So I have joined a bunch of chat loops to try to publicize myself. Some of them are reader loops, where I am seeking the holy grail: some readers who are interested in my characters.
But some of the loops are for authors to share information with our peers. The big hot button that is being discussed all over now is piracy. Some people, mostly younger ones (like my 3rd son, a senior in high school), think nothing of paying to download something, then sharing it with their friends. Their rationale is that they paid for it, so it belongs to them now, to do whatever they want with it. Including making copies and giving them to each other. Reality is that this goes on all over, everyday.
Right or wrong?
Reality also is that this is illegal. When you download something, like an e-book, you have bought the right to own that one copy of that book. If you choose to copy it to your e-reader from your computer, theoretically you should delete the copy in your computer. You only bought the right to own one copy. The illegality enters into the picture when you give your e-reader to a friend so he/she can read the book. Now there are 2 copies (one in your computer, one in the e-reader), and you are sharing the book illegally with someone who has not paid for it. EVen worse is you send a copy of the book to your friend(s). Now you have compounded the illegal act. Many people are reading something they didn't pay for. (Here it might be useful to remember that if you buy a paperback, and loan it to a friend, there is only 1 copy...when your friend has it, you don't. That's the main difference.)
To defend themselves, many insist that this is a victim-less crime, that they haven't actually taken something from anyone, and that if any royalties are not paid, well, the rich publishers and authors charge too much for their books anyway, and so many are not worth the price. Who cares if a few are copied?
The reality is that many publishers, particularly of e-books, are small houses who operate on a shoe-string budget. My own publisher is an example. There are many helpful and knowledgeable people who help me get my unfinished manuscript to print. Editors read and make suggestions; the cover artist usually talks to me a few times, sending me artwork until I'm happy with the cover; then it needs to be typeset into a readable form; and last of all, it is created as a POD (print-on-demand) paperback, which means none are printed until they are ordered. Each of these steps take time and effort. And none of these people are getting rich from what they are doing.
Neither am I. It can take many hours to write a book, then to revise it until I feel it is the best I can produce. I don't make much from each book that is sold...but even though the IRS considers what I do to be a hobby, since I don't make enough for them to consider it a business, I still feel proud of being a published author.
We are the people the pirates are stealing from. When you copy my book without paying for it, you are telling me that you don't feel my effort is worth anything.
Do you agree? Disagree? Let's discuss...
But some of the loops are for authors to share information with our peers. The big hot button that is being discussed all over now is piracy. Some people, mostly younger ones (like my 3rd son, a senior in high school), think nothing of paying to download something, then sharing it with their friends. Their rationale is that they paid for it, so it belongs to them now, to do whatever they want with it. Including making copies and giving them to each other. Reality is that this goes on all over, everyday.
Right or wrong?
Reality also is that this is illegal. When you download something, like an e-book, you have bought the right to own that one copy of that book. If you choose to copy it to your e-reader from your computer, theoretically you should delete the copy in your computer. You only bought the right to own one copy. The illegality enters into the picture when you give your e-reader to a friend so he/she can read the book. Now there are 2 copies (one in your computer, one in the e-reader), and you are sharing the book illegally with someone who has not paid for it. EVen worse is you send a copy of the book to your friend(s). Now you have compounded the illegal act. Many people are reading something they didn't pay for. (Here it might be useful to remember that if you buy a paperback, and loan it to a friend, there is only 1 copy...when your friend has it, you don't. That's the main difference.)
To defend themselves, many insist that this is a victim-less crime, that they haven't actually taken something from anyone, and that if any royalties are not paid, well, the rich publishers and authors charge too much for their books anyway, and so many are not worth the price. Who cares if a few are copied?
The reality is that many publishers, particularly of e-books, are small houses who operate on a shoe-string budget. My own publisher is an example. There are many helpful and knowledgeable people who help me get my unfinished manuscript to print. Editors read and make suggestions; the cover artist usually talks to me a few times, sending me artwork until I'm happy with the cover; then it needs to be typeset into a readable form; and last of all, it is created as a POD (print-on-demand) paperback, which means none are printed until they are ordered. Each of these steps take time and effort. And none of these people are getting rich from what they are doing.
Neither am I. It can take many hours to write a book, then to revise it until I feel it is the best I can produce. I don't make much from each book that is sold...but even though the IRS considers what I do to be a hobby, since I don't make enough for them to consider it a business, I still feel proud of being a published author.
We are the people the pirates are stealing from. When you copy my book without paying for it, you are telling me that you don't feel my effort is worth anything.
Do you agree? Disagree? Let's discuss...
