Book piracy: Less DRM, more data

[Hatgirl]

[QUOTE=Pookeysgirl;1330589]

From a moral standpoint I don't see anything wrong with downloading from the darknet if you've already bought the books in paper form (twice). The author has made her money off your purchase and isn't really losing anything if you want a digital copy of the book you've already purchased.Which is just my opinion of course

It's what author John Scalzi believes too.

[arcadata]

As to sales, Paulo Coelho is a good example. He mines the piracy data to see if there's a burgeoning interest for his books in a particular country or market. If so, he either works to get his book out in print or translate it in that market.

Is Paulo Coelho unique in mining the piracy data this way? Just curious if other authors do what he does too.

And OT, but Paulo Coelho just made ALL his books translated to Farsi (Persian) available for free download on his blog (PauloCoelhoBlog) as a response to Iran banning his books.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by Hatgirl

It's what author John Scalzi believes too.

I noticed that fellow author Jay Lake vehemently disagreed with John Scalzi in the comments of that article.

I'm now very unhappy with Jay Lake.

When I got my Kindle, one of the first things I did was look around for content from authors that I liked. I had found Jay Lake's novel Mainspring in my local bookstore, read it and thought it was great. So he was one of the authors I looked for.

Guess how many of Jay Lake's novels are available as ebooks in Australia. A big fat zero.

I'm not really upset at Jay Lake by the way, but it certainly pisses me off that I can't access his work. I did get one of his short stories recently, but I wanted to read the sequel to Mainspring on my Kindle.

Regards
Caleb

[Miss Understood]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I do run into a dilemma with piracy. I have bought all of the Harry Potter books in hard back and most in paper back. So I have paid for them twice. I would pay for them as an e-book if they were available as an e-book. A part of me wants to download them from the darknet knowing that I will buy them when they are offically released. The rest of me knows that it would be wrong to do so.

This was a case where I had no trouble downloading an e-book off of a darknet site. I own 3 copies of each of the Harry Potter books and JK Rowling refused to release them in ebook form. If she had I would have paid for them a 4th time. But she didn't so I downloaded the books so that I could have them on my reader. But, once they are available in ebook format, I WILL purchase them again so that I have legitimate copies on my reader.

The same thing happened with the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel. I downloaded them when they were not available in ebook format. As soon as they became available I bought them.

[Belle2Be]

Originally Posted by Miss Understood

This was a case where I had no trouble downloading an e-book off of a darknet site. I own 3 copies of each of the Harry Potter books and JK Rowling refused to release them in ebook form. If she had I would have paid for them a 4th time. But she didn't so I downloaded the books so that I could have them on my reader. But, once they are available in ebook format, I WILL purchase them again so that I have legitimate copies on my reader.

The same thing happened with the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel. I downloaded them when they were not available in ebook format. As soon as they became available I bought them.

I don't think they are ever going to be released officially electronically, she seems pretty adamant about it, I do find it funny(ironic?) that it didn't stop it from being pirated.

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by Belle2Be

I don't think they are ever going to be released officially electronically, she seems pretty adamant about it, I do find it funny(ironic?) that it didn't stop it from being pirated.

And beautifully pirated. The PDF books are obviously a work of love. I too own all the Harry Potter's in paper and also the darknet versions.

[Valentino]

Another article that makes sense.

Being in the thick of it, on irc in the undernet or the highway. No one downloads baen stuff even though it's there. I have thought about it and a pang of guilt rises and I know the others feel it too, we buy it.

Already said 1000 times but I wish the publishing industry would learn from the music industry.

Make it available at a fair price, no geo restrictions and without drm and we will buy it.

If not then MWAHAHA at your expense.

[Scott Nicholson]

Caleb, I think it's fair to pair a free ebook with the printed book purchase (I do this with sales through my own site). What's interesting is that people like Scalzi and me know who our customers are--our readers, friends, and supporters--and we know the value of them, while publishers are apt to see the customer base as a conglomerate of data, measuring theoretical x money lost. In other words, publishers don't seem to know much about their readers.

