Originally Posted by ficbot
"Frankly, there are easier ways to make money than arguing 'til I'm blue in the face with a bunch of "free world" anarchists over the inherent value of a $2.50 DRM-free e-book."
I never said everything should be free. In fact, I said I can and do pay for my books.
"And it doesn't change the fact that I have a right to ask for payment for it, as opposed to giving it away."
This is true
"Readers also have the right to decline to pay whatever amount I ask, and walk away."
This is also true, but this is the part you don't seem to be accepting. When, in this thread, you have been confronted over and over again with readers saying they WILL pay a price that is fair, and then they qualify what 'fair' means to them (the $9.99 Amazon price seems to come up a lot; the principal objection most of us have is paying hardback prices for books which have less value than a hardback because there is no physical cost and we can't resell/loan/trade them so they have less uses) you complain it is not ENOUGH money and that you can earn more mowing lawns.
"So, no, I am not demanding to make a living on my books."
Yes, you are. You have, repeatedly, over and over again. And when people have called you on this, you've been nasty, sarcastic and bitter toward them. You have insulted the very customers you are trying to court. Some of us really were trying to have an honest dialogue with you, Steve. You seem incapable of even trying to see it from the point of view of the customer who, let's face it, is an important part of the equation too. No books without the writer, sure, but no *industry* without the customer, who is supplying the money here. Supplying the money to YOU, in some cases.
I've spent over $1000 on books at Fictionwise since I got my first ebook reader. I have rated more than sixty books. I am contemplating a major order right now where I'll be taking advantage of a loyal customer offer and perhaps buying 100 or more books. I have worked as a writer myself, been paid for it sometimes and not been paid other times, teach writing (among other things) to small children, have a father who works in the industry and is a published author and care passionately about the future of literacy. I am deeply concerned about how issues such as geo-blocking, DRM and format wars might impede future literacy as the digital generation grows up. It saddens me that more people don't read for fun, and it baffles me that the publishing industry refuses to get with the times and enable them to.
Steve, I have tried in this thread to have a meaningful dialogue with you on this. I have pointed out, both here and elsewhere, instances where it has been proven that people will pay for things they can get for free (iTunes, Cory Doctorow, I have spoken before too about Canadian musician Jane Siberry who found that when she offered her work under a 'pay what you think is fair' system, less than 20% of the downloaders thought zero was fair, and of the 80% who paid, more than half of them paid more than the suggested price, iTunes app store, I could go on and on) and made analogies to other industries to point out that a certain amount of loss is nearly always part of the cost of doing business and not just in digital media either, but it doesn't mean you don't do the business etc.) And you have been so fixated on the tiny percentage of pirating few that you have refused to address the valid points the paying customers such as myself have raised with you. You have come across badly, to me at least, and lost at least one potential paying fan.
I'm done dialoguing with you on this. You clearly are not ready to have a sensible conversation here, and I am through being tarred and feathered with the same brush. *I* buy books. *I* pay for them. If you don't want to talk to me about that, I'll leave you to your quest to convert the pirates to your cause and focus my book-buying dollar on authors who respect me and actually want my business.
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