bear’s CHILL) and sympathise with the Author as
he/she slogs through the hard bits in the middle of the book. It gets
the early word out for release dates – people will spread this news
because they adore your books. It lets your devoted fans run to their
friends and family and independent booksellers and scream excitedly
“CHALICE! CHALICE! September! Order 50 copies now!” Or tell other fans
that long-awaited books are coming. (CYTEEN 2! C J Cherryh has finally
written CYTEEN 2!!!). It keeps interest in a series or a world or an
author alive in the long stretch between books.++++ It’s hard to buy
something that you didn’t know existed. Last night at dinner, I was
holding ROSE DAUGHTER and asked my friend if she’d read it. She said
“I had no idea she wrote books other than BEAUTY!”
If it comforts you, I think you’re doing brilliantly with your blog.
Thank you! :)
You’re gathering a group of dedicated people WHO WANT TO READ THINGS
THAT YOU WRITE, from tiny snippets about roses, to recipes, to stories
about the hellhounds, to the very latest of your novels. And I can
guarantee that they’re talking about them. Because it’s human to share
good things with those you love. And sometimes random strangers in
bookstores. + I’m particularly resentful that their free giveaway e-books require
registration and then don’t work. And I’m a fairly tech-savvy reader.
I bet they’re going to claim no one is interested in e-books when they
look at the download stats.
++ Your Hate Mail Will be Graded
(http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SP&Product_Code=scalzi07)
+++ Hint, hint: what happens next to Sunshine???
++++ This is not aimed at you. None of my favourite writers write fast enough.
*Essay 2 – The Piracy of E-books*
========================
Robin wrote: “If you have the time and patience, I’d be very
interested in what else you can tell me about all this. **Sigh.** This
is the sort of mixed blessing that the blog is too: all this stuff is
so much more in my face than it used to be.”
—-
Okay. Back to the thing you actually asked about. Some of this is
pretty basic, but I’m not sure where you’re starting from.
Almost all the copyright violations (piracy) that people are currently
interested in discussing are digital in form. Impecunious readers
could borrow your books from the library and photocopy them, but it’s
just too much work. Plus the photocopying costs more than most books.
So we’re talking about e-books.
*What’s an e-book?*
—————————–
E-books are basically computer files that contain the text and
pictures of books. They come in a number of formats, including plain
text files, Word documents, Microsoft reader files, Mobipocket files,
and an assortment of others. There are lots of formats. The format
that you have may affect the presentation of the book – Terry
Pratchett’s Discworld books, for example, don’t work as well in e-book
format because it stuffs up the proper placement of the footnotes.
More ordinarily, plain text files won’t have pictures, italics, bold,
etc, which may significantly affect the meaning of the text.# Some
formats are easy to access – they don’t require anything more than
what you would already have on your computer. Some are harder – you
need to download stuff, get it to connect to its home base over the
internet, authenticate yourself, etc. Some are so hard that you need
to buy a new reading device to read them.
The major benefits of e-books are that you can obtain them instantly,
from anywhere with an Internet connection (well, almost) and that
they’re relatively small so that you can store lots and lots of them
on your computer or PDA or thumb drive or memory card rather than
needing to buy a giant house with floor to ceiling bookshelves or
(*gasp*) getting rid of some books. This property is also useful for
long plane flights and military deployments and holidays (and when
you’re moving house and can’t remember which box you packed the
particular book that you’re craving). They’re also great for authors
and booksellers – your backlist is never out of stock and you don’t
have to buy a new warehouse to store it in. It’s also a lot cheaper to
make a new copy of an e-book than to do a new print run. But all this
portability has a dark side – it makes it easier for people to send
copies to others and download copies over the internet.
The downsides to e-books are basically linked to usability. There’s a
reason that the majority of people prefer to read on paper. Reading
devices for e-books are mostly backlit, which is hard on the eyes.
There’s a new technology called ePaper that is easier to read for long
periods, but it’s expensive and won’t be widely used for some time
(particularly since it’s only available in greyscale). It’s common
that people will refuse to read long-form works in electronic form
because they get headaches or back problems or feel nauseated. (This
is one of the reasons that I have two copies of all Lois McMaster
Bujold’s Vorkosigen books. The Webscriptions versions were the ones that I bought
in college, where I could not afford the space in my student room. The
mass market paperbacks are the copies that I bought so that my husband
could read them.)
E-books just aren’t as user-friendly as paper books. You can’t just
buy the e-book from your regular bookseller and take it home and read
it. Your regular bookseller might not have a contract to offer that
book for sale. The only bookseller who does have that book for sale
might look too dodgy for you to entrust them with your credit card
details. The book might only be available in certain formats, which
you can’t read because you don’t have the right reading device or
software. The right reading device or software might only be
configured for right handed people or people with large/small hands or
people who read faster than the battery drains. The download process
might go horribly wrong and give you a garbled book (or even worse,
half a book). As a result, the e-book market is currently small. It
might get bigger as better screen technologies develop, but most of
your readers are going to buy paper. And those who treasure the
hardcovers now are still going to want those, most likely in addition
to their e-books. Our society, for better or worse, is deeply fond of
paper. This is one reason that e-book piracy is not as big a problem
as it might seem.
*So how can we discourage piracy of e-books?*
——————————————————————–
I should add here that I’m looking at this holistically. I don’t think
there’s any point in holding a legal and moral high ground if it
doesn’t work in practice. I do understand that some authors find it
deeply offensive that people would make unauthorised copies of their
books. Elizabeth Moon has said publicly that she doesn’t understand
why she should have to spend her time and effort enforcing her
copyrights. There’s a whole range of responses: from those authors who
absolutely refuse to have any of their work published in e-book form
in order to avoid piracy, through those who don’t care because they
think it’s great free advertising and that people will buy their books
anyway, to people like Cory Doctorow, who reserves the electronic
rights for every book that he writes and publishes it on the web for
free under a Creative Commons licence.
The way I look at it is that there’s a spectrum of potential
downloaders. At one end, there are the people who will always pay for
e-books. At the other end, there are people who will never pay. Most
people will fall somewhere along the spectrum. The trick is to use as
many strategies as possible to lure, persuade and shove people towards
the paying end.
So let’s look at the people who pay. Since most people don’t give
money away randomly, it’s probably for one or more of the following
reasons. First, it’s illegal to download those copies. Second, most
people would say that making copies of copyrighted works is wrong,
because it hurts the author/publisher/editor/cover artist/etc
financially. Third, as with the photocopies of paper books, it’s
easier to buy a legal copy than go through the hassle of copying the
thing. Fourth, there may be prestige or other value in legal copies.
*I don’t do it because it’s illegal*
———————————————-
Okay, let’s start with illegality, since it’s the easiest one.
(Please note that none of this is legal advice. Of any sort. It’s all a friendly exposition.) As you know, authors and publishers
have the ability to sue anyone who makes an unauthorised copy of their
work. But frankly, this is unlikely to happen in relation to e-book
piracy unless the person is a commercial pirate – making multiple
copies and selling them or making content available for free downloads
in order to get advertising revenue or other income.### So most people
know that they won’t suffer legal consequences. They obey the law
because they want to do what’s right, not because they fear the
penalties.
That said, I recommend vigilance. If piracy concerns you (and it may
not), I would get someone to set up regular Google searches for your
books in electronic form on the internet, as well as searches of the
more popular pirate locations. (This can also tell you interesting
things about the popularity of your books.) If you do find someone
offering your books for download, you can take a range of actions to
stop it. You can contact the offender and ask them to stop or, if it’s
on a website, ask the host of the material to take it down. You can
also request their ISP to issue warnings that might lead them to
losing their internet access. If you want to be more formal, you can
use statutory notices in some countries to make them take the content
down. (But you’ll need to get legal advice on the proper words for
things like that, e.g. DMCA notices in the USA. There was a big
kerfluffle about this with the SFWA in the last year or so.)
