Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
You, for instance, haven't said anything to convince me that I can expect to be fairly compensated for my work, copyright laws or not, since they are only electronic files. And many others have made it clear that they feel no remorse in taking an e-book of mine without paying me a penny for it.
Copyright laws are there to enforce fairness (or morality) in a society that would rather ignore the concept in order to "take what they want." Throwing out copyright laws will simply give everyone the official OK to "take what they want," which society has historically proven that it is perfectly willing to do.
And I contend that that is not a good thing.
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In the other thread that went over this topic, I used Cory Doctorow to show an example of an author who chose to go the way of not minding having his book copied over and over again over the internet. As a matter of fact, he relishes it, arguing that as an author he wants more people reading his books, not less.
At the time I couldn't argue about Doctorow's fame prior to his first publication - he could have pulled a 'Radiohead', cashing in on celebrity earned through more conventional means. Well, I did my homework and I can know tell you although he was somewhat known, it was mainly within the very limited circles of the CC community. That needs to be compared to the hundred of thousands of books (paper books) he's sold, mainly because he gained fame as an author with the ebooks versions...
Do note that he still retains his copyright, and the CC he's chosen specifically says that you're free to do whatever you wish with his books, provided you don't earn money in a rich country (that means reprinting the book or whatever derivative work). If you do, is lawyer and accountant will want a word with you.
So yes, as an author, if you went down that road you probably could earn money from your writings - arguably you could even earn more than you do now, provided you're any good (I couldn't say, I haven't read any of your books).