Can e-Publishing Overcome Copyright Concerns?

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

(I keep getting bored and sliding into scan mode, and then having to break back out of it for a paragraph. And then getting bored again...)

Heh... me, too...

Originally Posted by Trenien

I wasn't aware you had any book available for free. If neither your writing style nor the genre you write in has seen a major change, I'd guess two books ought to be enough to promote your work. The next question is: where are they available?

On my own site. (Not obvious enough, eh? Something for me to think about when I do the redesign...)

Originally Posted by Trenien

Have you considered sending copies to some prominent bloggers (Doctorow comes to mind) to get a bit of exposition?
In short, do you feel you've used the internet to the best of your abilities to get word of mouth?

Well, I'm aware that there are other connections I could have made, in order to publicize the books further. One of the reasons I hang out here so much, was with the hope of making those connections from one primary location... the passive approach. (As it's turned out, other than mentions here, and maybe the occasional mention by those here who have their own websites, those connections haven't extended very far beyond MR. Obviously the passive approach isn't quite far-reaching enough...)

I'm only recently reaching the point at which I should be able to go more active in self-promotion (starting this summer, I expect), though hopefully short of carpet-bombing my works around the web just to see what sticks. Complimentary review copies... spaces on YouTube and MySpace, etc... Google ads... press releases and SEO... porn... all of these are under consideration to improve my profile. (Well... maybe not the porn... on the other hand... no, no, not the porn. Probably...)

So, yes, my own promotional efforts have been limited, and are due for an infusion of effort to improve things.

[Trenien]

Originally Posted by nekokami

Not a mortal enemy, but I do disagree with you. My favorite authors need to eat, and one of them just lost his house to bankruptcy. It might be the case that in the future nobody can make a living from creating static, easily shared content like books, but I'd be very sorry to see that happen.

Ah, but this is where we get to the point: The reason I think the two things are essentially the same is that I don't think it hurts the bottom line of the author.

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Well, are you deleting all your copies of the file with no way to recover it after giving it to someone else? If so, then that would be the same as giving someone a pbook.

BOb

Of course not. That would mean I accept the argument that for authors to earn a livelihood, you need to artificially recreate scarcity in a medium where the very idea is meaningless. I find the concept plain silly!
And doomed to failure.

[Trenien]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

On my own site. (Not obvious enough, eh? Something for me to think about when I do the redesign...)



Well, I'm aware that there are other connections I could have made, in order to publicize the books further. One of the reasons I hang out here so much, was with the hope of making those connections from one primary location... the passive approach. (As it's turned out, other than mentions here, and maybe the occasional mention by those here who have their own websites, those connections haven't extended very far beyond MR. Obviously the passive approach isn't quite far-reaching enough...)

I'm only recently reaching the point at which I should be able to go more active in self-promotion (starting this summer, I expect), though hopefully short of carpet-bombing my works around the web just to see what sticks. Complimentary review copies... spaces on YouTube and MySpace, etc... Google ads... press releases and SEO... porn... all of these are under consideration to improve my profile. (Well... maybe not the porn... on the other hand... no, no, not the porn. Probably...)

So, yes, my own promotional efforts have been limited, and are due for an infusion of effort to improve things.

And you said your number of sales has steadily improved? Wow!

Maybe I should take the time to check something you've written...
But you know, the first reason why I've never even considered it (I don't think I've even bothered checking your site up) is that I usually don't bother reading books unless they're genuinely recommended by people I appreciate, or reviewers my tastes agree with. I don't have enough time to waste on books from the great unknown - too many are crap.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Trenien

And you said your number of sales has steadily improved? Wow!

The main reason is twofold: One, the increased exposure I've gotten at MR; and Two, the exposure I got through collaborating with Rita Toews' Read an E-book Week project and site. This year's REBW project brought in 4-5 times the number of sales I'd expect to make in the balance of the year.

Originally Posted by Trenien

But you know, the first reason why I've never even considered it (I don't think I've even bothered checking your site up) is that I usually don't bother reading books unless they're genuinely recommended by people I appreciate, or reviewers my tastes agree with. I don't have enough time to waste on books from the great unknown - too many are crap.

Biggest problem I have: Finding online reviewers, interested in SF, willing to read and review an e-book. "While you're at it, why don't you give me a nice paper cut and rub lemon juice into it? We're closed!" (Slam!)

[Darqref]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Biggest problem I have: Finding online reviewers, interested in SF, willing to read and review an e-book. "While you're at it, why don't you give me a nice paper cut and rub lemon juice into it? We're closed!" (Slam!)

OK, Here's the next piece of unsolicited advice. You seem to be comfortable writing in several different lengths. How about finding a subject to write a NEW work in a short story length, then submit it to Jim Baen's Universe magazine.

Since JBU is online, submission is online (there are Best Of books for each of the first two year's editions published in paper though) via two different formats. One is literally a "mail it in" submission, the other one is a post it on the appropriate slush board at Baen.com. If you're good enough (and what I've read so far is at least as good as some of the stories that have been published this year) you'll get a author's bio in which you can point back to your other works. And JBU pays professional rates too.

Even if you only submit to the slush, and are not selected for the magazine, there is a steady group of reviewers for JBUSlush, who might be interested in seeing more of what you write. And they give good feedback too.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

As it happens, all of my e-books are sold at the same price (excepting Kindle editions bought at Amazon, which can vary according to Amazon's system, outside of my control). So in my case, cost would not be an issue.

