Rarely a week goes by that an author on one of the various lists I haunt doesn't pop up with a warning of pirates on the horizon. Ebook pirates in this case. Readers offering other readers ebook downloads for free. It sounds harmless enough, doesn't it? Especially to those of us who frequent libraries and used bookstores. What's the big deal if we share books with friends? We share paperbacks and hardcovers, right?
Why not share the love?
I admit I'm a little divided myself on the debate.
I know from my own experience that I discovered many of my favorite authors through loaned books -- whether from the library or from friends and family. I have a limited book budget, so I'll often try out authors "used." I know authors don't make anything from used books -- I'm sensitive to this as there was a time when my entire backlist existed only in used books. But the alternative is I don't try these authors or these books, and I figure that if these writers are anything like me, they look at used and shared books as advertising.
I know that once I decide I like an author, I buy all their work -- or ask for it as a gift.
(The thing that has long puzzled me about ebooks is that printing is disabled on so many of them. If there is a danger of unlawful sharing, I don't think it exists in too many copies being distributed in print. In fact, I think the inability to print ebooks is one of the things that keeps some readers from giving them a try. But that's a whole other debate.)
I think the reason ebook authors get a little rabid about the unauthorized sharing of electronic files is two-fold: first, while our royalties are higher, we sell a lot less books, period. A small print run for a mainstream publishing house is about seven thousand books. An ebook author who moves seven thousand copies is a bestseller -- and a rarity. Ebook authors typically count their sales in hundreds of copies not thousands, and that means every lost sale carries a higher percentage of forfeit income than it would for a writer publishing in mainstream genre fiction. We might only sell thirty copies a month of an older title, so if someone gives away fifteen downloads, that's a lot. You can see how that hurts -- how it directly affects whether someone can pay the electric bill that month or not.
Secondly, the viral nature of ebooks is a concern. If I have a book I want to share with my friends, I have to loan it to one person at a time. They have to read it, and remember to give it back before I can loan it out again. But if I want to share an ebook I can send the file to everyone I know in a matter of seconds. You can see why ebook authors get a little testy about torrent streaming and mass downloads. Hundreds of free copies could be circulating within minutes -- that can get very costly very fast.
On the other hand, I give away a lot of books. I do it to say thank you to loyal readers, I do it as promotion, I do it as advertising. One of the best moves I made was giving away free downloads of my first novel on my website for about six months.
A lot of readers sampled my work who would have otherwise postponed giving me a shot -- and when the book was re-edited and released through Loose Id, a lot of those readers turned around and bought it. So I have no hesitation about giving away books -- but I like having control of how many books I give away.
I understand that a lot of the readers downloading pirated books are readers who wouldn't be otherwise reading my work. So to some extent I chalk up those lost sales as the price of doing business. Maybe they're sales I wouldn't have in any case. Maybe I'll find a new reader or two -- and maybe they'll like my work enough to actually pay for it.
I also would like to believe that a lot of readers who take advantage of pirated books simply don't know better. They aren't thinking in terms of stealing from authors. Especially in M/M fiction, many of these readers are coming from a fan fiction background where stories are shared for free. They're not used to thinking in terms of paying for downloads and web reads. And of course some of them think we authors earn scads of money -- we're authors! Everyone knows authors are rich.
So what do you think? What about ebook piracy? Are ebook pirates mostly innocents or the scum of the seven seas? Is ebook piracy a nuisance or is it a serious problem? Authors, do you spend time tracking unauthorized copies of your work down? Do you think your publisher should? Is ebook piracy even something we can solve given the lack of cooperation from international vendors?
26 comments:
I don't think that most people who are new to e-book realise how much injury it does to an author to "share" copies of the books. I've been letting my sister read my e-books, but she has to come to my home and use my computer to do it. If she wants the book she either buys it herself or puts it on her monthly book wishlist that my sisters and i circulate and one of us will get her a gift cert. to the e-publishing site it's on.
Piracy, be it of movies, music or books is still theft from the copyright holder and the publishers.
Share if you want but share fair by not copying. After all it is illegal to Photo Copy a book and give it away. The same principal applies.
Valerie, I think part of the problem may be with younger readers who spend a lot of time playing on the net and who don't seem to take quite the same view of downloading music, movies, books as the rest of us. I know they don't think of it as theft, although it certainly is.
