Quote:
Originally Posted by Trenien
Ah, but this is where we get to the point: The reason I think the two things are essentially the same is that I don't think it hurts the bottom line of the author.
Of course not. That would mean I accept the argument that for authors to earn a livelihood, you need to artificially recreate scarcity in a medium where the very idea is meaningless. I find the concept plain silly!
And doomed to failure.
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If what you're saying is that occasionally giving a copy of an ebook away doesn't hurt the bottom line of an author, I agree. If what you're saying is that nobody should pay for books, because they cost nothing to duplicate, I disagree. Since I'm not sure what you're saying, I don't know if I agree or disagree with you at this point.
My point was that I think people should pay authors for what they read. I'd be willing to accept some other arrangement to ensure that authors are able to eat, however, so long as it doesn't involve distracting them from writing. For example, in the case of Steven Brust, I and some other fans have put together a tshirt website at cafepress:
http://cafepress.com/dragaera He also has a paypal donation link on his site. All this is helping, but if he doesn't get paid for his books, I don't think it would be enough. And he doesn't get as much writing done when he's not sure how he's going to pay the monthly bills.