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Originally Posted by Cthulhu
Indeed, there should be a third, non-crippled form put out there. However, owing to many businesses being wary of piracy, and whatnot, getting the text in a proprietary format is welcome. Perhaps once sales in two locked formats will create a positive feedback loop that emboldens them to release a simpler copy.
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It doesn't have to be unprotected: Mobi offers DRMed texts that must be unlocked to read. But it needs to be in a format you don't have to have a Kindle or a Sony Reader to deal with. Those devices are still a tiny fraction of the total market for ebooks. Mobi has reader versions that run on PCs, PDAs, cell phones, and Blackberries, and the Mobi format is what Amazon uses for the Kindle. Only the PID differs, so it should be trivial to offer texts in Mobi format for both markets. Same text, just slightly different DRM scheme.
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On the subject of non-fiction, that sailor author I mentioned wrote me back, saying that his fans aren't crooks, but other people are, so he will resist digital texts as long as possible. So even though I helped pay for his boat (his words), he doesn't trust me not to rob him.
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I see a lot of that.
I always want to ask folks with that opinion why they make that assumption. "Is it because that's what
you would do, and you assume everybody else is a good for nothing low life, just like
you?" The alternative is that
they wouldn't do that, but assume everyone
else would.
The late psychiatrist Eric Berne described this in his book "I'm OK, you're OK", where the two types fell into the "I'm not OK, you're not OK", and "I'm OK, you're not OK" classes. I have little patience with either attitude.
I may be too optimistic, but I have a better opinion of my fellow man than that. I think a large enough portion of the market is honest and ethical that you don't have to jump through those hoops to protect your interests. Yes, some folks will rip you off, but while there are always a few who will, there aren't enough to justify draconian measures.
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Dennis