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I steal every ebook I read.
And yes, as a writer in the beginning stages of my career I am directly affected by the state of the publishing industry. But the publishing industry will either perish or be unrecognizably transformed in the coming years. It's inevitable. DRM is a stalling tactic, doomed to failure. In my (albeit short) life I've noticed a trend: information becomes more free with time, not less. Attempting to limit access to works of literature, music, intellectual property, is wasted effort.
This transformation will happen, and I'd rather see it happen sooner than later so I can get on with my career.
There are those who claim that the death of the publishing industry means the death of literature. But great works of literature predate the publishing house in its current incarnation - and will survive it.
The writing, the content, the soul of the book, that belongs to the author. Publishing houses sell bound paper, but the book is evolving beyond that crass medium.
What I'm saying is this: we don't need you anymore.
If the publishing industry develops a sustainable business model that assures the future of the book, then I will contribute. Right now they're only standing in the way, scrambling desperately to keep the money that should rightfully belong to authors and creators of content.
Those of us who write for love, and are less willing to bastardize our work for the sake of sales, are at a disadvantage in the current system where writing is judged by profitability, not literary merit. Literary merit is better determined by awards and critics than by numbers sold. Publishing houses are poor stewards of our literary heritage, their demise no tragedy.
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