If they’re really recalcitrant you might consider suing them, but it’s
really a last resort. Suing people when it’s not necessary is
dangerous for a couple of reasons. First, it’s bad press. Lawsuits are
always public and there’s rarely anything positive about the press
coverage. Nothing says Faceless Evil Corporation like a lawsuit
against a 12 year old. (No really, do a search for “RIAA sues 12 year
old”.) And publicising that pirate copies of your books are available
tends to make people go and look for them. It’s one of those perverse
effects about the whole business. Second, unless the person is a
commercial pirate, you’re suing someone who loves your work so much
that they wanted to share it with others (albeit in an exceptionally
ill-judged fashion). You might succeed in enforcing your legal rights,
but lose the battle for moral righteousness (see below).
*I don’t do it because it’s wrong*
——————————————–
Next, the morality argument. This links back to the fact that most
people do what’s right. Or they’d prefer to think that they do, for a
given value of “right”.
Over the last few hundred years since the development of copyright,
it’s been generally agreed in the developed world^ that we should
reward authors (and also publishers, editors, cover artists, etc) for
their work by paying them for it. Although the exact rights (and thus
rewards) associated with copyright have varied over that time, e.g.
extensions of terms, new types of creative products, moral rights, the
general pattern was increased protection for authors. In the last ten
years, the widespread availability of the internet has challenged that
pattern and started some culture wars.
I think one of the biggest problems facing the content industry today
is that changes in technology have made copying content of all sorts
socially acceptable. For example, it has always been perfectly
acceptable, both in law and morality, to lend a good book to one’s
friends. This fits well with the social imperative to share things in
a household/group of friends/community (and thereby build up one’s
social capital). But it’s almost impossible to lend an e-book to a
friend without making a copy. And with the internet, you have many
more “friends” in communities all over the world. In addition, with
the increased production of user-generated content that is put online
purely to be shared with others for free, online culture has shifted
towards endorsement of free copying.
At the same time, copyright law is failing as a normative influence.
Let’s take the ubiquitous iPod. Until fairly recently, it was illegal
in Australia to copy the music that you had legally purchased on CD
onto your iPod. iTunes Australia hadn’t opened yet. So we had the
fantastic situation where 80% of Australian citizens had iPods, but
couldn’t legally load any music onto them.^^ This led to a certain
lack of respect for copyright law, because it was in complete
opposition to common sense. The law in respect to this particular
insanity adapted eventually (sort of), but it took time. But it wasn’t
the only problematic provision. There is also the problem that there
are varying laws in different countries. The USA has fair use.
Australia doesn’t. Canada has what looks like a statutory licence
scheme, where copyright holders get a share of the revenues from blank
media sales. And these are three relatively similar countries. Due to
these differences, what’s “right” in one country is not necessarily
the same as in another. And again, the internet crosses national
borders.
Finally, we’ve seen the Robin Hood effect. With the consolidation of
content ownership into megacorporations and the fame and wealth of
superstars, there’s a certain section of the community that justifies
copyright infringement by saying that they’re robbing from the rich to
make content available to the poor folk who otherwise wouldn’t be able
to access these cultural riches. The line of thought goes something
like: “After all, it’s not truly going to make much difference to
Metallica whether or not I pay $0.99 for this single and they get
their 10 cents. And record companies take all the profits and are evil
exploiters of artists anyway.” Basically, the justification is that
it’s not hurting anyone. At least, not anyone who doesn’t deserve it.
In relation to e-books, this last point is linked to the fact that
publishers are selling (or requiring retailers to sell) e-books at the
same RRP as paper books. This is presumably working on the theory that
they’re equivalent products. This is patently untrue. An e-book, even
if it’s released at the same time, is not the same product as a
gorgeous bound hardcover with a slip cover on acid-free paper. It
doesn’t include the same experience of tactile pleasure and ease of
reading; it doesn’t include the same rights of re-sale or return (e.g.
if it’s defective). And it clearly doesn’t cost the publisher as much
to produce this additional version, since there’s no need to pay for
printing costs or a distribution centre^^^ or allow for returns. As a
result, there’s a strong sense of injustice amongst readers about the
cost of e-books. It’s even more offensive when you could buy that
beautiful hardcover at a substantial discount to RRP at Walmart or
Target or Amazon.
In short, not everyone believes that copying an e-book is morally
wrong. Unfortunately, it’s a bit hard to change this singlehandedly.
The record industry has thrown billions at the problem using DRM (see
below) and litigation and has failed. That’s why it’s important to
reinforce the concept that authors are _people_, who both need and
deserve to get paid for their work (i.e. your blog/website), and to
build communities where there is clear social disapproval of such
behaviour from other people who love your books (blog). Online places
like Baen’s Bar where a person who asks for an illegal copy is told to
get stuffed and go buy their own copy,% because the people in this
community support their authors. For the people who hang out with an
author on Baen’s Bar and at cons and so on, it’s a personal insult to
suggest that they would help someone steal that author’s books,
particularly when it was both simple and cheap to buy them.%%
You can also do little things like watermarking e-books, so that every
page of every copy says “This e-book was sold to [insert name]. Please
don’t make unauthorised copies. Buy your own copy at [website] and
help feed my hellhounds.” Guilt is a powerful thing, particularly if
it’s a personal appeal by you (rather than your publisher, who I’m
sure is very nice but probably looks like a faceless company for
liability purposes). And the name of the purchaser will help you and
your vigilantes (remember that community of people who love your
books?) track down the offender and ask/make them stop spreading
copies. (You can build the watermark or other identification in more
subtly so that they can’t identify and remove it.)
*I don’t do it because it’s easier to just buy a copy*
———————————————————————–
Please note that I said _buy_. While I admire Cory Doctorow’s
dedication to spreading information on the internet, most people are
fundamentally lazy. If it’s easier to read a free copy (authorised or
unauthorised) than to buy the book, they’ll most likely go for the
free one. (Despite the best of intentions, I have yet to buy a copy of
Cory’s book LITTLE BROTHER after reading it online at his website.)
Contrast that to Dr Horrible, which was free for a limited time, but
requires purchase now. Believe me that I will be obtaining a copy as
soon as the DVD comes out.
We want to make it easy for people to buy e-books and hard for them to
steal e-books. Remember all those complicated problems with buying and
using e-books legally? Well, your publisher could fix a good number of
them, if they were sufficiently motivated.
The first thing is availability. Your e-book should be available at
every single (legal) retail e-book seller that you can find online.
(Or at least all the most popular ones.) Could you imagine only
selling your books through one chain of bookstores? Well, that’s the
position for many e-books at the moment. There’s just one store that
sells them. And in order to buy one of those e-books, I have to become
a member of this store, which involves a whole registration process.
And then there’s a new username/password set that I have to remember.
And it’s another point at which my credit card details might be
stolen. As you can imagine, if I have a number of accounts already, I
would have to want to read your book quite a LOT in order to sign up
to a new store. (Flooding the internet with places to buy your book is
also generally a good thing, since it makes it easy to find a copy to
buy, rather than a copy to steal.) On the other hand, if it’s a store
that I use already, I can just log in and hand over my credit card.
