[Pulpmeister]

One thing about all of this is the fantastic complexity of book publishing.

I speak from the limited experience of writing, and having them published commercially, three non-fiction books.

It never occurred to me, at the time, that anybody outside the very limited audience for these books - books all on paper - that (a) anybody outside my home country of Australia would be the slightest bit interested [wrong]; (b) that any non-English speaker would be even slightly interested [wrong]; or (c) that anybody would want an e-book edition [yet to be established].

So my publishing contracts were licences for first-time English language only. Before any of it goes to e-book, or to non-English-language translation (a fantastically remote possibility) it all comes back to me. I have to do the licencing.

One of my books has since been self-published as a website-on-a-disc -- a CD ROM version. I expanded the photo content from 400 b+w pics to 800+ pics including colour. I did all of it myself, capitalised it myself (cash up front) and happily I got my money back eventually. I don't doubt for a second that the CD-ROM edition has been pirated - hey, all you need is a PC.

Why am I rabbiting on like this? Well, it's Friday evening in Western Australia, I've just had a few beers and feel like it, but in my wandering way I just want to make it clear that the publishers (bless their little cotton socks) aren't evil villains - well not all of them, and not all of the time - but have a lot of constraints placed on on them by often very cranky authors, by obsolete publishing conracts and systems, and by a technological revolution in printed word publication that is moving at about Warp 7 while the law is moving at about 16.35 miles per hour (with a tail wind).

Have I pirated any books? I'm not sure.

I have an e-reader full of books, the books being given to on a disc by a relative. After trying to read them sitting at my PC I gave up and bought the e-reader, much to the gratification, not doubt, of the manufacturer. Are those books pirated? Or are they loaned?

I have shelves of paperbacks - mostly cheerful pulp, hence my handle - but these were almost bought second-hand, often in charity shops, mostly in second-hand bookshops. Are the printed books "pirated" because I didn't buy them new?

I am converting a lot of my disintegrating paperbacks to e-book format, specially my mountain of old Agatha Christie paperbacks. My starting point for these has been the net, looking for on-line searchable magazine and newspaper serialisation versions. I have found about 18 Aggies so far, downloaded the automatic OCRs, and then laboriously hand-corrected the OCRs against my paperbacks, before creating the e-book editions for myself. I don't trade these, I don't sell them. Is that piracy?

There's so much grey area at the moment that finding anything black or white to grab hold of is damned near impossible.

Still, it's fun.