$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.

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!

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.

I’m sure Harlan is okay with how Cory decides to promote his own books.

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!”

Rob Preece

You wrote, about ebook and book piracy:

It is flatly impossible to stamp out.

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

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/technology/internet/12digital.html

The story includes this paragraph:

John Wiley & Sons, a textbook publisher that also issues the “Dummies” series, employs three full-time staff members to trawl for unauthorized copies. Gary M. Rinck, general counsel, said that in the last month, the company had sent notices on more than 5,000 titles — five times more than a year ago — asking various sites to take down digital versions of Wiley’s books.

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