But wait! That book isn’t sold in [insert my format of choice]. What
am I going to do? Many of the problems stem from the fact that most
publishers only put out e-books in certain formats. (Pirates, by
contrast, will happily provide you with e-books in whatever formats
you like, or at least tell you what tools to use to get there.) There
are number of stores on the web that only sell Mobipocket books. Or
locked PDF. Or Microsoft Reader. But I don’t have a device that will
run that software. So I don’t buy the book. (I may or may not go and
look for a pirate copy or reserve it at the library, depending on how
much I want to read it.) Or I buy it in that nasty format and then I
have to go and find software to get it out of that format. Which puts
me in the position of breaking the law, so I might as well be hung for
a sheep as a lamb and not pay for the thing at all.
Why would someone limit their audience like that? In most cases, it’s
because the publishers are paranoid about piracy, so they provide
limited formats and plague customers with Digital Rights Management
(DRM) software, which is supposed to stop people from copying e-books.
DRM generally has a couple of parts. First, there’s the e-book, which
is just a file sitting on the retailer’s website. Then there’s the
software on your computer/reading device, which includes a name/number
that uniquely identifies you. There’s also a company somewhere (like
Microsoft), who controls the software. They limit the software to a
certain number of installations to ensure that you aren’t downloading
the book to fifteen million computers. When you buy the e-book, all
these bits have to talk together to authenticate that you are who you
say you are. Otherwise, they won’t let you download the book. (Yes,
the book that you’ve already paid for.) Let’s just say that you’re
lucky if this works every time. (One of the reasons that I’m reluctant
to try new e-book stores is that this is a tricky process and I prefer
to use a store that I know has got it right before.)
The problem with DRM is that it only makes life harder for your
legitimate users. All of them are subjected to this ridiculous
authentication hurdle when they buy your book. On the other hand, it’s
hardly a bump in the road for the pirates. As soon as a single copy of
an e-book has its DRM stripped off, they spread the clean copy and
avoid the whole issue. And stripping the DRM off to produce a clean
copy will never be that hard (because e-book software has to be able
to do it for legitimate readers). Also, remember those paper books?
They don’t have DRM. Scanning in a copy for pirate use takes a couple
of hours with a sharp knife and a fast scanner.
DRM also has other side-effects, like making you read the e-book on
whatever device you had it authenticated for. So you might be able to
read on your PC at home, but not be able to put the book on a portable
device to read on the train. Or print it out. Or have the book read
aloud to you by computer software if you’re visually impaired. Oh, and
don’t make alterations to certain parts of your computer (because that
will make the software think that you’re trying to circumvent it and
lock up all your books). And heaven help you if the DRM software
company goes out of business, because all those books you bought? You
might not be able to read them any more. You certainly won’t be able
to download your backup copy from the store (which is a pretty
standard feature, due to the general fragility of digital data).
My recommendation, if you have the choice, would be to get your
publishers to sell e-books in as many formats as possible,
particularly DRM-free ones, through any stores that you can find. Make
it so easy (and preferably reasonably priced) to buy your books that
it’s easier to do so than expend the time required to find a pirate
copy. Make it risk-free to buy your books by offering sample chapters
to prospective buyers so they know that it’s worth the hassle before
they put their credit cards on the line.%%%
Of course, at the same time as you make it easier to buy your e-book,
you should make it more difficult to find a pirate copy by exercising
legal/moral influence as discussed earlier. Or by flooding the pirate
networks with incomplete copies. (Something horrible and suspenseful
like three-quarters of the book, perhaps. Followed by an exhortation
to be fair to you (not authors generally) and go buy the book at
[insert name of website].) Or flood them with a free copy of one of
your short stories and then include an advertisement for CHALICE at
the end.
*I don’t do it because there’s prestige or other value in the legal copy*
—————————————————————————————————-
This is the bit where you wave exciting stuff at your readers. Have a
legal copy? Come and read this extra short story or find out exciting
stuff or go into a draw to have a personalised signed paper copy.
Enter the e-mail address that you used to buy your copy and we’ll give
you access to these neat things on our website.
Or make them pay a premium for an e-ARC. Be among the first to read
this exciting new book – direct from the author’s computer – three
months before it hits the press! (Plus you get bragging rights and you
can taunt your friends about knowing what happens next…) It’s the
oddest thing, but it appears that people value the exclusivity of
being first to read a new book. (Well, perhaps not. Hardcovers exist,
after all.) And if they pay for it, they’re less likely to pass it
around.
* Final words *
——————-
Most people are going to buy paper books. Of the relatively small
percentage that want e-books, many will obtain them in addition to a
paper copy because they serve different purposes. Of those that buy
e-books, most people are honest and will buy a copy if they can do so
easily and for a fair price. For those who don’t, you can ignore them
(as you probably ignore libraries and people who lend books to their
friends and second hand bookshops) or use a variety of strategies to
discourage them.
# I cannot imagine reading certain favourite books as e-books.
### Authors and publishers just don’t have time to track down and sue
everyone who makes a copy of their copyrighted works. And it’s not
really worth it for the cost of a single book. You could go down the
RIAA route and try to make a few examples of people that you do find.
But lawyers are awfully expensive. And litigation takes a long time.
And you might need to sue people in different jurisdictions all over
the world.
^ There has never been as much emphasis on copyright as morally
“right” in some countries. South-east Asia, for example, has been
notorious for its lax position on software piracy for decades. But
failing to provide your parents with financial support, that will get
you put in jail in Singapore. Because that’s not right.
^^ Interestingly, Apple never did get sued for encouraging copyright
infringement.
^^^ There are electronic distribution costs, but they’re orders of
magnitude less than the costs of physical distribution.
% Baen has an extensive free library and giveaway programs for
e-books. People value that kind of thing and want it to succeed. So it
was a pretty stupid person who asked the Bar for an unauthorised copy.
%% Mind you, Baen’s Webscriptions service is a model for fairness. The
authors get higher royalties. The readers get cheap books or early
access to ARCs for a higher price. And according to industry reports,
Baen has the only profitable e-book program around. The piracy rates
are also remarkably low.
%%% Baen gives you a few chapters of the book, enough time to get
solidly caught in the story. And then “Bam”, you need to buy to go any
further. And there’s a lovely big “buy here” button. And the process
is fast and instant and you can just keep reading. It’s hard to
resist
comments
Please join the discussion at Robin McKinley's Web Forum.
In other words, your blog is a way for your stalkers READERS–I MEAN “READERS”*–to keep tabs on you and wait with baited breath for news of your worlds, and be entertained by your chronicle of things that happen in the world to which we can connect more directly**.
*or, maybe “adoring fans” is a better word choice
**not to mention recipe-hounding for things that involve chocolate
I much prefer ‘adoring fans’. :)
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Wow, lots of good stuff. Very informative. Thanks, lurker Ithilien!
You know, I have most of the free ebooks Tor was giving away (except the one a friend wrote, because I already bought that one ;), and I haven’t opened a single one of them yet. I’d have to read on the computer since I don’t have an ebook reader. Which is fine. I spent a lot of time with my computer. In fact I’m not sure *why* I haven’t read any of them yet – I like the idea of free and there are some I really want to read – but I know there’s at least one I’ll probably just buy the paperback for and read it like that instead.
*shrug*
That’s very interesting coming from someone of your generation. I’d expect it from me and MY generation, but you people who were born with mice in your hands, so to speak . . . :) Maybe the paper book really ISN’t a dying breed then. I’m so paper oriented I know I have no judgement. If ebooks can be run decently and legally I’m fine with their *existing*.
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One of the highlights of my week when I was a kid was going to Bookstop (do they even have those anymore? I haven’t seen them in YEARS!) and buying the newest Baby Sitters Club book. I have always (okay, since 3rd grade when I learned to love reading) adored the sensation of having a new, very *physical* book in my hands. I still love going to the bookstore and buying new books I know I won’t read for months. (Okay, I think most of us are probably like that. Heh.)
