[petrucci]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

No one ever said or even implied that books were incomparable. Of course books are comparable, but they are not interchangable. A fungible commodity is one in which is interchangble for any other. A bushel of corn is interchangable for any other. A bottle of wine is not interchangable with any other wine.

I thought that you stated the books were unique. Regardless, some people regard wine as interchangable. There are even people who drink hand sanitizer. There are also people who regard some books as interchangable, such as my quoted romance novel a and romance novel b. The books are interchangable because they all satisfy the reader's desire for entertainment.

I agree that interchangability is a matter of personal preference. I doubt that there are many people who think that all books are interchangable with one another. However, I suspect that almost everyone regards some books as interchangeable.

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

If someone can't get the wine they want, they will seek out another bottle of similar quality wine. They won't likely be selecting a bottle of Mad Dog 20-20 if they can't get the vintage they were looking for. Just as some wines are of higher quality than others, some books are of higher quality than others. If someone cannot obtain a public domain classic, they will search for a new book of similar quality. They will not be seeking a marginal beginning author.

I do not disagree with the first part of your argument. However, not all people want to read the same types of books. Some people want sci-fi and others want a spy novel. There are even people who really like trashy novels. Many books from one of these genera may satisfy the desires of a particular reader. There is no reason that some of these may be written by a 'marginal' author. In fact, some 'marginal' authors are really great writers.

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

With a Star Wars of James Bond novel, you know what you're getting. You have an idea of the quality to expect. Analog is a well-known brand, people have good reason to expect a certain level of quality from Analog. When people look at an anthology, they tend to look at the names. If the authors are authors they know and enjoy reading, they are much more likely to buy it than if the authors are unknown to them.

You never really know what you are going to get until you read the book. A perfect example would be the Jar Jar Binks debacle. This is not to say that series, authors, and genera are not very important. Many people choose books based on these factors. However, I explained in my previous post, that each of these factors does not necessarily play a role in the decision to buy a book. In a certain sense when you buy a book you are really going in blind. For this reason some people will only buy books that have been recommended to them. However, I think that a great many readers will buy books without such reviews. A case in point are displays in bookstores. If people were only going to purchase books that were recommended, such displays would be of little use.

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

If someone is looking for a classic, they will not be satisfied with just any book. Jane Austen wrote romances, but they aren't interchangable with any random romance novel written today. Someone might be in the mood for a romance book, but that doesn't mean that just any romance book will do.

I agree. However, this does not mean that several books will not do. For example, if you wanted a good romance novel and had not read much of Austen, then several of her books may be interchangeable.

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Some books are higher quality than others. People aren't reading the classics just because they are free. There are tens of thousands of books that are in the public domain, but only a small percentage of them still have any significant readership. The public domain is simply not competition for the struggling new author. It is highly unlikely that a struggling new author is putting out books that rival the best books ever written.

It may be unlikely, but not impossible. To give another musical example, Mozart stuggled to earn a living for much of his life.

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

People generally prefer new books over older books. English teachers would love it if people were moving to the classics in droves, but it just isn't happening. Free or cheap new books are not dominating the market, far from it. If people had to pay for public domain books, this would not improve the lot of the struggling new writer on bit.

I really do not know the exact effect of free books on the market, as I would need to know the condition of the market without such books. I do know that lots of people are downloading free books. It is reasonable to assume that some of these people are reading the downloaded books.

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Any book that does sell well can demand a higher price. I don't think Twilight is a great book, but people are buying it, so she must be doing something right. People are paying $8.99 for it when they could choose from many hundreds of other vampire books for free or 99 cents. Clearly, the free or 99 cent book has not hindered the ability of authors to charge more. If there is a demand for the book, people will pay. If your position were correct, this wouldn't be happening. This means we must discard the idea that free and cheap books are crowding out authors. Simply write better books.

I am not totally convinced that this is the case. There are many examples of backlash from raising prices despite swift sales. One that comes to mind is Netflix. To some extent people pay what they expect to be a reasonable amount. If they are used to paying very little or nothing for something then they will not be willing to pay more than that amount. I am rather perplexed about Twilight. It may be able to command a high price because people are used to paying such prices for books. It may also be that it is not interchangable with many other vampire novels, as Twilight is targeted at a young adult female audience, which is not the typical audience of most vampire books.

Originally Posted by PDurrant

Even if true, this is no reason to argue against the free availability of public domain ebooks. The public benefit of free books vastly outweighs any loss of income to contemporary authors.

ANY loss of income. What if NO contemporary authors could earn a living from writing?

Originally Posted by PDurrant

And actually, I don't think it's true. Public domain classic books are great, but they are, because of the length of copyright, out of date. They don't deal with current events or recent technological or social change. People who are used to (say) feminism, mobile phones and the Internet, will not be forever satisfied with fiction that ignores all those items.

And then there are changes in English, and in writing styles.

I don't see any likelihood that many excellent (& lucky) authors will not be able to make a good living in the future as in the past. That the vast majority of published authors will not be able to make a living at writing fiction will also not change.

While your point is well taken, some people still think that classics are relevant today. As they say, some things never change. Also, I introduced free and under-priced books into the discussion, as they also have an effect on sales.