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The walls we build up
Dear Mr. Turow,
Congratulations and best wishes on your election as president of the Authors Guild. This is an interesting and in some ways challenging time for publishing, and the AG is positioned to serve as a well-reasoned and informed voice for authors.
As it happens, the need for reason and data at a time of uncertainty prompts me to write. Among other pursuits, I study digital book piracy: its instance (how often and where does it occur?), as well as its impact (what’s the effect on paid sales?).
As a prosecutor and an author, you’ve demonstrated a superior ability to build a case, underscoring the importance of vetting every piece of evidence. In your new role, you’ve said a number of things that clearly position “piracy” as among the biggest threats to your members.
But the claims you make about piracy aren’t based on any real evidence. I’d like to offer some data that argue for a different point of view.
First, though: I am not a pirate. I value intellectual property and believe its prudent defense can return value to its creators. But I’ve also come to believe, in this increasingly digital landscape, that the greater threat to many authors is obscurity, not piracy.
I do believe that there are markets in which digital book piracy is a net loss - college textbooks may provide the most direct example. But I also believe that there may be markets, and authors, for whom piracy helps improve awareness, trial and paid sales.
That’s why we started studying the impact of piracy on paid sales almost two years ago. On an admittedly limited sample (something we’d like your help to grow), we’ve found an apparent correlation between piracy and subsequent growth in paid sales.
Now, you recently told GalleyCat’s Jason Boog that “…the larger problem for us is the pirating of books”. I ask, simply, “How do you know?”
There are no reliable studies of the impact of piracy in the book business. Because our sample set is limited, I include our own work to date in that bucket. The studies that are cited most often are based on sampling techniques that try to track the instance of piracy, then apply an assumed number for “substitution rates” (lost sales).
The Government Accounting Office recently “assessed the assessments” of digital piracy and found them all lacking. That’s not the final word, but it’s an indication that conclusions drawn on the limited data available are premature, at least.
In talking with GalleyCat, you went on to say that “(piracy) has killed large parts of the music industry.” But, the music industry is not dead, and there are studies that suggest that the more likely shift in buying patterns occurred when vinyl owners finished replacing treasured albums with CDs.
As replacement sales declined, purchase patterns also shifted from whole albums to individual songs. This was a trend that the music industry actively resisted, in the end fostering the piracy it wanted to prevent. The lesson here could be more readily distilled as: “Don’t take actions (like delaying the release of e-books) that frustrate consumer demand.”
At a recent BookExpo panel you said, “The transcendent issue for all of us is piracy. Piracy killed off the record store business.” There’s no doubt that there are far fewer music stores today than there were a decade ago. But: cause and effect? The links are not there.
Even a decade ago, most music stores had a limited selection of titles, a problem that only accelerated as album sales declined. Along the way, Apple introduced a digital storefront that is easy to use, offers a wide selection and can deliver immediately. Think Amazon and Kindle.
Finally, you’ve noted that “Musicians make up for the copies of their songs that get pirated by performing live. I don’t think there will be as many people showing up to hear me read as to hear Beyonce sing.” It’s a clever line, and it distills an argument that many authors have made about piracy and enforcement.
This line of thinking, though, mixes cause and effect (musicians performed long before they recorded), and it sidesteps some business arrangements that have long favored labels over artists. It also excludes some innovative pricing and packaging experiments by bands like Nine Inch Nails, approaches that some publishing people (Richard Nash’s Cursor comes to mind) have embraced and extended. Publishing is not just about buying the physical book.
After hearing me out, you may still feel that every copy should be paid for. The moral argument is a fair one, but it runs counter to the ways that content has been long promoted. Galleys, blads, advance reading copies, sample chapters – these are all considered legitimate (even mandatory) ways to help build awareness of new titles.
Publishers routinely print and distribute a few hundred to tens of thousands of galleys to help promote their books. ARCs can be redistributed; some are used for purposes other than pure promotion. As one librarian said, “There’s nothing better than BookExpo America for collection management.”
This isn’t to suggest that you declare librarians persons of interest. But the reflexive “stop pirates” argument doesn’t really work, especially when the pirates are inside the house.
I understand that you want to send the message to AG members that you are on top of the hot button issues they are likely concerned about. I would hope that you agree that the membership deserves the truth about piracy, its effects, and even potential uses your members or their publishers can make of existing piracy.
So, here’s what I think you should do: keep piracy on the agenda, but change the language you use to describe it. The goal is not to “stop piracy”, but to understand its impact and use enforcement in markets where doing so has the greatest positive impact.
And work with authors to distinguish between the instance of piracy and its impact. A pirated file is not necessarily equivalent to a lost sale. Most authors want to make money, but I’d wager that all authors would like to be read. Discovery, even with a pirated file, may lead to more sales (something J.A. Konrath is finding, at least for now). This is an area where more research data would be helpful.
