Quote:
Originally Posted by radius
The thing is though, that publishers aren't doing this out of spite. It costs them money to make and market ebook editions and they need to recoup that somehow. With modern publishing workflows, where there is an existing electronic compy of a work, this is mitigated somewhat, but for older works they need to scan, proof, "typeset", possibly commission more modern cover and so on before they even market. I think it is mostly worth it for authours that have a large-ish body of work so that they can spread the marketing costs over multiple books or over a series.
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I agree that this isn't a question of spite or even of what authors or publishers should or shouldn't do. They all act generally in their own self interest within the existing system. That's how Capitalism works and I'm glad it does.
This problem a flaw in the system that can be fixed. Copyright should end if it's not used. Copyright should be the right to profit from distribution and not the right to withhold it whether out of spite or lack of interest.
By it's nature copyright is a very artificial thing in which people agree that nobody is allowed to do certain things that are easy and natural to do and even seem generous and fair. We agree not to do them in order to protect the rights of creators to encourage them to continue to create. We should fine tune that agreement as our culture evolves so that it only encourages creativity.
Barry