Of course, that's individuals. There are sites run by people who are not innocent by any means, and who refuse to acknowledge copyright laws.
I am running late, so two points first:
1. I don't share ebooks with friends, I think the majority of them are cheap enough already. If I recommend any ebook to friends, I'd give them the link to buy and maybe write a short review to "convince" them. I am weary of the massive volume online sharing can be and the revenue loss for ebook authors.
2. I agree with you about print-disabled actually makes some people not want to try ebooks. I forget how many times my friends told me "oh, but I don't want to read it on a computer screen, I am too old/my eyes hurt" etc... And honestly, how would bother to make multiple print copies of ebooks to share with friends? Don't they know how much the ink cost? And the paper? :P
I agree with you about print-disabled actually makes some people not want to try ebooks. I forget how many times my friends told me "oh, but I don't want to read it on a computer screen, I am too old/my eyes hurt" etc... And honestly, how would bother to make multiple print copies of ebooks to share with friends? Don't they know how much the ink cost? And the paper? :P
I know. I've tried to GIVE ebooks to people who have basically said, if they can't print it out, they just can't face reading at a computer screen for that long.
It seems to me, and I once heard Erastes say this, that paperback books by their very nature limit the number of times you can share them. I share them, I donate them, I take them in bags once I've done with them to the hairdresser or the retirement community. I don't see a problem with that because at most, maybe they last for a few readers and fall apart or get (in my case) dropped into the bath tub...
I don't copy files to share, simply because that's kind of an agreement I made when I bought them. The very fact that thousands of copies can be made from a single file is a little disheartening for an author like me who needs to sell books to earn money. I love gifting people with copies, but I don't want to undercut the publisher either, so I often buy one and send it, or I send copies I've been given with the understanding that they're mine to do with what I like.
Like you, I think most people haven't given it much thought, with rabid filesharing going on, people can probably make a leap to 'it's not hurting anyone' pretty easily. I do believe, because I choose to believe it, that once a person realizes that authors are not rich and that this can actually cause someone to take a day job where they won't be writing anymore because it's hurting the family bottom line they'll stop.
I'm a bit divided on this. To be honest, I don't have a great opinion of ebooks (mostly because a lot of the ones I've come across haven't exactly been great), and I would never buy one unless 1) I've already read it, or 2) I know the author and I (really, really) like his/her stuff.
(Of course, I'd also prefer to buy a book in print, not to keep on my computer.)
I'd be the first to admit that I first discovered Josh Lanyon when a friend sent me a load of (yes, pirated) ebooks. Most of them I deleted right off the bat, after reading the first few pages.
So, Josh, I might be in the minority, but that's how I found you, and I now own several of your books -- and I got them new, not used. I'd probably buy anything you wrote, if I weren't a starving college student with barely a dime in my pocket. But I like to think that I'm getting there, one book at a time.
If someone gave away fifteen downloads, I don't know if they would hurt or help sales. Maybe a bit of both. Say that the people who got those downloads wouldn't have bought the book anyway. Maybe they deleted it within a week, or they kept it on their computer because they like hoarding things -- I don't know. Should we count that as a loss in profit? I don't know.
As for me, I don't buy books that I haven't already read, and I don't buy books that I don't love -- I can't afford it. If I can live without it, then I live without it. There're probably people out there who have, I dunno, virtual bookshelves of ebooks, and I don't know about those. But without pirated ebooks, my (real) bookshelf would be a lot smaller, too.
Anonymous, I really don't think the problem is readers sharing a few favorite books with each other -- of course I say this as someone who regularly loans books to friends (and you'd think -- considering how many books I've lost like that -- I'd know better).
As you say, this is often how we discover new books and new authors, and very often -- maybe even most of the time -- if we decide we like the author, we do go on to buy everything they write.
So to some extent I think it can be put down to advertising -- because a free book that comes from a friend with a heartfelt recommendation is probably worth its weight in banner ads or discussion list excerpts.
What is alarming are sites where someone lists ninety ebooks and offers them for a free download to anyone. That's where the viral nature of electronic sharing comes in. Of course I might easily giveaway ninety books -- maybe it's just the incivility of the whole process.
