Hi,
I agree that this is the big challenge of the era we are entering with cheap digital stuff, how to compensate authors in a fair way. As of now even Baen whom we all know as a big pioneer of drm free ebooks and inventive ebook models (Webscription, earcs..) still makes most money from print. If you read the Grantville Gazette it is instructive to read the preface to volume 6 by Mr. Flint about how still print dominates the revenue stream.
As an aside, Peter Hamilton wrote a book Mispent Youth (sort prequel to his Commonwealth's star saga) in which the main character invents the universal storage device and almost all creative works as we understand now stops soon after that exactly due to this issue of compensation, only "reality shows" (in a new version of course) survive.
Liviu
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by CommanderROR
@Bingle
Do you really want that?
The main mistake you make, is to assume that something that is not physical (e.g. printed on paper) isn't worth anything!!!
This is a very grave mistake however. You can cut the publishers, you can cut the printing, but you can't cut the authors away as well...otherwise you'll get another "dark age" where only a few people are literate and books are only written for the church and maybe the governement.
So...make the ebooks realistically priced, not restrictive, but keep them as a buyable commodity so that we can enjoy the works of well-paid authors (that are also motivated and free autors) alive!
|