Internet book piracy = No more books?
Wed Apr 9, 2008 11:57AM EDT
See Comments (13)
Panic alarms are ringing over in Britain, where the Society of Authors (a group representing 8,500 UK writers) has pronounced that Internet piracy will soon lead to nothing short of writers abandoning their craft and ceasing to write altogether.
Color me unconvinced.
It's easy to point to the drastic decline in CD sales as a signal that the same thing could happen to the book world, as advance copies of many books have been leaked online before they hit the presses. The author of the above linked story in the Times Online points to such "victims" as J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, by way of example of those being hurt by piracy.
Unfortunately, the numbers just don't add up. While music sales are down, the most recent figures show that book sales continue to rise. In 2006 (the most recent year for which numbers are available), sales were up 3.2 percent over 2005. The forecast is that sales will continue to increase healthily through 2011 at least.
But won't pirates change the picture? I sincerely doubt it. For starters, there's a vast difference between the typical book "pirate" and the typical person who downloads music illegally. In the world of books, those itching to get their hands on the latest Potter fable are usually ultra-fans who just can't wait for the book to go on sale legitimately. They want to read the book first... but come on-sale day, what do they do? They buy a real copy of the book. People still collect books in ways that have long been abandoned for music.
Naturally, writers of less popular books might be worried that their stories don't have the same must-have appeal that someone like Rowling does. But even authors of niche works probably have little to worry about. As a point of fact, I recently re-published one of my own books on how to become a film critic as an e-book, after selling out of printed paperbacks. Though the e-book could, in theory, be stolen and re-distributed without pay, that hasn't happened. In fact, sales are up a little over the printed version of the book, even though the book is now a few years old. (Check it out here!)
But don't take my word for it. Just ask J.K. Rowling. How bad did those nasty pirates hurt her book sales? She sold 10.8 million copies of the final Potter book in its first 24 hours, shattering the previous record (which she also held).
Filthy pirates.
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7 Posted by alan_r_cam on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:49PM EDT Report Abuse
Since it's a British Society of Authors, they may take you to task for your spelling:- colour, not color. A different spelling might have seemed rational to a distant country exerting its newborn freedom, but it has no place on a global scale.
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8 Posted by soltal_tw on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:32PM EDT Report Abuse
I myself prefer to actually have the book itself. It's nice when you just want to pick something up, snuggle up into a nice corner, and read. I doubt it'd be that easy with a computer, or even a laptop.
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9 Posted by robynanders on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:47PM EDT Report Abuse
I have to disagree with a lot of what's being said here. Sure J. K. Rowling is doing fine. But Rowling has bent over backward to fight technology of any sort. Her books aren't available in eBook format and they're still pirated. For less well-known authors, electronic books represent a wonderful way to get published because eBooks can stay on the 'shelf' while unknown authors have a hard time getting into a bookstore and a harder time not being stripped in a month or two. As for whether authors would still write, whether there was copyright or whatever, there has always been a business model of authors getting paid. Once, that model was rich princes (guess what got written). Recently the model has been royalties (authors get a percentage of sales). If authors get paid, they'll have to get jobs writing advertising content or something. I'm old enough to remember when writers swore they'd never give up their typewriters for these new-fangled word processors and computers. Yep, same thing with eBooks. Maybe you won't read fiction on your computer (many people do) but get a decent reading device (Sony Reader, Kindle, eBookWise, or even a PDA) read a book or two to get used to it, and you won't want to go back. Piracy is a problem--and while I'm glad Rowling is doing fine, pointing at one example doesn't make your argument any more valid. Rob Preece Publisher, www.BooksForABuck.com
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10 Posted by denniscadcox on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:41PM EDT Report Abuse
This whole arguement is rubish. Baen Publishing (baen.com) has been offering ebooks for years in completely unprotected format. They have also publically released all of their sales figures for several authors. Everytime an older book is released as an ebook not only does it sell well but the sales of hard copies goes up significantly. In numerous articles on their site they cover why it works and why it is a good idea. They have an entire library of free books. Go enjoy.