Like you, I think most people haven't given it much thought, with rabid filesharing going on, people can probably make a leap to 'it's not hurting anyone' pretty easily. I do believe, because I choose to believe it, that once a person realizes that authors are not rich and that this can actually cause someone to take a day job where they won't be writing anymore because it's hurting the family bottom line they'll stop.
It's sort of like the idea of every vote counting. Sometimes it's hard for people to imagine that it could come down to twelve votes -- or that the difference between being able to keep writing or not might amount to fifty downloads a month.
Like you, I tend to take the optimistic view -- I think most people do not intend to cause harm to others.
I think most people do not intend to cause harm to others.
I agree, I don't think there's a malicious intent for the most part. But let's say an author makes (for instance) $1 royalty on every ebook he or she sells. And then someone downloads that book from a torrent site for free. Would they walk into the author's home and take a dollar off their coffee table? Doubtful, but that's what they're doing by downloading that free book. (And the ones listing the books...I suspect they damn well know they're undercutting authors' and publishers' profits.)
There is the "but I never would have tried your ebook" angle, but I'd say that every ebook author I've ever come across has a website with either free stories or free excerpts. I always put the entire first chapter of my longer books up on www.psycop.com. I figure putting up a lengthy sample lets the reader see whether or not they'd enjoy the book enough to buy it.
I've always thought that at the very least, anyone guilty of downloading pirated stuff should go post reviews and links to help the author recoup the profits he or she has lost due to the pirating.
People who like free ebooks that much might consider learning how to write reviews. They'd get plenty of ebook action that way.
~Jordan Castillo Price
People who like free ebooks that much might consider learning how to write reviews. They'd get plenty of ebook action that way.
What a great idea! And I know most of these review sites are begging for reviewers. Yeah, that way everyone gets something out of it.
I worry that book reviewers might think I'm being flip, or that I think reviewing books is easy. Far from it! I think reviewing takes tons of time, skill and dedication. But it would at least be a way to get your freebies fairly. (And I deleted that prior comment due to a typo!)
You know, I don't mind people sharing ebooks with friends or with people they know. Writers routinely swap their ebooks with each other as well as swapping their print books in PDF format this one to one sharing is perfectly reasonable and acceptable. Here's what annoys me: huge torrent sites and the mutually supportive culture of entitlement they breed. The other day I was googling my Blind Eye Books authors and came across a torrent site where ten or so people had requested that someone upload Wicked Gentlemen so they could all read it. They were complaining that there was no ebook available and therefore none of them had been able to read Ginn Hale's book. And what struck me was that apparently no one had even considered solving their problem by buying the book or even getting it from a library. (Several libraries own copies.) I just thought this was kind of a sad statement about how internet dependent media has become. But c'est la vie. Time marches forward.
So, while I find torrent sites irritiating, at the same time I must say that I see no point in fighting this trend through education about the economics of being a working artist or a working small press. Because nobody cares about that. Really. The majority of people under 30--the emerging reading audience--do not believe they should pay for digital media. This won't change just because old-fashioned types like us have been raised with a different paradigm. One solution is to keep ebooks so cheap that it's less painful to buy them than it is to wait for them to be put up on a free site--this could be called the itunes solve. Another solution would be to embed advertising in the product so that the ads could help cover the cost of production--the comedy central solve.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there are other ways to finance ebooks, though, but I don't think they're going to be found inside the "hey, you guys, quit jacking my stuff!" box.
Nikki
worry that book reviewers might think I'm being flip, or that I think reviewing books is easy. Far from it! I think reviewing takes tons of time, skill and dedication. But it would at least be a way to get your freebies fairly. (And I deleted that prior comment due to a typo!)
Every review doesn't have to be New Yorker quality. Sometimes a heartfelt reader review is more persuasive to another reader than a professional review.
I agree with the idea of giving back.
The other day I was googling my Blind Eye Books authors and came across a torrent site where ten or so people had requested that someone upload Wicked Gentlemen so they could all read it. They were complaining that there was no ebook available and therefore none of them had been able to read Ginn Hale's book. And what struck me was that apparently no one had even considered solving their problem by buying the book or even getting it from a library. (Several libraries own copies.) I just thought this was kind of a sad statement about how internet dependent media has become.