I’m just now coming around to the idea of digital music. I will buy a few songs on iTunes here and there because I know Jeff won’t want the whole CD and I’ll be okay with just the one song off the album. But if I think there’s a chance Jeff will enjoy it, too, I want the physical CD with all the songs on it, even if I only know I’ll like a couple of them.
Yes well I’m Diane of MN’s food processor about iTunes, which is to say I haven’t got it, whatever it is. But I absolutely agree about the physicality of going into a bookshop and FONDLING the books. Much as I love presents in the post, even presents I bought myself, I’d hate it if actual high street bookshops went obsolete.
jmeadows re: Tor ebooks said:
I have most of the free ebooks Tor was giving away and I haven’t opened a single one of them yet. … I’m not sure *why* I haven’t read any of them yet
** Could it be competition for your attention? One of the theories about long-form works not being read on computers is that there are so many other things that you can do on a computer. Instead of reading, you could be answering email or surfing the web or chatting to friends or checking your bank balance or playing a multiplayer fantasy game.
I confess that I haven’t read all the free Tor books either. I’ve read quite a few, particularly the early ones, but I just haven’t had time. And like any random selection of novels, a few just didn’t appeal.
Could it be competition for your attention?
********** Yes, I’d think so. And not only on your computer.
Ithilien said: Could it be competition for your attention?
Yes, that’s probably it. There are ten zillion other things I do on the computer, and I’d feel compelled to do those things if the book wasn’t taking up the whole screen…and all my noisy alerts were off so I didn’t know if I got an email. (Eeee. What if I got an important one and I didn’t know? Yeah, I’d be terrible at not checking on my own every five minutes.) But with a real, physical book, I go away from the computer.
Plus, like Robin said, it’s the fondling of books. Mmm, ink-stained tree corpses. (And by buying paper books, we’re keeping my husband employed. ;)
Mmm, ink-stained tree corpses
******* The best! And NO CALORIES! :)
About e-books? What She Said. Particularly the bit about the difference between how Baen does it and other publishers. The rant about why they set up the free library is particularly interesting http://www.baen.com/library/defaultTitles.htm As a person who buys ebooks often, most of mine are from Baen, and many are books I also have in paper. I love the fact that I can carry all 150 of my ebooks in my handbag and never be afraid of being stuck with nothing to read (so long as I have charged the battery on my PDA.) 8-> I also like ebooks because I don’t have to pay postage on them. Ordering a $7 paperback and paying $10 postage is a bit of a drag, plus the several week wait. Ebooks are great for instant gratification.
sorry 8->
I would like an e -ARC of Chalice, please.
Yes, I have a Kindle. And I like it. But I will always pay for what I download for all the reasons listed above.
These essays were really thought provoking, especially as I am a writer myself. I’d say more but I think I might out myself as dumb if I tried. But great work there.
Robin, I have every book you’ve ever published, many in hardback and paperback. There’s nothing quite like a real book–even though the Kindle comes in handy. And I love your blog, I have learned much about you and many other things, like bell ringing. But mostly I want to say that your blog has encouraged me to buy several copies of Dragonhaven to give away as gifts, with the URL to your blog on a slip of paper inside. It’s one thing to read an author–but to make contact, to become part of a community as Ithilien mentions above, is priceless. Especially when you’re the center of that community.
Plan to buy lots of copy of Chalice as well–I have friends in New Zealand who are big fans but they have trouble getting copies of yours and a few other fantasy writer’s books. So me and a few of my friends try and help out. One woman christened me The Book Fairy, which sounds a lot better than The Kindle Fairy, I think.
Books saved my life when I was younger; when Beauty came along I was thrilled. I don’t know why I’m writing all this now, except it’s been weighing on me–you do all this work, and then keep a blog just for us, and I haven’t said thank you in a long time.
Peace.
Thank you very much!
I’d say more but I think I might out myself as dumb
********** Yeep. Haven’t I done enough outing for everybody here? :)
I have never done the internet community thing before–had no clue that this is what can happen–or that it WOULD happen. Nearest I knew before this blog was a couple of intense email lists. I’m glad to know it counts as valuable. And I have to say . . . yes, I’m slaveringly grateful to think that I’m selling a few more books. **The fact that I earn a living at all puts me in the top 10% of all writers**–possibly the top 5%. But some years it’s a very scary living. And I have sold pretty much the next twenty years of my life to buy my second tiny house. AT least I CAN, you know? But . . .
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Thank you, Ithilien, this is fascinating reading. I had no idea about any of this stuff. I’ve always held out for the future of paper books, saying that you can’t curl up on a couch in front of a fire with a good computer, but I suspect that we will be amazed at the rapid development of the technology to make this possible. As one who doesn’t even own an iPod, I find it all a bit scary. But so interesting.
Susan in Melbourne
Very interesting, well thought-out, and presented.
I admit to being one of those people who just doesn’t care to read books on the computer. I’ve never bought an e-book and don’t intend to unless it is the ONLY way I’m going to be able to read a book by one of my favorite authors. It does strain my eyes to read too much backlit stuff. But more than that, I want to take it into the bath, to curl up in the recliner, to sprawl on my bed. I buy hardcover copies of my favorite authors’ books in addition to mass markets to take with me and risk banging up. And I had to buy a house with floor to ceiling built-in bookcases to accommodate these habits. :>
I agree with the blog serving as a touchstone for readers salivating between books (and agreed, none of my favorite authors write fast enough). As one example, Tamora Pierce’s forthcoming book BLOODHOUND started showing major delays. Since I read her blog, I learned that she hit a stumbling block in writing it – so yes, it was delayed, but there were snippets of information here and there and then the glorious announcement that the first draft was done. Knowing it’s in the next step, a tantalizingly closer step, helps curb the impatience. And, well, I enjoy reading her blog anyway, though I don’t get as involved in the communities and discussion (of any blog) as many people.
I enjoy yours, though – I’m not a horse nut (I seem to have been one of the few little girls the horse obsession passed over), but I’m fast becoming a rose nut. :-)
I’m fast becoming a rose nut. :-)
*********** Oh good. Fantin Latour is busy taking over the cottage garden. She is NOT SUPPOSED TO GET THIS BIG. I knew I was asking for trouble with Souvenir, but . . .
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Lianne said:
Very interesting, well thought-out, and presented.
* Why, thank you! :-)
You have a good point about the reading copies (mass market rather than hardcover). The cost of dropping a paperback in the bath is commensurate with the pleasure of reading in the bath. The cost of dropping a PDA or ePaper device in the bath is… not to be thought about lightly.
(I’m very jealous of your floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.)
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This is very interesting. I completely agree with the point about ease of access/use. I specifically stopped using iTunes because you are technically only paying to “use” the music, not actually purchasing it. Then they hit you with all the computer transfer/anti-sharing/lock-up stuff, and you realize you’re just a music renter, not a music owner. That is why I switched to emusic – 1., I like a lot of the music, and 2., I own the music outright, because they trust their customers. They know if I want to send a friend a song, I’ll probably just send them an invite to sign up (and get their 50 free songs), even though I have the freedom to do what I want with the file. They know that if I signed up, I already made my ethical choice. There’s no need to treat legit customers like thieves (or teenagers – remember what it was like being followed around a store by the staff?).
I’m sure I would feel the same way about e-books if I were in a position to buy them (the most I’ve ever done is download Villette off Project Gutenburg, totally legal and free ). But I would probably use e-books in the same way I use online music subscriptions – as a way to explore new artists. I’m too paranoid about electronic storage media as a long-term solution, I’ve spoken to too many archivists about long-term digital storage and it is a nightmare problem.
