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Originally Posted by Xenophon
sirbruce: It's worth noting that the essays at the Baen Free Library are some of Eric Flint's early musings on the subject. Your point number one is spot on: they certainly aren't supporting the idea of piracy -- they're solidly against it. They just don't consider it worth the fuss caused by DRM.
With respect to point 2: Their current position seems to be that reasonable pricing plus convenience and respect for their customers is the appropriate antidote to piracy. Sell a good product at a fair (and low!) price; make it easier to purchase than to "pirate"; respect your customers and assume that they are generally honest. These things seem to be keeping the pirates away... enough.
On #3: Yes. the free library is mostly beginnings of series. But they put complete series on the CDs they bind into many of their hardcovers. And those CDs are easily found on the net. Free. With the publisher's blessing. Even as those same books are available for sale at WebScriptions.net.
And when one of those CDs comes out, sales at WebScriptions go up. Go figure.
Xenophon
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Xenophon, I think you've nailed it. "Sell a good product at a fair and low price; make it easier to purchase than to pirate; respect your customers and assume that they are basically honest." I might add one more thing: Make sure the product people want is available.
That's the thing I'm running into. Books I want are simply not available through any legitimate means. Of course, that mostly means they aren't available through illegitimate means either.