It's fascinating. Yes, there does seem to be a sort of disconnect there -- but maybe it's almost a political statement? Maybe they don't want to read the book unless it's digitally available because...well, who knows. Or maybe they're not familiar with libraries? Or maybe they're not that sharp?
So, while I find torrent sites irritiating, at the same time I must say that I see no point in fighting this trend through education about the economics of being a working artist or a working small press. Because nobody cares about that. Really.
You could be right. I like to think most of them just haven't yet figured out the old You Get What You Pay For, and if you stop paying and patronizing artists, you won't have them anymore...but maybe that's getting too complicated given the instant gratification mindset of the internet.
And maybe we're all interchangable anyway...and maybe if it wasn't downloading free books it would be downloading something else, and who cares what it is so long as no one has to stop and think about anything for too long.
But I digress.
The majority of people under 30--the emerging reading audience--do not believe they should pay for digital media.
You're probably right. Even as I wince over the idea of myself as an old timer who grew up with a different paradigm.
I agree though, chasing this stuff down feels like trying to catch a brushfire. I don't have that kind of time or energy, and I hope that it ultimately breeds readers who will seek out all my work -- and maybe even be willing to buy some of it.
I don't share e-books, but I am used to loaning out print books. I love to introduce someone to favorite authors of mine. With the e-books, I just recommend authors and books I particularly liked. But, oh, how I wish more of the kinds of books I've been reading lately were available at the library.
I used to freak out every time Google alerted me to a pirate site listing my books. The last pirate I bothered with had all of my books (eleven at the time, I believe) and each one had been downloaded over a hundred times each. That adds up to quite a bit.
After that, I just quit bothering. Frankly, tracking them down and sending letter after letter to have the books yanked out of circulation is exhausting and almost pointless. The worst of the culprits tend to move to a new site and relist rather than quit giving them away anyhow. At this point, I don't think there's any way to avoid it. It's just one of the pitfalls of epublishing.
JL- I like to think most of them just haven't yet figured out the old You Get What You Pay For, and if you stop paying and patronizing artists, you won't have them anymore...but maybe that's getting too complicated given the instant gratification mindset of the internet.
NK- Here you get into the question, which you already posed, can these really be considered "lost sales?" My answer would have to be no. Because, to paraphrase you, if your book wasn't available free and instantaneously, I don't believe most of the readers we're talking about here would have sought it out. Being free and instant are criteria to consumption and so, yes, in that way all books that are both free and easy are interchangeable.
So I think that when you referred to these books as "advertising" I think that might be both a healthy way for an author to look at the inevitability of piracy as well as being fairly accurate in that readers discovering you or me or any other author via a free ebook might actually go on to purchase subsequent titles either in digital or print form.
What I'm seeing these days is the idea that a person only has to pay for books they liked reading, rather than the old model where a reader had to pay for a book they read regardless of the level of enjoyment he or she may have received. (The same is true of film and music and visual art and every other form of media that can be made digital.) In a way, this new practice resembles tipping. Maybe more authors should have "karma" buttons on their websites for the purpose of getting their tips more efficiently. :)
Saying that this new mentality is good or bad or moral or immoral is, well, kind of pointless. It simply IS. The ability to adapt to new modes of media consumption and new attitudes might be what makes or breaks an author or publisher out on here on "the roiling edge of publishing"(as my friend Gavin once called it.)
One last thing: Blind Eye Books does not produce ebooks.
The reason Blind Eye Books does not produce ebooks is that both my partner and me are committed to the idea that a book is an object as well as an idea that has been translated into text. This is an extremely old-fashioned notion and one that can't last too much longer into the future--that's no reason to not keep doing it for now. :)
Another idea just occurred to me: product placement. Would it be possible for authors to get cash for advertising products in their manuscripts? Could you, for example, solicit TAB to pay you to mention their product a certain number of times in the next Adrien English book? I mean, he drinks a lot of TAB anyway. Why not get paid for promoting that product?
...just the idea of this makes me very curious whether or not such a feat could be pulled off. I mean, I was at Fred Meyer just yesterday, looking at a carton of TAB and thinking of Adrien and wondering whether or not I was wrong all those years ago to have decided it was, "yucky." Should I not try it again, just in case I was wrong? I think you could make a case for sponsorship based on this email alone.