They know that if I signed up, I already made my ethical choice. There’s no need to treat legit customers like thieves (or teenagers – remember what it was like being followed around a store by the staff?).
*********** Yes. Vividly. Very good point.
I hope you like(d) VILLETTE. :)
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I would think the biggest concern is China. Anytime I expect to start seeing bootleg books turn up at the flea market – black market publishers that snatch an ebook, do a print run, and claim the new book selling price. In some cases, I can see black marketers doing better editing and proofreading than some of today’s publishers, but still – that I would see as a direct threat to SFF and the rest of the book market. The enterprising Russian or Chinese bootlegger could conceivably publish there knock offs and distribute through illegal channels, bleeding over into grocery stores and independent bookstores before the legitimate publisher. Would all bookstores notice? If the marks on the covers looked close, I would just assume they were different printings from the publisher.
ebooks, of themselves, I think work better given away free, to stir interest in the paper volume, and as a reward to people for visiting a blog, for joining a community. I do commend Cory Doctorow, though, for establishing the commons license – thus preventing someone else from claiming it as their own (as has happened with similar software and soft data).
Brad K said:
I would think the biggest concern is China. Anytime I expect to start seeing bootleg books turn up at the flea market – black market publishers that snatch an ebook, do a print run, and claim the new book selling price.
** Yes, China and Russia are interesting from a copyright viewpoint. There are knockoff Harry Potter books – Harry Potter and the [insert new adventure name]. There are strange and unauthorised versions of Lonely Planet travel guides. But again, please note that these don’t have anything to do with e-books. Harry Potter isn’t published in e-book form. Neither was Lonely Planet until very recently.
In terms of illegal copies coming back into Europe/North America/Australia though, I think it’s unlikely. Any shipment of pirate copies would most likely be stopped at the border. And the publishing industry is evidently very good at dealing with unauthorised physical copies – they’ve had several hundred years to practise (and there’s no evidence of widespread paper piracy). If we’re talking legal, but cheap copies from a different country, there are also specific laws that deal with “parallel” importing.
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This is all very interesting and informative to me–thank you, Ithilien. Speaking as a consumer, I have been intrigued by portable e-book readers but never to the point of wanting to buy one; it would be nice to cart a couple of hundred books around in one small package, but the reading experience would not be a comfortable one and I have had experience of format obsolescence. Books have been around for a long time and are pretty much perfected technology. E-book readers are nowhere close to that point.
On the other hand, I am not a gadget-crazed person who has to have the latest whatsit before anyone else and then use it to the max. I do not have an iPod or a smartphone–shucks, I don’t have a food processor. So I’m probably not the right woman to judge the likely e-book trend line.
I do feel strongly that writers should not be cheated out of their living, so if e-book piracy is a real problem, it ought to be addressed–hopefully as much as possible by the publisher, who is also getting cheated (probably out of more income than the writer is), because the writer is already overburdened and publishers have *staff*.
It’s that ‘not the right woman to judge’ part that bites me, because I’m the same. (Although I do have a food processor.) I haven’t a *clue*. Which is a lot of why I found what Ithilien had to say so absorbing, because she’s lived it and thought about it.
The problem with publishers, it seems to me, is that they’re paranoid about piracy without having a sufficient understanding of the situation. Which seems to me to be part of what Ithilien is inadvertently suggesting.
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Um, is it undermining my credibility to admit that my food processor scares me? What are all these attachments FOR? :-)
Hi Robin,
I just wanted to add my support to Ithilien’s comments, particularly about blogging. I have to say that although I’ve always been a fan of yours – and visited your website regularly for a bit of writing inspiration in the FAQ’s – I’m also a fan of so many other people (and I work full time and do my own writing) that I’m not always aware when a new book comes out. When I discovered your blog, the last of your books that I’d read was Spindle’s End (which is one of my very favourites, by the way) and that when it had just come out. It was six years ago and you’d slightly fallen off my radar.
I’d heard good things about Sunshine and thought it was something I’d like to read but hadn’t thought too much about it. After a few days of reading your blog, I found myself a copy of Sunshine and read it straight through. And I’ve fallen in love with Chalice already, just looking at the gorgeous pictures you posted. I rarely pre-order books, but I think I will this one.
I think the thing about blogging, especially the sort that you do which is not marketing-driven, is that all of us feel a connection with the writer. We feel as though we are actively involved in her life, and we share in her excitement when a new book comes out. When we go out and purchase (as of course we will, with the commitment we’ve made to following its progress) we feel as if we are contributing to the upkeep of a friend.
I’m sure the other readers will agree with me on this – and you can take it back to your publishers. :)
Amelia
I think the thing about blogging, especially the sort that you do which is not marketing-driven, is that all of us feel a connection with the writer. We feel as though we are actively involved in her life, and we share in her excitement when a new book comes out. When we go out and purchase (as of course we will, with the commitment we’ve made to following its progress) we feel as if we are contributing to the upkeep of a friend.
I’m sure the other readers will agree with me on this – and you can take it back to your publishers. :)
*********** Well. Hurrah. And thank you. This also ties in with what I said above about wanting to explode the idiot myth that authors are somehow NOT human beings like other human beings. We may write books but otherwise we’re just as [insert adjectives here] as everyone else. :)
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A wonderfully well-written, clear and extremely informative treatise on blogging and on ebooks. Three cheers for Ithilien!! And I’m off to check out Baen’s Bar!!
Jeanne Marie
What a real pleasure to read such a well-considered, logical, articulate progression of opinion – on the INTERNET of all places… I have to agree with every point raised. Well done, Ithilien.
It’s certainly true that your blog promotes a certain camaraderie (of a very rare and precious sort) and engenders, among its readers, an unmistakable conviction that *your words are worth something*, even in those who already know and love your books. So even people (not naming any names here) who never pay retail for ANYTHING, after experiencing your blog, are going to march unflinchingly over to Barnes & Noble (or Amazon, on cyber-legs) and pre-order a copy of Chalice at full price. I’ve seen it happen.
I also can’t begin to express how *wonderful* it is to connect, even in a small way, with someone whose work I respect and, yes, adore. Blogs like yours do away with the historically extreme distance between author and reader (extreme distance being the feeling you get holding a just-finished book of great emotion, with the author’s name and 50-word bio the solitary clue to why and how such a splendid book came to be, and in what manner it was drawn from their consciousness) which is only to the benefit of both. And that I will shout from the rooftops (considering I’m already up here anyway doing grassroots promotion of Chalice).
Thank you! one of my career-long obsessions has been blowing up the whole ‘author as Other’ thing, where an author is not a human being like other human beings. This makes me **nuts**. I have mostly responded by being as intensely private as possible. The blog is kind of the other option. If it WORKS, then it’s (probably) worth it. Although selling a few extra books would be nice too.
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You mean you’re not a space alien from Planet BookAuthor? How very disappointing. :)
I’ll second synchronicity here. I’m a big one for buying my books used, which I like generally for its eco-friendliness but does the author very little direct good. However, once I’ve actually met an author at a con (or started commenting vigorously on her blog) I’m far more likely to go buy their books new and shiny, because I feel a desire to be supportive of their efforts. Thus the rather crisp copies of both Water and Sunshine on my shelf; I bought them new in the dealer room partly because I’d neglected to bring my beat-up copy of Outlaws for you to sign, but mostly because I’d enjoyed your GOH speech and your reading. (The one I did manage to get to. :) )
Thus the rather crisp copies of both Water and Sunshine on my shelf; I bought them new in the dealer room partly because I’d neglected to bring my beat-up copy of Outlaws for you to sign, but mostly because I’d enjoyed your GOH speech and your reading.
