To DRM or not to DRM?

lordshell · 10-05-2011, 08:45 AM

I've read several advice types that say not to enable DRM on the ebooks. And I've read several that say the opposite. I really don't care, so long as I sell lots of books, so what's the best way to go?

Kubizo · 10-05-2011, 09:33 AM

Not an expert, but suppose that someone who has bought your book wants to share it with a friend:
With DRM:
1) He can get another copy for his friend
2) He can hack the DRM
3) He can give up and not share it with his friend
Wihtout DRM:
He will share it, equivalent to option 2 of hacking it.

I believe the share of people who do option 3 with DRM-ed books is fairly high. Is it worth killing a significant part of the buzz about your book in order to cash in the few people who will choose option 1?

In my opinion it's a definite NO.

But again, I'm no expert.

Ciao!

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-05-2011, 09:39 AM

You're worried about DRM? All DRM is circumventable anyway... there's no point in worrying about it.

Worry about how you're going to sell lots of books... DRM will have nothing to do with that.

Rob Lister · 10-05-2011, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

You're worried about DRM? All DRM is circumventable anyway... there's no point in worrying about it.

Worry about how you're going to sell lots of books... DRM will have nothing to do with that.

That.

teh603 · 10-05-2011, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

You're worried about DRM? All DRM is circumventable anyway... there's no point in worrying about it.

Worry about how you're going to sell lots of books... DRM will have nothing to do with that.

My take on it as well. Its better to sell a lot of books and worry about sharing later, than to risk pissing off the honest users who might not be able to disable your DRM.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-05-2011, 10:34 AM

Don't forget: Outside of forums like this, the vast majority of ebook readers (at the moment) know nothing about DRM; they get their books from Amazon and the like, and have no idea what the big deal is with DRM. For now, it's a non-issue.

OneandonlyDoc · 10-05-2011, 10:43 AM

I opted not to DRM Falling Stars, and will probably continue to not DRM because I know I like to lend people my p.Books, which has in turn caused friends who have read them to turn around and purchase the book for themselves, or to purchase further work by the same author. I'd like to think that people would like to eventually lend my work to a friend, which in turn garners at the very least more readers, if not more buyers.

joycedb · 10-05-2011, 10:51 AM

I agree with the others. Don't worry about DRM. If someone is the thieving type they probably already know how to circumvent DRM. If they're not and just want to transfer your book to another device or lend it to a friend, what's the harm?

Joyce

JoeD · 10-05-2011, 11:03 AM

As a reader I vote no DRM. Mainly because it means readers don't need to spend time removing it to ensure continued access to the book long term as the standard format devices support changes or the best hardware changes.

DRM won't stop piracy in any way, so we can exclude that as a reason for using it. The only real reason I can think of is to stop "casual" copying by non-technically minded people. By that I mean, the equivalent of lending your paper book to a friend.

I don't see that as a major issue either, since it'd be small scale and more likely to introduce new readers to your books. Chances are they'll buy your newer releases when they see them on Amazon rather than expect their friend to keep buying them and passing them a copy (if they don't their friend may eventually decide they're being taken advantage of and stop "lending" them books). A benefit of more readers even if some read a copy from a friend, is an increased chance of discussion about your book online, which in turn means it's more likely a non-fan will see the discussion and consider reading that book in the future.

In addition, whilst DRM is still common, you can get a small PR gain by not using it. People will point out DRM free books when they can and often buy them just to support an author who's taking a stand. Not guaranteed by any means and eventually if everyone goes DRM free the PR benefit will be gone, but food for thought until then.

It's worth noting that whilst most people will not know about DRM and will buy it anyway, you can lose some sales to people who do know what DRM is and/or have been burned by it at some stage. Since a book even with DRM will be pirated, it seems illogical to me to cut out any potential sales by including it. Those who bought it with DRM will still buy it without DRM (since they're not even aware of it), those who refused to on the principle of DRM may now buy it when before they wouldn't. Finally, those who pirated it when it had DRM will still pirate it without.

mr ploppy · 10-05-2011, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

Don't forget: Outside of forums like this, the vast majority of ebook readers (at the moment) know nothing about DRM; they get their books from Amazon and the like, and have no idea what the big deal is with DRM. For now, it's a non-issue.

What he says. But something else to think about, nobody will refuse to buy a book because it doesn't have DRM. But there is a small minority of people who WILL refuse to buy a book that does have DRM, even though it is a trivial matter to remove it.

I wouldn't use it for that reason alone.

mr ploppy · 10-05-2011, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeD

DRM won't stop piracy in any way, so we can exclude that as a reason for using it. The only real reason I can think of is to stop "casual" copying by non-technically minded people. By that I mean, the equivalent of lending your paper book to a friend.

DRM is about locking readers to one specific device and forcing them to buy their books from one specific retailer. Everything else is just smoke and mirrors designed to fool content creators into playing along with it.

lordshell · 10-05-2011, 07:54 PM

The general consensus seems to be that DRM is a waste of time/counterproductive. I shall bow to the wisdom of crowds.

JeremyR · 10-05-2011, 11:10 PM

I think people here tend to overstate the ease of removing DRM.

On the flip side though, unless you are Stephen King, Dan Brown, or someone of their ilk, the main problem is getting people to want to read your work in the first place.

