There's a better way to beat the ebook pirates

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Bah.

My novels are available in multiple formats (plus an RTF to "roll your own"), at $2.99, No DRM, No geographical restrictions, meticulously edited and proofed, with quality covers, at multiple online bookselling outlets, including my own site.

Yesterday, I received yet another Google Alert of another site giving away my books for free... and not even a torrent site, but a site that pretends they have the right to sell books "free to members."

Say whatever you want; people are going to keep stealing ebooks, just because they farking can. And other consumers turn a blind eye, or egg them on, at their discretion.

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by CommonReader

How low would the price have to be to keep people away from piracy?

$0.00

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

Bah.

Say whatever you want; people are going to keep stealing ebooks, just because they farking can. And other consumers turn a blind eye, or egg them on, at their discretion.

"If there is nothing to steal, there can be no thieves" Or book pirates as the case may be.

Don't be all, there won't be any food on the author's table either, we are just going to have to take a leap of faith as we move into the new era.

[carld]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

Bah.

Say whatever you want; people are going to keep stealing ebooks, just because they farking can. And other consumers turn a blind eye, or egg them on, at their discretion.

Sadly, I have to agree. Some (too many) people just refuse to pay for things that they can download. Sure, they cloak it in blah blah blah about "freedom" and all that. But it always comes down to the fact that stealing is cheap (free) and easy.

[carld]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

$0.00
"If there is nothing to steal, there can be no thieves" Or book pirates as the case may be.

Don't be all, there won't be any food on the author's table either, we are just going to have to take a leap of faith as we move into the new era.

Or people could just stop stealing other's work and destroying their livelihood.

[caleb72]

I think there will be pirates regardless of the price you set. There will always be people who feel entitled to everything for nothing especially when there is so little risk in the enjoying the booty of piracy.

So concentrate on satisfying the people that actually find it acceptable to pay for books and try to make sure they don't change their minds.

Adapt or die.

I'm yet to resort to the darknet for ebooks and to be honest, geo-restrictions will drive me to it more quickly than any of the other customer-hating practices in the industry.

Regards
Caleb

[Quexos]

Originally Posted by CommonReader

Sounds nice but gets more difficult when you have to get more specific. Unlike the oil industry book publishing isn't exactly a business that generates tsunamis of cash.

That is a more general problem with capitalism. Companies must make an insane amount of money off a product or it is not worth producing it. Can't they be happy making enough money to pay all their bills, all their salaries and taxes ? Must they only sell something provided it generates astronomical amounts of money ? This model is damaging for the consumer in general but even more so for cultural products such as books as we see happen.

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by carld

Or people could just stop stealing other's work and destroying their livelihood.

The belief that ideas can be stolen is very firmly entrenched in a lot of minds ATM. Switching over to the new paradigm, that of reading before purchasing is going to be tough, but that does not mean we shouldn't switch. I have seen livelihoods not be destroyed but enriched by embracing this new model.

[carld]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

The belief that ideas can be stolen is very firmly entrenched in a lot of minds ATM. Switching over to the new paradigm, that of reading before purchasing is going to be tough, but that does not mean we shouldn't switch. I have seen livelihoods not be destroyed but enriched by embracing this new model.

You aren't stealing ideas, you're stealing other people's hard work.

[Quexos]

Don't be too eager to shed tears for the industries in general. Remember how it was before piracy existed (or at least good digital quality piracy) like back in the 80's where if you wanted one song in an album, you had to buy the whole album and nobody defended the consumer's interests cause you paid way too much or too expensive.
You heard a certain movie was a hit in America and you burned to see it here in continental Europe ? Well if you were lucky, 2 or 3 years later it was on the cinemas here. You don't like the wait ? screw you cause you don't have a choice. You loved a show ? had to be lucky to catch whatever episodes you could on TV and screw you if you wanted to see it in the proper order (from ep 1 to the last) you watched whatever episode your TV channel was willing to show and at the time they wanted. You wanted to buy the VHS of a certain show ? you had to pay the insane price they asked for it, season by season and with a crappy quality (I had the X-files on VHS for which I paid an insane price and the picture was wobbly as good old magnetic tapes could be when poorly recorded). And so on.