********* OH good. :)
(The one I did manage to get to. :) )
*********** That’ll have been FIRST FLIGHT then. Coming soon in FIRE ELEMENTALS.
That’ll have been FIRST FLIGHT then. Coming soon in FIRE ELEMENTALS.
I’d had the impression it was a bit of what turned into Dragonhaven, actually. (Though as I’m still awaiting the PB of Dragonhaven, and my memory is like a friggin’ sieve anyway, I have no proof of this.) Crap, how many readings did you do? :)
YOU HAVE HEARD OF *LIBRARIES*?
Trust me, it was FIRST FLIGHT.
Trust me, it was FIRST FLIGHT.
Well, you should know! :)
Libraries, hmm…. I have heard of these places. But I am what is kindly termed a Bad Borrower; I have mostly avoided libraries post-academia because I really can’t afford to pay the $20 in late fees which I ALWAYS incur, since I am a forgetful slob! :) Nah, I cheerfully await the joy of the paperback edition. I hear Dragonhaven’s pretty good…. :)
I hear Dragonhaven’s pretty good…. :)
********* That’s what I’ve heard too.
This is fascinating. I am just starting to explore all the options online, (such as discovering blogs by favorite authors), and realizing the amount of information available. But I can’t imagine curling up with my laptop after a rough day to fall asleep. Nope, I will always want that favorite dog eared book that is sitting ontop of the pile by my bed. Not to mention the fact that a book will last me, baring flood and fire, many many many years, and the e-book I purchased will only last until the software changes again and then I will either need to find a way to transfer it, ie spend more money, or buy it again, ie spend more money. Not to mention that when I open a paperback it never tells me it is unable to perform that function, needs to be updated, or frustrates the living hell out of me. In my mind, a book in the hand is worth two in virtual land. Maybe three! :)
You’re gathering a group of dedicated people WHO WANT TO READ THINGS THAT YOU WRITE, from tiny snippets about roses, to recipes, to stories
about the hellhounds, to the very latest of your novels. And I can guarantee that they’re talking about them.
I’ve emerged from lurk mode to say Ithilien’s absolutely right about this. For example I recently posted a link to your blog on an ME/CFS message board because you’d eloquently described an ME day. I don’t know exactly how many people followed up on that link, but a couple certainly did and just maybe they’ll be tempted to buy Sunshine or Chalice in the future.
Oh, well done you! Thank you! I know I’m supposed to be totally focussed on SELLING BOOKS but in my real life I’m just as glad to spread info and solidarity too.
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Thank you Ithilien – lots to consider… I love the sound of Baen, early release, extra value, etc and yes, I too will be getting the Dr Horrible DVD after watching it for free – I just bought American Gods after reading it online for free :)
Oh, excellent! This is a topic that is dear to my heart and well done here. Don’t have time to write my comment right now though.
Whoa, this is one thoughtful essay. I’ve been thinking about copyright and the Internet all week. I’m blogging in a tiny corner of the blogsphere. There are other lines in that exist in this virtual world — like what constitutes private and what is public. Some contend that all blogs are public. But if a blog is just me and my friends, is that really public? My blog could flame up for some weird reason and pull in thousands of readers, but this has not been my experience. If I copy a poem in a private letter, this is not considered a huge preach of copyright. If I copy a poem on a blog, the reaction of my literary friends might be very different. I don’t think that we as society really understand the “rules” of information anymore. Things have changed.
I’m glad that someone is taking the time to think through some of it.The ease of access to information has devalued it. Books used to be rare and precious, but that is all over. Now the premium seems to be shifting to excellence and exclusivity of the information source and away from simple supply. I do think that the programmers and the mathematicians might figure out a way to protect our materials and then reconvert the market back to simply supply. My gut feeling is the problem can be solved, but no one has figured out yet. As with all of history, sometimes we are waiting for the forces of society to mold the right individual to meet the needs of the masses. Just tossing in my pennies. :)
Things have changed.
************ Yes indeed. And some of us are pretty confused . . . [trying not to wave hand]
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There will be a Cyteen II? Squeeee! For some reason, I haven’t gotten into any of Cherryh’s other books, but I looooove Cyteen. See what I learned from the blog?
I actually love ebooks. We have a library consortium that purchases downloadable materials together, and we buy Adobe ebooks and DRM-protected WMA audiobooks (though DRM-free MP3 audiobooks for lending are finally available–because librarians demanded them!). I do download the audiobooks and transfer them to my MP3 player, but I prefer the ebooks (though I think I’m the only one that does, because we don’t buy many) and transfer them to my PDA for reading. And I buy ebooks from ereader.com (but don’t buy many ebooks, because only one of my favorite authors has her books out in ebook format).
There’s a lot of problems with ebooks, even though they’ve been around quite a while, but I think really they will grow in popularity with devices like the Sony Reader (which has just updated to accept the .epub format, an open ebook format, a step in the right direction) and Kindle. With digital formats (and I am including blogs here), we have to rethink so many things. Michael Wesch says it much better than me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g
See what I learned from the blog?
************ LOL! I’ll start listing the train schedules soon . . .
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Ithilien raises a lot of very good points there.
I don’t think ebooks will ever replace the magic of a ‘real’ book. There’s something special about the tactile feel of a book, whether it’s a new copy that has that fresh paper and ink smell, or an old book that makes you curious about the people who owned/read it before you.
Like a lot of others have said, reading from a laptop (or even a handheld gadget) just isn’t the same, and you can’t read in the bath, or shove it in your handbag or a pocket to read on the move.
I do have a few books as text files which are technically illegal, but it’s the only way I stood a chance of reading those titles, as they’re long out of print*, and second hand copies are very scarce (and in some cases sell for hundreds, even thousands of pounds) and it’s not something anyone is making a profit from, just people who are lucky enough to have a hard copy sharing the wealth with those who don’t.
But I would ALWAYS chose an actual book in preference to any digital format, and if digital was the only option I’d rather have a legal copy that I’d paid for, and the author had benefitted from than a ripped off copy.
(nd I have a feeling I’m rambling somewhat here, and possibly not making a huge amount of sense, but it IS half past one in the morning….)
*I have a weakness for children’s books from the early to middle 20th century, which started with school stories and spread when I discovered several small publishing companies which do smallish print runs of some of these out of print books (the titles I have as text files are sadly unlikely to make it back into print due to issues over the rights) which has allowed me to discover some authors I’d probably never have come across otherwise. (although it DOES contribute to my book problem (i.e. where the hell am I going to PUT them all??)
I’m glad to see some of you Younger Generation who don’t remember Before Computers still feeling that paper books are the real thing. Granted we’re kind of a little specialised group, any community around a writer’s blog. Even so.
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Oh goodness! I DEFINITELY remember life before computers. We didn’t have one at home until I was about 19, and I’ve only REALLY been using the wretched things for the last 6 or 7 years. (and I’m anything but technologically capable ;-) )
Good heavens. Well, the techno age is snapping at my heels slightly more remotely than I realised.
I bought a Sony e-reader last year before I went on a two week vacation. I read 2-3 books a day when I have the time and packing 28 -42 books is very weight prohibitive. It has e-ink technology and is easy to read for long periods of time. Unfortunately it is horrible for reading PDF files which is the dominant platform for most e-book stores. So most of my e-books are from Baen because they sell in all formats for less then paperback prices. I have only bought one book from the Sony store because most of their titles sell at hardback prices which is ridiculous considering there are no printing, warehousing or distribution costs with e-books, not to mention maps and illustrations don’t appear in the text.