To a certain extent, it's probably helpful for someone who buys your book to share it with a friend if they like it.

avantman42 · 10-06-2011, 02:54 AM

I don't use DRM. If you want a detailed description of why, see this blog post. In summary:

it frustrates people's reasonable expectations, and therefore annoys them. Given that DRM isn't effective at stopping piracy, I don't see the point in annoying my readers.

dadioflex · 10-06-2011, 04:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordshell

The general consensus seems to be that DRM is a waste of time/counterproductive. I shall bow to the wisdom of crowds.

Congratulations! You've made a vital decision. Too many writers never get beyond deciding whether to use DRM. Bravo, sir! You have taken the most important step on your writing career.

Might I suggest that you now research which third party program to use when formatting your books for on-line distribution. That is always the next hurdle.

10-05-2011, 08:45 AM	#1
lordshell Writer/Artist Posts: 23 Karma: 20000 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Roanoke, VA Device: Nook, Kindle	To DRM or not to DRM? I've read several advice types that say not to enable DRM on the ebooks. And I've read several that say the opposite. I really don't care, so long as I sell lots of books, so what's the best way to go?

10-05-2011, 11:03 AM	#9
JoeD Guru Posts: 895 Karma: 4383958 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: na	As a reader I vote no DRM. Mainly because it means readers don't need to spend time removing it to ensure continued access to the book long term as the standard format devices support changes or the best hardware changes. DRM won't stop piracy in any way, so we can exclude that as a reason for using it. The only real reason I can think of is to stop "casual" copying by non-technically minded people. By that I mean, the equivalent of lending your paper book to a friend. I don't see that as a major issue either, since it'd be small scale and more likely to introduce new readers to your books. Chances are they'll buy your newer releases when they see them on Amazon rather than expect their friend to keep buying them and passing them a copy (if they don't their friend may eventually decide they're being taken advantage of and stop "lending" them books). A benefit of more readers even if some read a copy from a friend, is an increased chance of discussion about your book online, which in turn means it's more likely a non-fan will see the discussion and consider reading that book in the future. In addition, whilst DRM is still common, you can get a small PR gain by not using it. People will point out DRM free books when they can and often buy them just to support an author who's taking a stand. Not guaranteed by any means and eventually if everyone goes DRM free the PR benefit will be gone, but food for thought until then. It's worth noting that whilst most people will not know about DRM and will buy it anyway, you can lose some sales to people who do know what DRM is and/or have been burned by it at some stage. Since a book even with DRM will be pirated, it seems illogical to me to cut out any potential sales by including it. Those who bought it with DRM will still buy it without DRM (since they're not even aware of it), those who refused to on the principle of DRM may now buy it when before they wouldn't. Finally, those who pirated it when it had DRM will still pirate it without. Last edited by JoeD; 10-05-2011 at 11:12 AM.

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10-05-2011, 09:33 AM	#2
Kubizo Connoisseur Posts: 96 Karma: 54908 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Milan Device: Kindle 3 B008 3.1	Not an expert, but suppose that someone who has bought your book wants to share it with a friend: With DRM: 1) He can get another copy for his friend 2) He can hack the DRM 3) He can give up and not share it with his friend Wihtout DRM: He will share it, equivalent to option 2 of hacking it. I believe the share of people who do option 3 with DRM-ed books is fairly high. Is it worth killing a significant part of the buzz about your book in order to cash in the few people who will choose option 1? In my opinion it's a definite NO. But again, I'm no expert. Ciao!

10-05-2011, 09:39 AM	#3
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	You're worried about DRM? All DRM is circumventable anyway... there's no point in worrying about it. Worry about how you're going to sell lots of books... DRM will have nothing to do with that.

10-05-2011, 10:34 AM	#6
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Don't forget: Outside of forums like this, the vast majority of ebook readers (at the moment) know nothing about DRM; they get their books from Amazon and the like, and have no idea what the big deal is with DRM. For now, it's a non-issue.

10-05-2011, 10:43 AM	#7
OneandonlyDoc Fearless Writer Posts: 210 Karma: 375317 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: In a mitten! Device: Kobo Wifi	I opted not to DRM Falling Stars, and will probably continue to not DRM because I know I like to lend people my p.Books, which has in turn caused friends who have read them to turn around and purchase the book for themselves, or to purchase further work by the same author. I'd like to think that people would like to eventually lend my work to a friend, which in turn garners at the very least more readers, if not more buyers.

10-05-2011, 10:51 AM	#8
joycedb Guru Posts: 997 Karma: 1086596 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Florida Device: none	I agree with the others. Don't worry about DRM. If someone is the thieving type they probably already know how to circumvent DRM. If they're not and just want to transfer your book to another device or lend it to a friend, what's the harm? Joyce

10-05-2011, 07:54 PM	#12
lordshell Writer/Artist Posts: 23 Karma: 20000 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Roanoke, VA Device: Nook, Kindle	The general consensus seems to be that DRM is a waste of time/counterproductive. I shall bow to the wisdom of crowds.

10-05-2011, 11:10 PM	#13
JeremyR Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 2458402 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: St. Louis Device: Kindle Keyboard, Nook HD+	I think people here tend to overstate the ease of removing DRM. On the flip side though, unless you are Stephen King, Dan Brown, or someone of their ilk, the main problem is getting people to want to read your work in the first place. To a certain extent, it's probably helpful for someone who buys your book to share it with a friend if they like it.

10-06-2011, 02:54 AM	#14
avantman42 Wizard Posts: 1,090 Karma: 6058305 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: UK Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I don't use DRM. If you want a detailed description of why, see this blog post. In summary: it frustrates people's reasonable expectations, and therefore annoys them. Given that DRM isn't effective at stopping piracy, I don't see the point in annoying my readers.

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