Quote:
Originally Posted by MaggieScratch
Tell them that if they don't pay for their books, then authors will not be able to afford to write them, publishers will not be able to afford to publish them, and there won't be anything new to read.
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Except that's not strictly true. Some people have always been driven to write, and have done so without regard to how widely they're read, if it all. As long as humans are human, this isn't likely to change. Vast amounts of fan fiction and original material exist online, that no one charges for. Also, some writers will manage to get enough return from tip jars or whatever that they will consider it monetarily worthwhile to write even if it's infeasible to charge for copies of their works.
Further, even if writers stop writing (and here I'm mostly considering for-pay fiction writers), does it matter? Yes, I have a list of future books I'll pick up when they come out, mostly continuing series and works by authors I like. But I survive when an author dies, and won't write any more. I'll survive if all fiction writers stop producing. Enough has already been produced that I could read a novel a day in the categories I like for many decades to come. The books are out there, easily available to download. Thousands of books sit on my hard drive, waiting to be read.