What a mare’s nest it all is so far. This is the problem with being at the beginning of something.
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Captain Hammer has a rant on this issue:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=109763707&blogID=420792348
…which I totally disagree with. I don’t understand how Joss Whedon could go saying he’s sticking it to the man by doing a show without studios, and then take it down and post it only on iTunes. Which…is the man. Different the man, in that it is screwing over customers instead of the artists, but still. I want to have the episodes to play when I want, on whatever machine I want. And there is no way for me to pay him to do so. Shoot, even if he put up a button for Paying Pirates to donate the $4 for their illegal copy, at least the people that want to pay him without paying iTunes would do so. Joss, let us pay you! I am planning to buy it on DVD, to show my support at least in a format where the DRM is obsolete.
Cory Doctorow explains the evil of iTunes here, excerpted below:
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/06/09/antiitunes-drm-demon.html
“…if you want to go from Apple’s iTunes to a competing device, ever, you have to be prepared to abandon your whole investment.
Add to that Apple’s willingness to remove features from iTunes Store songs in the name of “updating,” the absence of any way to give away, sell or loan your iTunes Store songs, and Apple’s use of blacklists and legal threats to prevent people from adding functionality to the iPod and iTunes and buying an iTunes song starts to seem like a worse and worse deal (especially since many artists report that they’re seeing $0.07 or less from the sale of their music on the iTunes Store, so all your money is doing is lining the pockets of the same recording companies that are busily suing grannies, little kids and everyone else they can get their hands on).”
(iTunes, if you are not computer savvy, is the format that your stuff must be in to listen to it on an iPod or similar device from Apple.)
Now, I don’t know that ebooks should be given away for free, although it works for Neil Gaiman:
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2008/07/results-of-free.html
But providing for sale a copy without DRM is really the only online equivalent of how books have worked for ages. Those of us who do love ebooks (I can carry a huge library wherever I go, read with one hand, and read [relatively] safely and easily in the bath [with the addition of a quart-size ziploc freezer bag] all on my pocketpc) and electronic audiobooks are a pretty small but growing community. And I can’t imagine too many of us are the type of people who have no worship for the printed word. But we face a sad choice, often after getting hooked on electronic format by a DRM company (I got into Audible.com and Microsoft Reader books around the same time, when I got my pocketpc), to either pay what feels like a bit too much money, and to the very people who are making the use of those products severely limited (I have had three devices that were officially compatible with Audible.com when I got them and then when Audible “upgraded” their services I could no longer listen to my books without physically sitting at my computer. The same story with Reader on two devices.), or to get them for free, the way we want them, but in a way that denies the money due the author. This is not how things should be. This is not how creative arts has ever worked before in the history of mankind, and it is certainly not really working right now.
The prestige of supporting the arts is nothing new, however. This is totally untapped in electronic media. What if, instead of going to the publisher, the extra whatever percentage of money saved by not physically manufacturing the book was used to send the customer some symbol of prestige for supporting the author? Bumper sticker? Charm for a bracelet? Names (or anonymice) listed on your website like donors in a concert programme? Ticket stub? Membership to an anti-DRM online society? There are a million places to go with this.
It is actually a very exciting time to be dealing with these issues, as the failure of our current methods is really becoming evident. And the potential of distribution of the internet, if one could learn how to earn proper compensation from it, is awe-inspiring.
I agree with the analysis that your blog is helping you commercially. Reading this blog and being part of this community is a part of my life now in a way that just reading your books was not. You and the commenters here come up in conversation often. I learn things that I want to tell others, I see funny things I want to share with my family, I hear tantalizing things about upcoming books that make it impossible to wait for the paperback or the library (although by Spindle’s End I was at that point already). It is working.
…a bit disjointed but I am tired!
A lot of this was going to appear in tonight’s entry, only I got . . . um . . . DISTRACTED. :)
I certainly want to send yours and like yours on blogs to SOMEONE AT A PUBLISHER. That is to say MY publisher. I’m going to ask Merrilee to read the comments to Ithilien’s essay. . . .
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I agree with a lot of the comments about Apple’s behaviour with respect to the iTumes store and the licencing issues, but the store does also contain literally thousands of free podcasts for download that have been contributed by a multitude of organisations. We even stick some of our stuff up there, ‘how to’ video clips and similar. So as with all of these sites, what they’re used for tends to mutate away from what they were originally and solely intended for.
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It doesn’t help feed the hellhounds, but…. the bookthing has caused me to go out and buy dozens of books from new authors I didn’t know before, and many of them I loved…… So the people who read Robin’s blog and likely are her devoted slaves anyway, will now spend money on Holly Black and Diana Norman as well, and at least some of the copies will be new and therefore benefit publishers and authors. So this kind of blog is helpful for the book industry as a whole.
The other thought; because I am economical, I buy 2nd hand books a lot. It troubles me greatly that the poor starving authors do not get their 5c a copy or whatever when I buy a second hand book. I know they’ve already been paid for that copy, but still, I actually want to give them some money in gratitude for an excellent product. Publishers, not so much. Wouldn’t it be nice if….say Amazon (used) had a box to check where they charge an additional 50c, or $, to be sent to the poor starving author, like a tip? Or second hand books had a jamjar on the counter? Or….I have had enough fun reading your blog, I would PAY actual money in recognition of that fact.
Yes, used books are a bit of a sore spot.
But I do think that ‘helpful to the book industry as a whole’ works. What goes around comes around. :)
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Thanks to Ithilien for a very interesting and thoughtful piece. The ways in which creative works of all sorts are licenced and made available seems to be getting more and more complicated (it’s the same in the education world – issues around who created/owns what is put up on a VLE, or in any e-repository for example) and we spend a lot of time on it.
I’m a digital immigrant (albeit a reasonably well integrated one) rather than a digital native and so my own thoughts tend to circle around the idea of the context in which the creative work is being read/listened to/appreciated. I’ll do whatever is easiest, basically (as long as it’s legal). So on a long journey or a long trip away from home – where I might finish whatever is contained in a single book or music collection (THUS BEING FACED WITH THE ULTIMATE HORROR OF NOTHING AVAILABLE TO READ!!) I’ll use e-books/iPod rather than adding several books/CDs to everything else I have to lug around. But if I’m home or relatively luggage-lite then I will always go for the hard-copy of a book. Just holding a book I like in my hands switches on all my relaxation endorphins…:)
And I would absolutely agree with the various appreciative comments above about your blog. I think publishers haven’t yet assimilated all the various ways in which online communities contribute to spreading the word about creative works – they need to catch on to this, fast. And how could I not want to contribute my two-nails-worth to the attic floor! :)
I haven’t decided what kind of a round up entry I’m going to try to do about the blog essay and remarks. I want something that will CATCH A PUBLISHER’S ATTENTION.
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Very interesting article!
I’m one who falls into the disliking “renting vs. owning” category. To date, I have no intention of purchasing an e-reader as I prefer to spend a little more and OWN my copies. (I am fairly technologically adept, so it is not that aspect that bothers me.) But I have been involved with computers and other electronic devices for long enough to know that just because you purchase it doesn’t mean it will be available to you always. I found that out via my Dell mp3 player which Dell no longer supports. All off the 150 or so cds loaded to it can no longer be accessed or transferred to another, newer, mp3 player. Luckily I own most of the cds, but the rest are lost to me–Maddening! So, I have serious doubts about the current e-books and e-readers and whether they will still be around and useable 10 years from now.
