sickPoint the First: "Not everyone who illegally downloads your book would have bought it, so you shouldn't act like they would have."
True! That being said, I know enough people who have illegally downloaded books and then bought them, or have told me to my face (or via email) that they were planning to buy the book, only then got it for free, that I feel some consideration of the number of illegal copies is warranted. Just going off what I do know, I tend to assume about one person in ten represents a "lost sale." This accounts for new readers only, not people downloading copies of books they already own.
Point the Second: Downloading copies of books you already own is a morally gray area.
True. I completely understand and sympathize with people who download virtual copies of books they already own. Unfortunately, a) I don't own the e-book rights to my books right now, and thus can't say "sure, have a PDF with proof of purchase," and b) the methods for getting those downloads are non-legal. There's not a private literary speakeasy where you have to send in a photo of yourself with your legal physical copy before you get the download link. And so while I can understand the moral ambiguity of it all, I can't endorse the practice.
Point the Third: It's not piracy, it's copyright infringement.
Okay, true. For precision of language, I should call it copyright infringement. But the people who sometimes post intentionally inflammatory things on message boards aren't actually trolls, they're just being mean. In some cases, the prevailing language of the land is going to win out over precision. I apologize for any confusion.
Point the Fourth: "Does this mean you don't like me because I initially read your book in a sub-legal format?"
Did you buy the book? I mean, really, that's where my concern is here: In whether I can feed the cats. I first discovered the X-Men because my friend Lucy had an older brother who wasn't careful with his comics, and I didn't pay for those, either. As I said above, I can't condone illegal downloading, but once you've paid for the material, I lose all personal animosity.
Point the Fifth: Books and music aren't the same.
Most the research on illegal downloads has been in the music arena, and the numbers aren't the same. According to iTunes, the single song I have listened to the most often is the cover of "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Spork, which I have listened to 342 times. The single book I have read the most often is IT, by Stephen King, which I have read, if guessing generously, eighty times in the last twenty years. Many people don't re-read, or do so only sparingly. So saying that illegal downloads increase sales when you're only looking at music is like saying that breeding mice increases the elephant population.
Point the Sixth: Cory Doctorow does it.
Cory Doctorow is also recognized by my spellchecker, which doesn't recognize my name. He chose to distribute over the Internet, and it worked out awesomely for him. He's also doing Internet-savvy fiction, with a keen edge of interest for the online crowd. I write urban fantasies about women with silly names. We don't have the same target audience; it's mice and elephants again.
I'll come back and participate in the discussion more one on one later. Now? DayQuil and sleep.
Re: Stress
November 7 2010, 23:08:21 UTC 6 years ago
Hyperbolic
November 8 2010, 02:07:43 UTC 6 years ago
Actually no.
I am however continually amazed at North American culture. You are supposed to suck it up, and handle it yourself. Many people consider it shameful to ask for help. So you end up with people's problems getting worse, and worse. Does this make sense to you?
I'd rather offer to help now. It makes more sense, then letting things go.
By the way, I'm a lay priest. This gives me a different viewpoint than most people. My vows are to try to help, and while I'm not perfect, I try. Actually my wife says I'm very trying :)
Re: Hyperbolic
November 8 2010, 03:26:24 UTC 6 years ago
For most problems, I firmly believe that building systemic solutions that involve people working together is usually the right answer. But based on what I've read here, Seanan already has an extensive support network of beloved friends who know her and whom she trusts, several successful professional mentors and allies whose advice she solicits regularly, a strong awareness of and ability to manage her own mental health, and a general handle on her situation. (Maybe, if things get to stressy, she'll decide "Hey, maybe I'll try writing only ONE series of novels at a time this year.") If she needs active, involved support, she has places to get it -- she's just chosen, and choosing, not to make her journal and general fan base one of those places right now.
Anyway, if she changes her mind, I'm sure she'll let us know, and get more than she asked for in the bargain. :)