Re: NY Times Ethicist Condones Ripping Off E-books

I wrote:
>> But, if you look closely at that tidal wave of titles, you find that
>> most of them are really badly done. They're labors of love -- and
>> ignorance. And it shows. Go see for yourselves. I have, and it's not
>> pretty.
>>
>> When we open the floodgates more fully, as we are inevitably doing,
>> and simultaneously make it impossible to for most authors, editors  
>> and
>> other publishing pros to earn a living, we will ensure that the drek
>> is what overwhelms the marketplace. It's not that the professional
>> authors don't love their work, it's that they have families to feed.
>
Chris Smith wrote:
> I think I might agree with you more than you agree with yourself.
>
> From the point of view of the *reader* this has been a problem for a  
> very
> long time. Think back to paper books only - I am expected to pay for a
> work whether or not it is worth it to me.
>
> I could look across the shelves, and all the paperbacks were $2.99  
> (this
> was a while ago...). Some would be worth it - and some would not.  
> But the
> only way to sort the good from the drek was to buy them.

That's not quite true. You can always open a book and read a bit: I  
find that I can tell if I'm going to like the book or not within a few  
pages. And there have always been reviews, etc.

And it's very rare for a trade house to put out anything that's as bad  
as most of the stuff I'm talking about.


> Now we have the possibility (through many types of transfers) for  
> readers
> to find the material they like first, and *then* pay for it.


And that's another model that hasn't worked very well for those  
authors and publishers that have tried it.

The point is still: the "new models" or whatever you choose to call  
them will eviscerate our current creative economy (as in not the  
amateurs who work for love, but the pros who make their living  
creating the works that most of us like best, and buy most).

There will be a mass die-off in those professions, and then, maybe,  
after readers get really sick of the consequences, we'll come to some  
other sort of equilibrium.

Of course, SOME books will still be good (however that word is defined  
for each reader). Finding them will be very hard, and most will never  
be found by those who would like them. Some people will probably even  
find a way to survive as authors or content creators, or whatever.

But the average quality will sink like a stone, as the people with the  
potential to be truly great (writers, editors, book publicists, etc.)  
have to go to work at something else to feed their families, and don't  
have the time to devote to developing their skills to their full  
potential. And the masses of people who perpetrate dreadful drek will  
still do so, and more and more of them will get it published due to  
the increasing ease of access.

OR

We can all get to work trying to change the way people look at  
authors, editors, text and cover designers, indexers, proofreaders,  
publicists, reviewers, and all the myriad other folks who help make  
the US book business the largest and most vibrant in the world today  
or in history, and we may be able to make the ride a little smoother,  
and perpetuate more of that knowledge base.


Marion Gropen
Gropen Associates, Inc.
Consulting By-The-Question,  Tools & Classes for Publishers
www.GropenAssoc.com
Her blog: www.GropenAssoc.com/blog



------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------
Post a message:   ebook-community [[at]] *
Unsubscribe:      ebook-community-unsubscribe [[at]] *
Switch to digest: ebook-community-digest [[at]] *
Switch to normal: ebook-community-normal [[at]] *
Put mail on hold: ebook-community-nomail [[at]] *
Administrator:    ebook-community-owner [[at]] *

(* == yahoogroups.com)
-------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebook-community/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebook-community/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    [email protected] 
    ebook-community-fullfeatured-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@public.gmane.org

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    ebook-community-unsubscribe-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@public.gmane.org

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/