[petrucci]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

You presented these studies as if they had something to do with the public domain, which they did not. You mentioned that many books did better when they were offered free for a time, but then chose to highlight those books that did not sell better after a free promotional period. What promotional pricing is used has nothing to do with the public domain.

I presented the studies as having to do with the availability of free books. This related to my argument about competition and its relation to public domain works.

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

My logic is solid. People don't read Austen or Dickens just because they are free. Before e-readers, their books had been public domain for well over a century, but people still had to buy them. They could copy them without paying royalties, but they had to buy the paper books. This did no prevent people from reading them.

This indicates that people would still read these books even if they had to pay to obtain them. If people would be reading them anyway, these books can't be competing with the readers time. It is simply a given that some people are going to read the classics.

I see what you are saying, that Austen is not competing for a person's time because it is a given that she will read it. However, what I am saying is that there is a finite number of books that a person will read. If a person reads Austen, then there is one fewer other book that the person will read. This effectively means that there is a shorter list of books that the person will read. A shorter list means fewer purchased books, and presumably less money for authors.

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Copyright is a deal between government and authors. In exchange for the work entering the public domain at some point, authors get an exclusive right to copy their books. During that period of copyright, I am all for authors being able to make money selling their books. Once that time expires, then anyone can copy it without paying.

This may currently be the case in law, and I do not dispute that.

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

It isn't credible that if Pride and Prejudice or A Christmas Carol was not available, that those people who had wanted to read these books would switch over to reading some marginal author. If they couldn't read the classics, they would in all likelyhood be reading books by a really good contemporary author. That really good author isn't going to be someone on the fringe barely selling anything.

A few of them may switch to a marginal author. However, this is not the thrust of my argument. I am not advocating the non-availability of older books. I wish to see a level playing field, so that new authors do not have to compete with free classics. The old books should be in copyright and cost money, just like new books.

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

There are authors who complain about non-public domain books being given away for free or for 99 cents. But it is their book, they can set the price to whatever they want. If they want to pay people to take it, that's their business. If you can't compete with a 99 cent book, then write a better book. There are 99 cent hamburgers on the market, but hasn't prevented anyone from selling hamburgers that cost more, they just have to produice a better hamburger.

I certainly appreciate your point of view. However, there are laws about selling products for less than it costs to produce them. There is a real danger from subsidised merchandise. Authors will not be able to afford to write a better book, as the market will not bear the price.

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Why in the world would it make a bit of difference whether the author of fanfic has something else tho to with their time? Fanfic doesn't compete with the original material, people aren't reading fanfic instead of the original, but in addition to it. Those who read fanfic tend to be the most loyal customers of the original material.

If the author is not otherwise working, then writing the books and distributing them freely is a form of price subsidy.

Originally Posted by Perotin

I believe that new book sales are diminished somewhat by the abundance of free downloads.

Originally Posted by JD Gumby

Certainly no more so than physical book sales are diminished by used book stores and public libraries.

I think that free e-books will have a greater effect on sales than libraries and used books. Books in libraries and used book stores were purchased new at one point. Free e-books were never sold. Secondly, and more importantly, there are limits to the distribution of library books and books in used book stores. A library book can only be in one place at one time. At times it is not economically viable to ship a used book to another locale. There can be an infinite number of copies of a free e-book. Lastly, it is much easier to access a free e-book than going to a library and borrowing a book.

You can see publishers struggling with libraries over e-books. The former wish libraries to purchase a license/copy of the book for each copy that is in circulation.