tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post336827011233029272..comments2024-02-16T05:30:02.319-05:00Comments on Jane's Ride: Book PiracyJane Kennedy Suttonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12519340747761460017noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-90230515343042717572011-03-18T16:47:15.700-04:002011-03-18T16:47:15.700-04:00What I don't think was addressed here was at l...What I don't think was addressed here was at least a large part of the problem:<br /><br />Cost.<br /><br />Studies have shown that when given the opportunity to download and own legitimate mp3s, most people will do so. Now, you can purchase an entire album online for almost half of what the physical CD used to cost in stores.<br /><br />But digital books (at least those offered by "traditional" publishers) haven't yet learned from the mistakes of the recording industry.<br /><br />I still see books going for $10 or more on the Kindle and Sony Reader - and when you stop to think of it - that's outrageous! There's no more printing cost, the delivery method is negligible... it's just greed.<br /><br />I'm self-published. I sell my book for roughly $2.99 for the ebook. I also give it away for free online (both the pdf and the unabridged audiobook podcast are free).<br /><br />And it sells. And it's actually selling more copies now than when I released it back in 09. I've had some of the best sales months ever the last 6 months.<br /><br />Why? Because I embrace sharing. And, sure enough - people will either donate, or buy.<br /><br />Or, better yet - they tell their friends about it, who then buy. For every 5 or so people who read my book or listen to the story - 1 buys.<br /><br />While that might not sound like much - guess how much I'm paying for that advertising? Nothing.<br /><br />But when you actually think about advertising ROI (I work in advertising, after all), and you think about "how much would it have cost me to reach that one person who bought the book?" then you realize that giving it away for free is wonderful for making money.<br /><br />I know, doesn't make sense... but by giving it away for free, I can track exactly how many people download my book. And there's no need for sites like BitTorrent to offer my book - because it's already free.John A. Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01187673179419241581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-2374362022745045412011-03-16T11:18:19.123-04:002011-03-16T11:18:19.123-04:00It will be interesting to see how writers of e-boo...It will be interesting to see how writers of e-books will respond to e-book piracy. Maybe some will embrace it like some famous musicians embrace illegal music downloading. <br /><br />I don't think passing your books to friends is a bad thing!Ashley Ashbeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05268928207063175136noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-30383058938169974242011-03-16T09:21:27.764-04:002011-03-16T09:21:27.764-04:00This is a sad truth. I have met so many people who...This is a sad truth. I have met so many people who boast about piracy. It bothers me. I couldn't do it. Great post.Ciarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15628488753277495111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-51059856070377347562011-03-15T16:24:21.764-04:002011-03-15T16:24:21.764-04:00The book industry has to learn from the music indu...The book industry has to learn from the music industry and put a stop to piracy. I agree about getting the word out that stolen books hurt authors.Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-11150649662241226052011-03-15T16:01:53.780-04:002011-03-15T16:01:53.780-04:00I don't think lending books to friends hurts a...I don't think lending books to friends hurts authors, necessarily. It helps build a fan base, which creates more demand for the books in the end, whether through bookstores or libraries.<br /><br />The e-book piracy is a very depressing thing. I worry that we'll have to lower our prices so much so people won't be tempted to steal them.Christina Rodriguezhttp://www.christinarodriguez.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-55658031768768995962011-03-15T14:25:55.426-04:002011-03-15T14:25:55.426-04:00No solutions that I know of--people that are going...No solutions that I know of--people that are going to do this are probably always going to find a way to steal. It seems like it would really be a hassle to pirate hard copys of books unlike CDs and DVDs, but E-books would be so easy to pirate since it just amounts to a transfer of data and there's no manufacturing involved.<br /><br />It's sad that so many people thoughtlessly will steal just to save a buck and don't even give any consideration of who they are taking money from and giving it to instead.<br /><br />Lee<br /><a href="http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Tossing It Out</a>Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-32630535060573572182011-03-14T17:50:35.578-04:002011-03-14T17:50:35.578-04:00Diane, I forgot about the used book stores.
