Quote:
Originally Posted by ScalyFreak
Speaking as a reader (which admittedly biases my opinion), isn't this type of casual sharing good for authors? I can't even begin to count the number of writers and books I would never have discovered, if a friend hadn't raved about hos great this or that writer was, pushed a pbook into my hands and urged me to read it.
No one I know who loves reading, has discovered new writers by spending money on a book simply because "this looks good", without someone recommending it to them first. So the way I see it, being able to share a book with friends and family helps word of mouth get out faster and further, which basically amounts to free advertising for the writer. Isn't that a good thing?
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I can find you lots of people who simply didn't buy the book because they got it for free. Sucks especially for authors who only have one book and would like to see how it sells.
None the less, the important element is that it's up to the author, the copyright holder, to decide if that's a good thing or not, not the reader, who might try to rationalize an illegal act by saying they are doing the author a favor.
Copyright protection gives the author the right (unless he gives away that right in a contract or something) to ALLOW that kind of sharing if he wants it.
(And if he DOES want to allow, DRM hampers it.)
ApK