Harlan Ellison will cut off your hand
By Paul Biba
The following from the Shelf Awareness newsletter:
Publishers tell the New York Times that the problem of illegal digital copies of print books appearing on the Web “has ballooned in recent months as an expanding appetite for e-books has spawned a bumper crop of pirated editions on Web sites like Scribd and Wattpad, and on file-sharing services like RapidShare and MediaFire.”
Publishers are taking action, often notifying sites of problems. For his part, the CEO of Scribd estimated that unauthorized editions are only a small fraction of the site’s content and that his company is “working very hard” to keep such editions off the site.
Authors have a variety of points of view. Harlan Ellison, who has sued over the issue, said he continues to pursue people who post his work illegally. “If you put your hand in my pocket,” he said, “you’ll drag back six inches of bloody stump.”
At the other, less gruesome end of the spectrum, Cory Doctorow offers free e-versions of his books when they’re published, believing that “free versions, even unauthorized ones, entice new readers.” He explained: “I really feel like my problem isn’t piracy. It’s obscurity.”
May 12th, 2009 at 8:28 am
It is worthwhile to read the full story from the New York Times, here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/technology/internet/12digital.html
The story includes this paragraph:
Three full time persons on the staff, just to find the pirated copies! … And then, no doubt, a staff of specialized attorneys to send threatening letters. … Big publishers can afford to do this; independent publishers and authors cannot.
Fighting real-world piracy on the high seas — where pirate ships hijack tourist ships and freighters — is difficult because the area where the pirates may strike is as large as the state of Texas.
Fighting piracy of books and ebooks is an even greater challenge. I am against piracy and epiracy, but clearly we need a new approach to this problem.
Publishers and authors who are making piles of money are going ballistic about this problem. There’s something zenlike and nice about Cory Doctorow’s approach. Put your hand in Harlan Ellison’s pocket and he will try to cut it off; put your hand in Cory’s pocket and he will fill it with a free ebook copy of his latest book.
Michael Pastore
50 Benefits of Ebooks
May 12th, 2009 at 9:12 am
@Michael: As you’ve probably seen by now, at the same time Paul was covering someone’s reaction to the piece, I was writing up the piece itself.
May 12th, 2009 at 10:37 am
I’ve just now seen your article! …
And your summary and comments are excellent, Chris.
You wrote, about ebook and book piracy:
To me, that is the heart of the problem. Publishers and authors are acting as if they can stop epiracy by forceful methods, such as DRM and lawsuits.
It’s wrong to pirate books and ebooks; but epiracy will not be eliminated by stricter laws and more aggressive lawsuits.
I agree with your solutions, including lowering ebook prices.
It would be useful also, to try to gather some suggestions from the “epirates” themselves.
Michael Pastore
50 Benefits of Ebooks
May 12th, 2009 at 11:49 am
I’m sure Harlan is okay with how Cory decides to promote his own books. But maybe Harlan doesn’t worry as much about obscurity as Cory does. As far as I’m concerned, authors and publishers have to make decisions about what’s right for them. Other people can offer advice, but the authors and publishers are involved. Certainly for me, offering eBooks for free would definitely make my business, selling eBooks, rough.
Rob Preece
May 12th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I’m sure Harlan, being Harlan, couldn’t care less about Cory or anyone else, much less how they sell (or don’t sell) their books.
If he wants to go on a Holy War after pirates, he can be my guest. He’s got his fame, his celebrity, and his money… it’s his time to waste.
@Michael: The only suggestion I’d expect from epirates would be: “Make ‘em free, and we won’t be stealing ‘em. Ar!”
May 12th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Obscurity is far worse for a writer than piracy.
Some publishers are losing a lot of credibility and racking up a lot of bad PR when they go on their anti-piracy and DRM crusades. I’m not saying that it’s not their right to do so, but usually they don’t handle the PR part well and end up offending all the honest ebook purchases, as Wizards of the Coast recently did. I will never again purchase a WotC product after the way they conducted themselves.
May 12th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I agree with David that obscurity is far worse for a writer than piracy.
But speaking purely as a consumer, Harlan Ellison is making himself look pretty bad by going after pirates who are trying to make his work more available to the e-reading public.
If Harlan would just release his books as ebooks along with the print edition, he wouldn’t have problems with piracy. Heck, he could even charge for his ebooks a fair price and still come out ahead.
And like David said, going on these little anti-piracy crusades is just bad PR!
May 14th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Personally, I think the publishing industries (music, books, movies) need to come up with a torrent-based subscription model. $9.99/month for, as O’Reilly put it, an “all-you-can-eat” buffet of media.
$9.99/book on Amazon ain’t the answer; $1.29 mp3s in the iStore can’t compete with free either. If they’re really intent on individual items to sell, I’ll start buying high-quality ebooks (text w/audio) and albums (wavs w/complete cover art-liner notes) at around $4.99 a piece. If the customers are also the backbone of your distribution system, this seems fair when you’re provided with no physical artifact and supply is limitless.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:33 am
Harlan Ellison is still alive?
November 17th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Harlan Ellison is alive, well, and absolutely right to do what he does re: piracy.
The only reason people defend “file sharing” films, books, games, music, etc., is because it is easier than buying things and it has the illusion of anonymity. I very much doubt that the bulk of folks who copy things illegally online would have the stones to go into a Streetside Records shop or a Barnes & Noble, and take a five-finger discount. Outside of the obvious risk, it is something tactile, something you hold in your hand, and, then, it becomes a real thing.