Originally Posted by carld

Sadly, I have to agree. Some (too many) people just refuse to pay for things that they can download. Sure, they cloak it in blah blah blah about "freedom" and all that. But it always comes down to the fact that stealing is cheap (free) and easy.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by CommonReader

I have written before in other threads about the problems I see with lifting geo-restrictions. What is the right price for a book published in "global" languages like English and Spanish? A price that is appropiate for India and the US, for Spain and for Guatemala? What will happen when shifts in exchange rates suddenly make sellers in countries with devaluing currencies much more competitive?

Originally Posted by caleb72

I'm yet to resort to the darknet for ebooks and to be honest, geo-restrictions will drive me to it more quickly than any of the other customer-hating practices in the industry.

That is your answer.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by caleb72

So concentrate on satisfying the people that actually find it acceptable to pay for books and try to make sure they don't change their minds.

Adapt or die.

Adapt to what? Wasting my time?

I have a better idea: Stop releasing books. Find a new hobby. Ye pirates can pound sand.

[Quexos]

I disagree. To steal their work you must claim you wrote their work and cash in whatever money it generates. You don't appropriate their work, you only read it. You can choose not to read it at all too. So am I stealing all the hundreds of thousands of books I decided to never read or buy ?

Also some books I used to buy on print and so already paid money for back then, why should I pay for those twice ?

Originally Posted by carld

You aren't stealing ideas, you're stealing other people's hard work.

[CommonReader]

I wonder if people here would be happy to see their own salaries cut dramatically because of "customer demands"? It is always nice to demand that other people should cut back their income. Book publishing isn't exactly the profession you will enter when you are keen on a high income as it is.
Just yesterday I stumbled in an unrelated forum on an ebook collection for download. Some 2,000 books in Spanish, excellent literary taste. Whatever the technical quality, with one hour download time that is for most people a lifetime's reading for free. No legitimate business model can compete with this and I can understand that the publishing industry is struggling to adapt. The low data volume of ebooks is an additional problem for the industry. Imagine you have an ebook you like with no DRM. Even otherwise law abiding people will probably be happy to just forward that book by email to family and friends.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

Bah.

My novels are available in multiple formats (plus an RTF to "roll your own"), at $2.99, No DRM, No geographical restrictions, meticulously edited and proofed, with quality covers, at multiple online bookselling outlets, including my own site.

Yesterday, I received yet another Google Alert of another site giving away my books for free... and not even a torrent site, but a site that pretends they have the right to sell books "free to members."

Say whatever you want; people are going to keep stealing ebooks, just because they farking can. And other consumers turn a blind eye, or egg them on, at their discretion.

Those people are not your customers. Those of us who are appreciate that your books are easy to buy and are DRM free. You're not the problem; you're not hampering the ability to buy and enjoy your books.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

Adapt to what? Wasting my time?

I have a better idea: Stop releasing books. Find a new hobby. Ye pirates can pound sand.

My reference is to companies sticking to older business models in the face of change.

You actually are trying to adapt as you've outlined in a previous post. So you are clearly not to whom I was referring. But people will still pirate your books Steven regardless of what you try to do.

I still have Verdant Skies on my wish list from some time ago because the book was recommended to me. I haven't purchased it yet for some odd reason - but I definitely intend to. Your price is very reasonable and it's likely that if I enjoy it enough, I'll not only look at your other books, but there's a good chance I'll repurchase it and gift it to my sister.

This is not news that will stop you being upset about a bunch of self-entitled people running around treating you like a faceless corporation or a potential threat to their own definition of digital freedom. But don't you think you're more likely to get something from me than from them?

To me, you've taken all the steps you need to take for me to totally be on your side. There's probably no steps you can take to get that other gaggle of geese on your side.

The gist of my post was that there are other groups, publishers etc. that are not helping their case with me. In some examples, they are making it impossible for me to even purchase their product. With the darknet a few simple keystrokes away, why the hell are these people trying to tempt me - someone predisposed to purchase rather than steal - to become the lost sale that they are often moaning about.

Regards
Caleb