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Originally Posted by Elfwreck
I've bought books I first acquired by download, because if the books are in the right price range, I don't feel I was cheated by buying them.
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Yet the author and publisher may feel cheated. If you downloaded it when it was $15 and bought it when it was $5, you are mucking around with their decision to place a premium on new releases. In reality, you could have just waited until the book reaches an acceptable price and simply bought it then (without downloading it beforehand).
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I wouldn't say unauthorized downloads never cut into sales. I would say that they bring a wider awareness of the author, and that the impact on the industry as a whole has likely been positive--because the bootleg ebooks both get people interested in ebooks and expose them to new authors.
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For the most part, I agree with you. As Doctorow claims, obscurity is the author's worse enemy. Yet shouldn't the author/publisher be deciding how to promote their work? Some can do as Doctorow does, and just give it away in hopes that people will pay. Others can offer free samples, either as portions of books or portions of series. But the decision is placed in their hands based upon what they think their bests interests are, rather than in the hands of others who are dictating what their supposed best interests are.