Quote:
Originally Posted by pdurrant
The first argument in favour of DRM you list is (to say the least) disputed. I don't think adding DRM (of the current encryption kind) to a book leads to any additional revenue.
|
Well, had I added DRM to my blogstore, at least one relative would not have been able to share a book that was requested by her friend and her friend would likely have bought it. This wasn't exactly a case of word of mouth that the relative spread--the friend follows me on facebook so knew about the book and the two of them got to talking...who initiated the "gift" or the idea isn't important, but this is not a case of the relative spreading the word. The book was known to both parties.
I think you can also add to the "Pros" - The ability to add DRM is definitely a pro if it makes the client feel better. Even if it ONLY makes the client/author "feel" better and stops nothing, it is still a "selling" point of DRM. In other words, locking my car may not actually keep a thief from stealing it, but I still lock my car and feel better about it. The neighbor had her purse locked in her car and for some crazy reason left it overnight in her driveway. The purse was stolen. But apparently she felt better about those locks.
When authors ask me about DRM, as a general rule, it's pretty obvious how educated the author is on the subject (the breaking of it, whether it matters to the end readers and so on). I springboard from there. For some I recommend it. They are simply not going to be happy without it and they are going to fret. For others, they want to be read, no matter who, how, etc. It's simply not an issue on their radar.
By and large I deal with a lot of readers who haven't any idea DRM exists. Many of the readers don't know how to mail a file to their kindle. They don't know the feature exists--they certainly aren't going to be getting a file from a friend and trying to side load it. TWICE this WEEK I was on the phone helping two different ladies add email mailing permission to their kindles. Neither had ever visited that part of the manage kindle page. BOTH wanted to review books. One needed to add netgalley and the other needed to add the author's email address. These are people who read a LOT and have used their kindles down to their touch pads. Neither knows or cares about DRM or whether a file could/should be shared. But DRM would stop either of these users from sharing a file/emailing it to someone who does know how to side load.
I honestly believe there are more people who DON'T know about DRM and sharing than there are who do. So as an author, I'm probably more protected by using DRM. That doesn't mean I do in all cases, but I personally believe it is a useful tool. Having DRM annoys a very small subset of readers and those who are annoyed by it usually know how to remove it.
I have no heartburn with someone removing it to make reading the books easier (or storing them) or for personal use. I do not approve of removing DRM so that the book can be given away, loaded to a pirate site, to spread the word, etc.