01-04-2008, 05:44 AM | #331 | |||
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Alan |
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01-04-2008, 05:49 AM | #332 | |
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Please make your points in a polite manner. Moderator |
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01-04-2008, 05:51 AM | #333 |
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And in the UK it's technically illegal to rip even a CD that you've bought. Of course nobody's going to get prosecuted for ripping their own CDs, but strictly speaking it's not legal.
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01-04-2008, 07:58 AM | #334 |
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Sure, America is covered, but what about the rest of the human race? It's this limited coverage that encourages piracy. Same thing is with prices. Some things that are $20 in the US can go up to $60 in other countries. As you can imagine, this goes a long way in encouraging piracy and is one of the reasons why I prefer digital distribution over traditional channels. That way, everyone gets the same price.
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01-04-2008, 08:12 AM | #335 | ||
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First it was DRM, than prices and now limited coverage. Come on, some just need excuses to act illegally.
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01-04-2008, 08:35 AM | #336 | |
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Especially on this subject, I do not take it kindly to someone spreading disinformation. That said, I stand corrected about Germany. I haven't been living in Europe for the last couple of years, and I wasn't aware of the new abuse disguised as law that was put forth a few months ago. However, this law in Germany is an implementation of the European directive EUCD, and among EU's countries is one of the most unfair toward the end user (if not the most unfair). Mea-culpa, Alan isn't a shill, only disinformed. |
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01-04-2008, 10:11 AM | #337 | |
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Most authors have other work to make a living and they write in their spare time. |
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01-04-2008, 10:17 AM | #338 | |
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You bought a mobi format ebook from them registered to your computer and PDA. Then before you read it, you purchase a Gen3. We know the Gen3 can read mobi format ebooks with DRM. But can you read that ebook using your Gen3, NO YOU CANNOT! And why not? Because the ebook is infected with DRM. The DRM says screw you, you can't read your legally purchased ebook on your legally purchased Gen3. You follow the rules and get screwed. You download the same ebook from the darkent and guess what, without the DRM, you can convert to mobi format and read it on your Gen3. So basically, DRM can and sometimes does bite you on the ass and leave a very big welt behind. |
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01-04-2008, 11:00 AM | #339 | |
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I don't support DRM, because I don't think it works. Pirates are able to break DRM, and in fact regard it as an attractive challenge to do so, whereas regular customers are frequently restricted unfairly by DRM systems. But I still think authors should be paid. I know we can borrow books from friends or the library, or buy used books. The statistics I've seen say that each book is read by 4 people, on the average. That's already built into the system that compensates authors. I suppose if you want to justify downloading books from the darknet, you could be sure to pay cover price for at least 1/4 of the books you download and get close to the level of compensation the authors are getting. But I would really hope that if a store offered DRM-free books at reasonable prices, you'd simply pay for most or all of your books. Regarding the effect editors have on authors, I'd like to direct people to this link: http://skzbrust.livejournal.com/58731.html This is the LiveJournal entry by Steven Brust in which he mentions that his editor, Teresa Nielsen Hayden, wants considerable revisions on his latest book in progress (Jhegaala). Several other authors join in the conversation and talk about the value editors provide to them. As an author myself (only published in non-fiction, still trying with fiction), I can tell you that no matter how good you are, you get too close to your work after a while to be able to catch some things. I'm not just talking about typos. You can forget that you've moved scenes around and you need to insert a mention of something for a moved scene to make sense. You can miss that you've deleted all references except one to a minor character. You have so much of the story or content in your head that you can't see, anymore, what's actually on the page. Writer's groups help, of course, and I think nearly all professional writers use them in some sense. But there is no substitution for a professional editor (often a writer themselves) who has learned to read critically and help a writer polish their work so that when it is finally published, it is the very best the author can produce. Some of you may be more than willing to live without this level of polishing. You may prefer your diamonds in the rough. I really enjoy finely tuned prose, and I value and appreciate the editors who help it get to that stage. |
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01-04-2008, 11:32 AM | #340 | |||
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01-04-2008, 12:05 PM | #341 | |
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On the other hand during most human history many doctors were part time being priests, shamans, and whatever not though it still took some training outside of out and out charlatans Coming back to drm, outside of the utilitarian reason that it does not work, and the moral reason that it is really bad, for me a very important reason to fight for its disappearances is that already we have an uphill fight for e-book acceptance by the public as it is. Do we want more hurdles?? Regarding writers, pro against day job, I am mixed. I think that if the authors are going pro because of success, it's a great thing, but then if they have to write Star Wars #11119 or Predator #777 (as Jeff Vandermeer) to pay the bills, it's more mixed. |
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01-04-2008, 12:23 PM | #342 | |
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Libriaries that offer ebooks give you a limited license for each book. After a certain date you cannot access the ebook file any more. And if you buy at mobipocket, fictionwise an co. you get a DRM book that can only be read on four devices simultaneously. That is certainly much better than with a paper book, which you can only read at one place at a time. And of course you can borrow and lend ebooks. But you have to change the PIDs at the store the book was bought at. I agree, however, a store going out of business or stopping to support certain kinds of files can indeed be a problem. This needs to be addressed. DRM is not perfect and certainly bothersome. But I cannot see any alternatives around the corner. Surely an author wants to get paid for his work. It means that someone who wants to read his book has to buy or lend a book legally. And to ensure this you need ways to limit the ability to copy books in seconds. How should this be done without using DRM? Any ideas? If somebody comes up with something better than what we have today, fine. I would welcome it. Alan |
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01-04-2008, 12:33 PM | #343 | |
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But the point is: Because of good advertising and seamless integration of a gadget into a shop, customers accept DRM because they don't notice it. Why can't this also be a good model for ebooks? Alan |
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01-04-2008, 02:44 PM | #344 |
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I agree that writers need editors. But do they need publishers? I wonder if the future sees more freelance editors on hire for a few authors in order to produce ebooks... Sort of the way music publishing on the internet was going to take off (although it hasn't yet...).
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01-04-2008, 03:59 PM | #345 | |||
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I see your point about writers who pay the bills by writing volume xyz of a franchise. The writers I know have mixed feelings about this, too. I think it still helps exercise the craft, even if it's not sparkling original prose. Even fan fiction can help a writer start to improve dialogue, plot structure, etc. Granted that a good writer is paying attention wherever they are, and can draw on their life experiences in their writing, I think I'd still argue that writing franchise novels is more helpful to writers polishing their skills than delivering packages or managing databases. |
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