For the record, I have been told by multiple sources that at least 2 of my books are "on the Darknet," but never which ones... nor have I searched or inquired. In fact, considering how common the name "Steve Jordan" is, even among authors, it's possible that one or both of the books aren't even mine! But that doesn't alter my opinion of posting copywritten works as being a sign of disrespect.

Here's the list of what I've been able to find on the darknet for your books.

Berserker (the Kestral Voyages)
Midgard's Militia
The Onuissance Cells

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Darqref

OK, Here's the next piece of unsolicited advice. You seem to be comfortable writing in several different lengths. How about finding a subject to write a NEW work in a short story length, then submit it to Jim Baen's Universe magazine.

Yeah, that could be worth a try.

[Xenophon]

Originally Posted by nekokami

Not a mortal enemy, but I do disagree with you. My favorite authors need to eat, and one of them just lost his house to bankruptcy. It might be the case that in the future nobody can make a living from creating static, easily shared content like books, but I'd be very sorry to see that happen.

eeeep!! Which author was that?

Xenophon

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

eeeep!! Which author was that?

Xenophon

Steven Brust. And it's a more involved story than that, but let's just say he's not exactly rich, despite having 19 books in print. No medical insurance is a big part of the problem. See his blog for more info (try dreamcafe.com for pointers).

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by Trenien

Ah, but this is where we get to the point: The reason I think the two things are essentially the same is that I don't think it hurts the bottom line of the author.

Of course not. That would mean I accept the argument that for authors to earn a livelihood, you need to artificially recreate scarcity in a medium where the very idea is meaningless. I find the concept plain silly!
And doomed to failure.

If what you're saying is that occasionally giving a copy of an ebook away doesn't hurt the bottom line of an author, I agree. If what you're saying is that nobody should pay for books, because they cost nothing to duplicate, I disagree. Since I'm not sure what you're saying, I don't know if I agree or disagree with you at this point.

My point was that I think people should pay authors for what they read. I'd be willing to accept some other arrangement to ensure that authors are able to eat, however, so long as it doesn't involve distracting them from writing. For example, in the case of Steven Brust, I and some other fans have put together a tshirt website at cafepress: http://cafepress.com/dragaera He also has a paypal donation link on his site. All this is helping, but if he doesn't get paid for his books, I don't think it would be enough. And he doesn't get as much writing done when he's not sure how he's going to pay the monthly bills.

[Trenien]

Originally Posted by nekokami

If what you're saying is that occasionally giving a copy of an ebook away doesn't hurt the bottom line of an author, I agree. If what you're saying is that nobody should pay for books, because they cost nothing to duplicate, I disagree. Since I'm not sure what you're saying, I don't know if I agree or disagree with you at this point.

My point was that I think people should pay authors for what they read. I'd be willing to accept some other arrangement to ensure that authors are able to eat, however, so long as it doesn't involve distracting them from writing. For example, in the case of Steven Brust, I and some other fans have put together a tshirt website at cafepress: http://cafepress.com/dragaera He also has a paypal donation link on his site. All this is helping, but if he doesn't get paid for his books, I don't think it would be enough. And he doesn't get as much writing done when he's not sure how he's going to pay the monthly bills.

I'm not saying that nobody should pay for books. What I'm saying is that handing over a copy of a digital file you have is essentially the same as giving a pbook - and yes, I include P2P as a way of passing around the copy.

I expect people will scream that doing it that way will lead to nobody buying books anymore. I don't believe that: the sheer volume of books in existence makes it completely impractical (if nor downright crazy). For most people, the convenience of being able to find what you want when you want it at a reasonable price will be enough for an author to make a sufficient amount of sales.

[nekokami]

I think I mostly agree with you. I'm still a bit confused about what your second sentence means and how it relates to the rest of what you're saying.

[Trenien]

Originally Posted by nekokami

I think I mostly agree with you. I'm still a bit confused about what your second sentence means and how it relates to the rest of what you're saying.

Do you mean this one?
"I expect people will scream that doing it that way will lead to nobody buying books anymore"

If so, I'm talking about stopping to think that exchange over the internet and p2p networks is Satan incarnate unleashed upon the poor authors.

[nekokami]

No, I meant "What I'm saying is that handing over a copy of a digital file you have is essentially the same as giving a pbook...." It doesn't seem the same to me, and it also seems to me that saying that it is the same runs counter to the rest of your argument. I'm not sure what you mean by it.

[Trenien]

Originally Posted by nekokami

No, I meant "What I'm saying is that handing over a copy of a digital file you have is essentially the same as giving a pbook...." It doesn't seem the same to me, and it also seems to me that saying that it is the same runs counter to the rest of your argument. I'm not sure what you mean by it.

For the recipient, and the seller, it's the same. When somebody hands you a book that you like, these are the possibilities:
1. You like it without being crazy about it. That means that if it's a pbook, you'll give it back at some point in time, but it's very unlikely you'll buy your own. If it's an ebook, you keep the file. You won't buy another copy, but that isn't different from the situation I just described. Important point though, you liked that author and are more likely to buy one of their books at some point in time - whether as a pbook or a ebook is irrelevant.
2. You are crazy about that book, and everything else that may exist from the same author. In that case it's very likely you'll want your own nice copy of it (them). The ebook file you have stored wherever just doesn't cut it, you need a pbook, preferably a hardcover version.

This is the way I see it. If I'm right, the effect of sharing are at worst nil, and may actually be an asset for the authors.

Side note: While I was writing down the second point, I realised something: Steve, I know you sell ebooks primarily, but have you considered setting up somekind of print-on-demand offer to catter to the people who really want a hardcopy of your work?