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Old 09-30-2009, 06:07 PM   #1
Moejoe
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What copyright do you use?

Lately there's been lots of 'talk' (or shouting if I'm being honest) about copyright and what, if any, effect downloading has on the authors and publishers ability to sustain a living.

So I thought it would be interesting to get all those releasing their work here, or releasing elsewhere, to comment on what copyright schemes they use and why.

Is your choice of copyright picked because you fear you might lose money? What is your motivation behind your releases? Do you expect to be or are you chasing a traditional publishing route? Where do you stand on the downloading-is-hurting-authors debate (lets forget for the moment the definition of the word 'theft')? What do you think will happen to the publishing industry in the long run?

In the interests of all our sanity, lets all be civil (including me, if I get out of line, poke me gently with a stick to remind me )

----

So I'll go first. I long ago realized that what money there was to be made in publishing would never be made by me or by the fiction I was producing. My ideas are quirky, sometimes quaint and often misty-eyed. I don't write in any one genre. I don't have an exciting backstory or a great gimmick that would 'sell' my personality as a writer. Taking all these things into consideration I opted to release my work for free (with only a slight pause at the beginning while I considered charging) and under a creative commons license.

The license I use is a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. Basically you can do what you like with my work as long as you're not making any do-rey-mi from it My goal is now to simply get readers, as many as possible, and I feel this license is the best way to spread the work (Feedbooks as well of course where the work is hosted).

I'm totally pro file-sharing and see it as a great tool to spread your work to people who might never have heard of it before. I also believe that pay-what-you-want-after-you've-enjoyed-the-work is the only 'monetary' model that can be sustained in the future. I also believe that traditional publishing cannot survive in the face of a digital economy and that many, smaller, and more progressive 'collectives' of similarly-driven writers is needed to take us forward.

As to traditional publishing for my own work, every once in a while I have a panic attack and dash off three chapters and a synopsis ready to send to an 'agent', which I then promptly forget the day after
---

Your turn.

Last edited by Moejoe; 09-30-2009 at 06:09 PM.
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Old 09-30-2009, 08:48 PM   #2
nomesque
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Here's my copyright statement:

Quote:
Copyright to this ebook and the content therein is held by Naomi Kramer.

This ebook is distributed under a Creative Commons License - Attribution and Non-Commercial Use specified. In simpler terms, this means that you are welcome to copy the file and pass it on to friends, family, enemies, whatever. You can even change the formatting or fix the weird Aussie spelling if you really want. But you're not permitted to make money from it, and you'll need to attribute my work to me.

If you'd like to use this ebook in ways not permitted by the license, get in contact with me. I'm generally fair and reasonable. My email address is <removed>.
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Old 09-30-2009, 11:47 PM   #3
pholy
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I'm not too clear on what the 'Share Alike' clause means in the CC licenses... and I'm too tired right now to go to the web site to check. I do know what it means for software - is the equivalent in prose sending back to the author my new version?

Thanks - pholy
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Old 09-30-2009, 11:59 PM   #4
nomesque
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pholy View Post
I'm not too clear on what the 'Share Alike' clause means in the CC licenses... and I'm too tired right now to go to the web site to check. I do know what it means for software - is the equivalent in prose sending back to the author my new version?
My understanding? Distribute derivative works under a similar license (ie not a standard 'no! mine!' copyright).
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Old 10-01-2009, 10:16 AM   #5
Moxie Mezcal
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Moejoe View Post
So I thought it would be interesting to get all those releasing their work here, or releasing elsewhere, to comment on what copyright schemes they use and why.

Is your choice of copyright picked because you fear you might lose money? What is your motivation behind your releases? Do you expect to be or are you chasing a traditional publishing route? Where do you stand on the downloading-is-hurting-authors debate (lets forget for the moment the definition of the word 'theft')? What do you think will happen to the publishing industry in the long run?
Well I already weighed in over on that other thread, but I'll chime in here too, mostly because I obviously love to hear the sound of my own voice (or sound of my own typing, as the case may be). I use the same CC license that Moejoe does, BY-NC-SA. However, this is really only a suggestion, since I have no intention of suing, stalking, or tar-and-feathering anyone who violates it. To me, the purpose of the CC license is first and foremost to let people know that it's okay to steal, share, remix, etc my stuff.

Attribution (BY) because I'm an egomaniac and I want to get the credit. Share Alike (SA) mostly because I think CC licenses are really cool and want to encourage other artists to adopt them (but honestly, if someone did a remix or derivative of my work, I would be thrilled to pieces, regardless of whether they SA). Noncommercial (NC) because I want as many people to have access of my stuff as possible & I see charging $$$ as working against that goal.

The reason I started publishing my stuff online was: I wanted other people to read & enjoy it. I know my stuff isn't for everyone, but if I can get as many people as possible to read it, then it increases my chances of connecting with the people who'll really dig what I'm doing.

Do I expect to ever go down the "traditional publishing route"? Clearly not (I mean, have you read my stuff? seriously)... however, as I alluded to in the other thread, I wouldn't object to someone else making money off my work per se. I prefer NC to make the work available to as many people as possible, but if you want to distribute my work & the only way you're willing to do so is to charge for it, then go nuts. Here's an example: Amazon won't list an e-book unless you charge a minimum of $0.99, so Sweet Dream, Silver Screen is listed for $0.99.

Another example - I've given "print" versions of my stories (read: "cheap photocopies") to local stores that sell zines. I basically say: "I'm giving this stuff away for free. If you want to charge for it, fine. If you can somehow convince someone - through cunning, chicanery, or coercion - to fork over a buck or two for this, then you earned it."

The example that came up in the other thread was "what if Disney made a movie based on your work, made a boatload of money off it and didn't give you a cut - would you be okay with that?" To which, I responded with an unequivocal "yes"! By the way, Bob Iger still hasn't called me (we can make this happen, Bob).

The one thing I will never do is sell the rights to the point where I can no longer do as I please with my own work. If some hypothetical publisher (doubtless a hopeless masochist) decided there was a buck or two to be made off my work (especially given my aversion to collecting royalties), it'd have to be done in such a way that I retained the right to give away free e-books on my website (I'll spare you the suspense - that publisher does not and probably will never exist).

So, long-story-short time:
Am I pursuing a traditional-publishing-whatever? Clearly not.
Do I think filesharing is "hurting" authors? Nope.
Do I pick a copyright out of fear of losing money? Nope.
Am I a shameless attention-whore? Hells yeah.
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