Old K...Diane, I forgot about the used book stores.<br /><br />Old Kitty, I would cringe when people told me how they passed my book around, but since I’d done the same with other books I learned to just smile and say thanks.<br /><br />Karen G., I have given away my books, too. I think the problem is mostly on the torrent sites where the owners of the sites are the ones making money on the free book downloads.<br /><br />Joanne, I love libraries. I discovered that there are people who never buy books, so if the library doesn’t have the book they want to read, they simply don’t read it. <br /><br />Jan, I think a big part of the problem is that people don’t understand how the average author makes money on sales and how insignificant that money is.<br /><br />Mason, it’s great when sharing results in another sale or two.<br /><br />Carol, some people might care if they took a moment to think about it—others are probably totally aware of what they are doing.<br /><br />The Old Silly, I think it’s great you won’t buy used books on line. I have done so, but only when a book is out of print. Taiwan was a fun and interesting place to live back in those days. I understand that it has mushroomed in size and I probably wouldn’t recognize it now.<br /><br />Alex, I agree—technology has changed the piracy issue completely. I think it’s more complicated now.Jane Kennedy Suttonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12519340747761460017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-57513750973451073422011-03-14T17:43:30.059-04:002011-03-14T17:43:30.059-04:00I think technology has changed views as to what is...I think technology has changed views as to what is piracy or not. I can giveaway or sell my CDs, which are physical, but Napster was shut down for giving away free music because the artists received no compensation. I think eBooks fall into the same category.Alex J. Cavanaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09770065693345181702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-50951092022168921582011-03-14T11:27:48.417-04:002011-03-14T11:27:48.417-04:00Not guilty! I refuse to buy "used" books...Not guilty! I refuse to buy "used" books online and hate that Amazon sells used copies of my books - which I get zilch in royalties from the sales of. Egads, it gets harder all the time to eke out a living as a writer, hmm?<br /><br />You lived in Taiwan? How cool!The Old Sillyhttp://theoldsilly.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-13787034329557250162011-03-14T09:54:28.717-04:002011-03-14T09:54:28.717-04:00Piracy is a huge problem in the publishing industr...Piracy is a huge problem in the publishing industry, especially for ebooks. Part of the problem is that people don't know how authors and musicians earn their money. They think we're paid upfront and that's it. Not only do they not know, they don't care.<br /><br />The other part is the pirates who make all the money that the authors and publishers should make. They are stealing directly from us.Carol Kilgorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15168273312704732896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-56162249984061231232011-03-14T08:58:34.234-04:002011-03-14T08:58:34.234-04:00I've always been one to share both print and a...I've always been one to share both print and audio books with my best friend. I especially do this when I find a new author I like and want her to know about them. In the end, she winds up buying other books by the author and sharing them with more friends. As for e-book piracy .. that's a new world to me. I know the libraries are having problems being about to only loan e-books out so many times.<br /><br />Mason<br /><a href="http://www.masoncanyon.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Thoughts in Progress</a>Mason Canyonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10935307400882363560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-83524939254389754162011-03-14T08:56:06.610-04:002011-03-14T08:56:06.610-04:00I do buy used books, I do lend books - as do all m...I do buy used books, I do lend books - as do all my friends. We are voracious readers all and passionately pass them on to those we think will enjoy them. I wouldn't join a group to download ebooks. I think it is truly that people don't get how it works. When I first had a cd out for a musical I'd co-written I had FRIENDS email me asking where they could download it. jeesh I thought. so bold. but it was because they didn't get it. they didn't get they were taking money out of my pocket. It is only going to get worse unfortunately. my kids do download movies by the score.Jan Morrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01771180344305042855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-79331236596021329722011-03-14T08:54:52.934-04:002011-03-14T08:54:52.934-04:00I'm with Diane, I've bought used books. B...I'm with Diane, I've bought used books. But then again, I bought them from my library's book sale, so ultimately the $$ spent went to the library to purchase new books.Joannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03972054718663959694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-44059218907318388822011-03-14T08:22:45.753-04:002011-03-14T08:22:45.753-04:00This entire concept eludes me. Borrowing books, le...This entire concept eludes me. Borrowing books, lending books, sharing books--isn't that what we all do? Not to mention giving away copies of our own books in hopes of building a fan base or getting reviews. These giveaways don't earn royalties either. And many well known authors such as Neil Gaiman have said that giving away free downloads of his books increased sales. I'm just not seeing piracy where books are concerned. Maybe I'm missing something.Karen Jones Gowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01153821980625034810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-19477280151075419772011-03-14T07:56:48.139-04:002011-03-14T07:56:48.139-04:00When I first started blogging I was so keen that I...When I first started blogging I was so keen that I volunteered for everything going - one of which was to read this book and pass it along. It was only after a published writer friend said that this was not helping the author of said book in terms of sales that I stopped. It's only now that I am dipping my toe in the waters of publishing that I realise just how little published authors truly make out of their works of art (unless you are one of the published elite or a "celebrity"). They really depend on advances and sales. Even if they get a contract, their contract only lasts as long as they are able to turn a profit for the company. Otherwise their contracts are cancelled. <br /><br />So of course I would never knowingly buy a pirated copy knowing just how brutal a repurcussion this would mean to the authors/artists.<br /><br />Take care<br />xOld Kittyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13185547869183611159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2028602332732833042.post-77081737394145928712011-03-14T07:29:45.065-04:002011-03-14T07:29:45.065-04:00Outside of buying used books, I've never contr...Outside of buying used books, I've never contributed to the problem that I know of.L. Diane Wolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06425864276166334896noreply@blogger.com