:) NK
I'm one of those people that have trouble reading a book on the computer. Since I volunteer as a proofreader and line editor for a couple of different folks, reading anything on the computer automatically makes me feel like I'm working, and I can't get my brain to go into "shut down and enjoy" mode. So I wasn't actually aware that there was a problem of pirating ebooks, though it makes perfect sense. If it can be downloaded, someone out there will steal it.
I think anything in electronic form is just naturally easy to steal these days, and if something is easy and free, more people than not are willing to go for it. Since it's just clicking a file to download, it doesn't come with the guilt associtated with lifting the candy bar from the grocer, because the person you're hurting is faceless. We are a complacent, lazy generation of heffalumps, and we've learned to steal like it. It's kind of sad, really.
But, oh, how I wish more of the kinds of books I've been reading lately were available at the library.
It's a slow process -- I know. But if enough library patrons ask for titles or genre stories, most of the time librarians are great about trying to meet that need.
I used to freak out every time Google alerted me to a pirate site listing my books. The last pirate I bothered with had all of my books (eleven at the time, I believe) and each one had been downloaded over a hundred times each. That adds up to quite a bit.
Yeah, that does get costly! I came across one like that. All my titles were listed, plus there was a discussion as to how fast they thought they could get a copy of Pirate King up once it was released.
On the one hand, I'm flattered they like my work so much. *g*
So I think that when you referred to these books as "advertising" I think that might be both a healthy way for an author to look at the inevitability of piracy as well as being fairly accurate in that readers discovering you or me or any other author via a free ebook might actually go on to purchase subsequent titles either in digital or print form.
That's pretty much my conclusion.
Plus...we hear so much about kids -- and adults as well -- not reading, and here we have illegal traffic in books. There's a part of me that gets a kick out of it. I mean, you sort of have to rejoice for literacy even as you shake your head.
...just the idea of this makes me very curious whether or not such a feat could be pulled off. I mean, I was at Fred Meyer just yesterday, looking at a carton of TAB and thinking of Adrien and wondering whether or not I was wrong all those years ago to have decided it was, "yucky." Should I not try it again, just in case I was wrong? I think you could make a case for sponsorship based on this email alone.
I firmly believe my crusade to save TAB as a viable beverage is paying off in 12-packs in my local market. Either that or my anonymous letter writing campaign is working.
The product placement thing -- yes. I seem to recall a mystery author some years ago working with a jeweler or jewelery chain. The chain "sponsered" the book in return for product placement.
Yes, I can see companies searching for new ways to advertise since so many people now record programs in advance and then skip the ads -- or mute them.
I think anything in electronic form is just naturally easy to steal these days, and if something is easy and free, more people than not are willing to go for it. Since it's just clicking a file to download, it doesn't come with the guilt associtated with lifting the candy bar from the grocer, because the person you're hurting is faceless. We are a complacent, lazy generation of heffalumps, and we've learned to steal like it. It's kind of sad, really.
LOL. Heffalumps, huh? You know, I've never worried too much about the piracy thing because before I ever got into ebooks I remember reading an article Douglas Clegg wrote about giving away thousands of downloads of a novel -- as promotion. And sure enough when the book came out in print, it became a bestseller. So I do think a lot of it can be chalked up to advertising and promotion -- someone was telling me recently that copies of my books keep getting stolen from her library. I take that as a compliment. Sort of.
Okay, this bothers me and it doesn't.
Part of me is pissed that someone would steal my book and give it away - cutting me out of my earnings.
Part of me is too lazy to do what it would take to fight a hopeless battle.
Part of me is flattered that someone wants to read my book - even if it's pirated.
Part of me is indignant at the theft.
I'd be much happier all the way around if I could somehow write the "losses" off on my taxes. LOL!
If you can prove a hundred ebooks have been downloaded, then isn't that as good as a real theft?
Where's the freakin' Internet police?
I want to fill out my loss form, have it documented and then attach it to my taxes.
Maybe once the huge amount of losses start to off-set the taxes being paid, the government might actually do something about this.
After all, money talks.
At least, I might not earn money, but might reap some small benefit.
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