Scott

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Valentino

Make it available at a fair price, no geo restrictions and without drm and we will buy it.

As an author who provides work at higher quality than a lot of Big Pub backlist books... in multiple formats... at low prices... with No DRM and no geo restrictions... from my own site as well as commercial sites... as many MR members can attest...

And still gets pirated...

I'd say the idea that providers are "not meeting emergent demands" isn't what is causing piracy. The consumers are as much at fault here as the providers.

That's why doing nothing but throwing blame around isn't solving anything... and nothing will be solved until we deal with the inequities that cause piracy.

[silasgreenback]

[QUOTE=Pookeysgirl;1330589]

From a moral standpoint I don't see anything wrong with downloading from the darknet if you've already bought the books in paper form (twice). The author has made her money off your purchase and isn't really losing anything if you want a digital copy of the book you've already purchased.Which is just my opinion of course

In that case, it should be no different than transferring old vinyl to CD.

If you've already paid than the darknet is really a graynet. I'm only saying gray on behalf of the publishers, because I would lose no sleep at all over backing up a copy I own. Also, I'd never pay a pirate for the backup.

There are so many asinine laws and gimme gimme hostility from the publishers as it is, I just can't be bothered to care.

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by caleb72

I noticed that fellow author Jay Lake vehemently disagreed with John Scalzi in the comments of that article.

I'm now very unhappy with Jay Lake.

When I got my Kindle, one of the first things I did was look around for content from authors that I liked. I had found Jay Lake's novel Mainspring in my local bookstore, read it and thought it was great. So he was one of the authors I looked for.

Guess how many of Jay Lake's novels are available as ebooks in Australia. A big fat zero.

I'm not really upset at Jay Lake by the way, but it certainly pisses me off that I can't access his work. I did get one of his short stories recently, but I wanted to read the sequel to Mainspring on my Kindle.

Regards
Caleb

Yeah,

"MacMillan - member of publishfail in Australia since 2009"

Basically, you may as well write Tor off as completely useless until something drastic happens to their parent - and support Night Shade, Angry Robot, Baen, etc.

It isn't even worth wasting the time looking the books up to see if they are available to buy, they won't be.

[Blue Tyson]

Note of course that you'll be able to find the free version, so if you get a used paperback - it is format shifted for you already.........

[Valentino]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

And still gets pirated...

Yes but you aren't targeting sales to people who will pirate no matter what (there will always be those).

It's the mass that feel they have no choice, but are willing to buy(which are more than you might think).

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by Miss Understood

This was a case where I had no trouble downloading an e-book off of a darknet site. I own 3 copies of each of the Harry Potter books and JK Rowling refused to release them in ebook form. If she had I would have paid for them a 4th time. But she didn't so I downloaded the books so that I could have them on my reader. But, once they are available in ebook format, I WILL purchase them again so that I have legitimate copies on my reader.

Same at our house.

We purchased five complete sets of Harry Potter over the years. One per child as they grew up (four out of five of our kids wanted to own series), plus a set for my wife and I to read.

When we shifted to ebooks and ereaders a set in ebook format was not to be found and Ms Rowling refuses to allow digital distribution.

It was a simple enough matter to find beautifully formatted darknet ebooks. As I have contributed to JK Rowling's vast fortune five times per book, I am happy to use the darknet copies until perhaps, she might change her mind. However, that may well be sometime after the polar ice caps melt.

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by sabredog

Same at our house.

We purchased five complete sets of Harry Potter over the years. One per child as they grew up (four out of five of our kids wanted to own series), plus a set for my wife and I to read.

When we shifted to ebooks and ereaders a set in ebook format was not to be found and Ms Rowling refuses to allow digital distribution.

It was a simple enough matter to find beautifully formatted darknet ebooks. As I have contributed to JK Rowling's vast fortune five times per book, I am happy to use the darknet copies until perhaps, she might change her mind. However, that may well be sometime after the polar ice caps melt.

Australians of course have the legal right to format shift their paper texts.