I do want to mention one thing that no one else has yet. My local library sponsors a great service – Dearreader.com that sends me the first few chapters of a book in e-mail format 5 times a week. You can sign up for several genres (I get romance, fiction, non-fiction and pre-pub.) This is a great way for me to find new books that I may never have come across otherwise. And, for the authors, I think it is probably a good thing as well since they are exposed to new readers who potentially will go out and spend money on their books because them want to FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED! So, maybe publishers and authors should think more about putting free “tasters” out there to potential readers. And there is no waste…if we don’t like the book/it isn’t to our taste, it is easy to delete that day/week’s e-mails.
I do want to mention one thing that no one else has yet. My local library sponsors a great service – Dearreader.com that sends me the first few chapters of a book in e-mail format 5 times a week. You can sign up for several genres (I get romance, fiction, non-fiction and pre-pub.) This is a great way for me to find new books that I may never have come across otherwise. And, for the authors, I think it is probably a good thing as well since they are exposed to new readers who potentially will go out and spend money on their books because them want to FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED! So, maybe publishers and authors should think more about putting free “tasters” out there to potential readers. And there is no waste…if we don’t like the book/it isn’t to our taste, it is easy to delete that day/week’s e-mails.
*********** Sounds BRILLIANT.
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BTW, I forgot to mention that anyone can sign up for this service (DearReader.com) — you don’t have to go through a library.
I think Ithilien covered the issues quite well.
I’m definitely rolling my eyes at the publishers. When you’ve got a genuine blog going on, like you do here, it does help. I’d never bought a single one of your books new, always getting them used or from the library, and I actually hadn’t read quite a number of them. After getting to know you, however, I just had to have more, and I bought Dragonhaven in hardback (something I rarely do-aside from the cost, paperbacks generally don’t hurt my hands the way hardbacks do. I don’t know if it’s the fibromyalgia or my hypermobility, but whatever it is, it’s getting worse and discourages me buying hardbacks. I digress, however). I’ll probably be doing the same with Chalice. Gotta support the hellhounds and Connie riding! :)
Her essay on piracy was also excellent. Frankly, I strongly feel that book piracy is highly overblown for a couple of reasons. First is the difficulties in reading a long-format whatever on a computer. There are definitely advances finally being made as to e-readers that might not be hard on the eyes, but for most people, it simply isn’t worth it. Additionally, for those who do pirate, if they like your work, they will then want to support you. My understanding is that there are studies that have shown that, and I can tell you that as someone who reveled in the “free” music in the early days of Napster, I also bought far more CDs than I have at any other time in my life. More exposure equals more buying. There are those who will never pay, but nothing you do will stop them anyway. DRM makes life difficult for those who want to support you and does nothing but provoke the hacker mindset into breaking it and spreading the content. I strongly believe that Cory Doctorow has the right attitude about things, and if I ever do manage to get professionally published, I plan to do things similarly to the way he does them.
Really, though, most people just won’t bother with e-books. I’m definitely in the top percentages as far as how wired I am and I almost never read e-books. Like an earlier commenter, I got most of the free Tor downloads…and haven’t cracked open a single one of them.
Thanks very much for this. I’m extremely interested in what you out there think about all this. May i ask roughly what generation you are? People my and Diane in MN’s age (mid fifties) can be *assumed* to be old stick in the muds, whether we are or not. I was very interested that Vikkik and Jmeadows aren’t total ebook people, both of them in their twenties (I think).
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Great comments, Ithilien.
To answer your last question Robin, I’m late 30s. Very computer and tech savvy. And I read and write and do research for a living. In fact, I do the vast majority of my research online. But I haven’t gotten into the e-book phenomenon because I find I simply cannot spend that much time reading on computers or electronic media – it’s just very uncomfortable. Very hard on the eyes and also just harder to research in terms of flipping back and forth pagewise and scanning indexes and outlines to look for related ideas and so forth. So, quite a lot of times, I go to the hardcover copies to do my research or I print out paper copies of documents to do my research and reading even though it would be great to be able to drag along ALL my research on my computer or handheld device instead of schleppijng hundreds of pages of paper wherever I go. Bottom line though is that for pleasure purposes, I stay 100% paper and for business purposes I’m still 25% paper (even though for various reasons I should be 0% paper).
I admit though, I’m waiting for the day that handheld electronic devices become at least as “readable” and “usable” as paperbound books. That day’s still quite a long way away, I think. But, we as a society waste a lot of paper so I don’t necessarily have a problem with using less paper and more electronics. It’s true that I love paper books so I will miss them but for me, the pleasure is very much (if not totally) in the stories themselves so I don’t think it will be a total tragedy when the last tree is cut down to make the last paperback book. And I think there may always be a market for beautiful “art” books made of paper just like there is still a market today for fine art photographs made through antique printing processes no longer in common use today.
Hmm… I think I might have gone completely off the subject… if so, sorry. Robin, you might want to extend the time for posting comments if you want more answers to your last question.
I’ve had computers in the house since I was eight or so and I’ve been online since I was 14. I’m highly wired, love my gadgets, use my computer for work and leisure and have no trouble trusting in technology (with backups, of course.) So there’s where I’m coming from…
I agree with Mary Beth that there is an issue with having to re-purchase things already purchased. Especially here in Canada with all the digital rights management and copyright issues on fire right now, having to purchase something I’ve already purchased once just so I can access it on a different technology platform is a definite concern. Given the way things have gone in the past and appear to be going now, I am afraid that my rights as a consumer to the things I have purchased are not necessarily going to come out on top.
I’m of two minds about ebooks. I don’t have a good reader so I’m stuck with PDFs on my computer screen, which is a definite disadvantage. I spend enough time on the computer without spending my reading time there, too. I’ve considered getting a reader… but…
I love books. Despite my grousing about having to purchase twice, one place I don’t seem to mind doing that is in books. I have done that thing where I purchase an ebook, enjoy it enough to own it in hardcopy, and purchased that too. If the book is good enough for me to want to hold it in my hands, I don’t mind spending the money to buy it twice. I’ve purchased ebooks to get books I can’t get at the library for any number of reasons, or to try out a new author. As a rather new reader of romance novels, who was at first too embarrassed to go up to the check out with a romance novel in my hand, ebooks were a brilliant solution for me (I’ve since gotten over that — I’ll read what I want to and enjoy it, thank you very much!)
I think it’s hard to say that ebooks won’t eventually replace paper books, because I don’t like to make predictions where technology trends are concerned. I do think ebooks have a place, and are likely to continue growing in popularity. But as long as there are bibliophiles like me around (and I am of that wired generation), I doubt they will replace paper books any time soon. — Wait, that’s a prediction, isn’t it…
As for blogs, can I just say how extremely happy I am that I found this one? I didn’t know that you had a new book coming out, and the hardback is on my wishlist now. I understand why some authors wouldn’t want to blog; it does make you a more public figure. As a fan of your books (it was The Hero and the Crown that first introduced me to fantasy, and my copy of The Blue Sword is falling apart from overuse), it’s a great way for me to keep an eye out for new works by you, and keep you on my reading radar. Which can only be good for the publishers, no?
From a teenage viewpoint, I own several ebooks, all from the Baen free library, but I also own almost every single one of those books in paper as well. I find the ebooks helpful in reading when I’m not supposed to (in class). When I’m on the computer anyway, It’s much more inconspicuous to pull up an ebook than start reading an actual book. I love the way Baen often provides CDs full of ebooks in the hardcover first editions of many of their books. The CDs have made me more likely to buy the hardcover editions rather than mass-market paperbacks. But reading at school, or when I’m already on the computer, is the only time I prefer an ebook to a paper one.