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11 Posted by row_123_imm on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:53PM EDT Report Abuse
I am all in favor of universal literacy, but not of stealing, nor of potentially destroying someone else's livelihood for your own short term pleasure. If you love novels but cannot afford to buy them, don't live near a library etc etc, but do have a computer, this is what you do: You become a reviewer. Authors and Review sites are crying out for reviewers all over the internet. Then, you get lots of free books to read, including electronic advance review copies... which is what you say you want. All you have to do in return is write a fair review of each book you read. "Fair" ... not necessarily glowing. And, of course, you do not "share" or sell or otherwise publish the book that was legally sent to you in good faith. Now, here's what you might not know. Most authors are not in the big leagues, they don't make enough to live on by just writing, and if they do not sell enough copies of their book, they simply will not be offered another contract. To suggest that it is acceptable to steal from any author because JK Rowling won't miss the extra income is not a fair or reasonable argument. Some authors take six weeks to write a book, others take six years. Some have a first print run of fewer than 10,000 copies, and are loaned an advance of $500, which they may have to pay back, if their sales don't earn that much. I agree that not every electronic copy that is stolen represents a paperback that would otherwise have sold, and that now will be stripped, pulped, and counted as one more reason why the author may be dropped by her publisher and never work as an author again. But please don't think that you are doing no harm, that you are some kind of Robin Hood of literacy, when you make duplicate copies of an ebook and post it on a "file sharing" site.
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12 Posted by korrupt9187 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:53PM EDT Report Abuse
Who on earth would rather stare at a computer screen to read an entire book, instead of real paper? Computer screens have come a long way, but there is no way I would read anything more than a couple pages. I can't even imagine the headache I would get from reading a 500 page book on my laptop.
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13 Posted by gjbfoto on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:09PM EDT Report Abuse
n a future where books have been outlawed, firemen are paid to burn books instead of put fires out. However, one fireman realizes that what he is doing is wrong and decides to go against the degenerate society he lives in. I have read reviews of this movie calling it "boring" and "outdated," and frankly I am amazed by how ignorant some people can be. Calling "Fahrenheit 451" outdated simply because the set designs look old and because there are no flashy computer effects shows that you have completely missed the point. The people who made this were not trying to give you a spectacle, they were trying to give you a message - a message that is even more important today than it was when this movie came out. "Fahrenheit 451" is a fine adaptation of Ray Bradbury's classic novel about censorship. The movie changes many of the book's events, but the spirit of the book is preserved. The cinematography is truly great and the score is quite powerful. The acting is also great. Oskar Werner is right on the money as Montag the fireman. Julie Christie is wonderful playing dual roles as yin and yang: Montag's zombie-like wife, Linda, and Montag's friend, the young and energetic Clarisse. Cyril Cusack is also memorable as the evil Fire Captain Beatty - he isn't a cartoon villain, but a very realistic and human character. You may think that "Fahrenheit 451" delivers an irrelevant message. You may think that book burning is a thing of the past, a relic of Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. Look around you - book burning happens every day! How do you feel about people trying to ban "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" because the word "----- " is used in it? How about whole sections of "Doctor Dolittle" being rewritten so that they are politically correct? Did you know that school textbooks may not make any mention of Mount Rushmore because it is offensive to a certain Indian tribe? Meanwhile, we are watching our giant-screen TVs and listening to our Walkmans (two inventions that were predicted by Bradbury). We are constantly "plugged in" and never take any time to just sit and think. Look around you - Ray Bradbury's story is coming true. I advise you to watch this movie, and to read the book. (Read the book first. You will appreciate the film more.) I hear that a remake is in the works. No doubt it will be filled with gaudy special effects and silly Hollywood cliches. I guess I should hold off judgment until I actually see it, but I doubt that it will contain any of the genius that can be found in this sadly underrated gem. It will be interesting to see what they do with the mechanical hound, though....Fahrenheit 451
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6 Posted by agustin2489 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:47PM EDT Report Abuse
I find this to be a tad bit irrational but eh, the whole point seems to be a bit moot.