[PKFFW]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Why should they have to learn IP law, learn document formatting, understand complex contracts, analyze royalty statements, go to book signings, and be active on Twitter and Facebook in order to market their book?

There is no job that doesn't come with "but I just want to do the parts I like, that I'm good at, and hand the rest over to someone else."

Because that is all part of their business.

What I'm getting at is why should they have to give you something extra to try to make you pay if you want to read their book? That's what it comes down to.

Yes there are other parts to being an author besides writing the book. However, all these value add ons, extra little do ditties and what not that are put forward as ideas of how to make money from writing in this brave new world all basically work on the premise that one wants to read the book but doesn't want to pay for it directly so they are suggesting that in order to convince them to pay, the author should have to give them something more.

Why not just pay for the damn book if you want to read the book?

(All "You"'s and other pro-nouns in the above statements are generic not personal.)

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Like, "wear a suit" and "go to the company picnic?" Neither of those affects how well one answers phones, files papers, manages accounting software, writes code, or does desktop publishing.

The vast majority of all business work can be done perfectly well in t-shirts and sweatpants, and yet most offices require employees to buy much more expensive clothes for work. Refusal to participate in office social gatherings can get a person passed over for promotion or sometimes fired.

Maybe I live in a different business world but I've never had a job where one was required to attend social functions. I don't know of anyone who has either. I'll take your word for it that one can be fired for not attending though in this day and age of unfair dismissal laws in most countries I find it difficult to believe. As for being passed over for promotion, that is different to withholding payment for work done unless the person value adds in some way.

As for being required to wear a suit, I personally see a difference between a boss asking you to dress in a manner suited to their business and one who says they will not pay you unless you give them more time, effort or something of value above and beyond your actual work.

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I'm not saying the extra social-work or "bonus content" for authorized-source purchases are a good-and-reasonable substitute for copyright law; I'm saying they're possible.

Yes, just like it is possible people who want to read a book for free will actually pay for it. In the majority of cases those that don't want to pay simply wont. Just like with all these value add ons put forward. In the vast majority of cases people just want to read the book so will not be bothered to pay for all this extra stuff.

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

When radio got popular, formerly-successful singers who had great stage presence but limited vocal talent lost their edge; performers with voices like angels but who looked like sticks holding a microphone could be successful. Remove copyright, and authors who are comfortable & skilled at interacting with their audience will have an edge over better writers who are more solitary. (It's possible that solitary writers could get someone to be their public face--a best friend or spouse could just as easily be the active presence to drive sales.)

Yes, times change, circumstances change and artists must change with them. I get that.

The difference here is that no one was saying to those talentless vocal performers that they would happily pay for their album so long as they agreed to come along and play at their house party for free. If people still wanted to listen to their music they went and paid for the music they didn't withhold payment until the singer "value added" enough to convince them to pay.

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

It would push authors into being "performers" rather than "builders" who can easily keep selling what they've made; while I don't like that, I can accept that we could find a way to encourage them to keep making things. (Probably either by re-instituting something like copyright law, or coming up with a complex set of contracts about sales rights.)

Writing isn't like singing or acting or pretty much any other artistic endeavour. I really don't think too many people are interested in watching the author write the book. They probably wont sell out Madison Square Garden on their world tour of book writing.(yes I am being tongue in cheek there!)

Seriously though, the market for authors as performers is extremely limited now and I don't see it suddenly becoming huge with lots of people willing to pay to get to talk to the author if we suddenly did away with copyright.

As for finding a way to encourage them to keep making things...........no other way besides payment has been found yet so again I ask why it is people seem so confident some way will magically come up if only we did away with copyright?(and I'm not talking about people writing for the joy of writing, of course people will still do that. I'm talking about getting your favourite author to write another book when he has bills to pay and food to put on the table and doesn't have time to write it because no one wants to pay for it unless he gives them something extra on top of writing it)

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Also not saying the transition would be smooth & simple; it'd probably be hell for about a decade while the current publishing & entertainment industries collapsed, with little pocket fragments surviving by latching onto some method of income that works without the support of copyright.

I agree with the not being simple and smooth bit.

I'm yet to be convinced that any "method of income that works without the support of copyright" will magically appear.

Cheers,
PKFFW