In that spirit, think about having the AG and the AAP put some money behind impartial data gathering and assessment exercise. I like the work we’ve been doing, but it need not be us. Use your influence, both as a well-known author and as president of the AG, to lead and contribute to an objective analysis of piracy.
This is the time to put piracy front and center at the Authors Guild. We can do as the music industry did, presuming a single answer and defending an existing model. Or, we can choose a data-driven, more flexible path. I prefer the latter, and I hope I can convince you that you should, too. Even with the best of intentions, the walls we build up can lock us in.
Sincerely,
Brian F. O’Leary
Posted by Brenna Lyons
Dutch,
Out of print or out of copyright? If it’s JUST out of print, they can’t legally place them there without the author’s permission. If it’s out of copyright…well, they could, but they have no reason to, since there are so many other places that do that. Check Project Guttenberg, for instance.
As far as audio books, it depends on how you get them. MP3 would be akin to an ebook, but if you have books on tape/CD, you certainly can resell them as you can resell or give away old DVDs. Just sold and gave away a bunch of old DVDs of kids’ movies the other day. Nothing wrong with that.
Personally, I think the Author’s Guild are being idiots about text to speech issue. It’s one of the benefits of ebooks that allows vision impaired and young readers-in-training to access books, and I’m all for access to things you legally purchased. Text to speech is highly unlikely to replace books on CD…ever. Why? Because people who use books on CD do so because they like being read to. The tinny voices and stilted recreation and conversion errors of text to speech won’t be the same for them, at all.
Like a lot of things NY conglomerate does concerning ebooks, they are looking at it from a cocked angle, IMO.
Brenna
Posted by Brenna Lyons
Silverdrake,
You’re assuming these so-called “loyal fans” actually care, and they don’t. I’m being sarcastic by using their term for themselves…them saying they are loyal fans.
In fact, authors have tried explaining it many times. The site in question makes a habit of taking down authors’ comments, even if they are considerate and factual comments (mine were…hand up…went out of my way to be nice about it). They will temporarily remove links, at the author request, but they never follow their own TOS and ban members with multiple complaints, which means the people posting the links just post them again a day later. It’s a never-ending cycle with some of these sites.
And if you’ve ever read the forums where they talk about the jobs they hold, it’s very telling. It’s not that most of these people can’t afford the books. They certainly can. These are people who are earning 100K plus per year. They aren’t poor single mothers, for the most part. A few are, but not the majority. Some of the are lawyers (who I think should face disbarring for it), doctors, software designers (wonder how they’d like having their IP infringed on?), CEOs… They do it, because they want to do it. They don’t do it because they can’t get the books other ways…most of them anyway.
The only ones I feel really bad for are the ones that do it, because they are hampered by geographic restrictions and can’t buy the books legally. That is the fault of their government and of the NY conglomerate publishers and some of the distribution channels. And it’s counterproductive.
Brenna
Posted by Silverdrake
Brenna, I’ve never any problem with those who can’t afford books downloading them. And geographic restrictions have never made any sense to me, whatsoever. You’re right, it’s the attitude of the beancounters that causes some of the problem. Rowling and Scholastic basically guaranteed that her books would be pirated on the internet by refusing to allow an ebook edition for those who wanted it. They were both too afraid of it being pirated and too married to their midnight release parties. Result: People who got it in Europe had scans on the internet an hour after they bought it. They left money sitting on the table and someone else filled the want.
As for the rest—those who could easily afford the book but steal it anyway—they are the people who should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Posted by Dutch
Hi Brenda and thanks for the pointers.
Out of print or out of copyright?
I don’t worry about public domain titles, that is not the issue. Out of print titles in a publisher catalog are at the mercy of print setup cost and run count. Digital download has a lower setup cost and no media cost except storage & bandwidth. Ok, throw in some IT overhead and cost of a studio (audiobook) But that is not a recurring expense and may in fact lower the long term cost of putting print titles back in consumers hands.
I said earlier I need to study ebook text and audiobook offerings - So I did. The offerings by fictionwise.com (Barnes & Noble ) are a format specific nightmare. Their customer base is wide I guess and they have a big reader hardware list; DRM is their game and if one plays that game that is fine. I can handle limited DRM that audible.com has. Freereads by James Patrick Kelly got me hooked on audible. Thanks Jim - shake that piggy bank. Some of out of print magazines that Mr. Kelly is in are on fictionwise but I can’t jump through B&N;hoops. Authors playing in fictionwise/B&N;are bound by exclusivity contract. That has to be the pits for authors because it limits exposure. We know what happens next - off shore copies.
I was not going to say anything about what I can do with Text/Audio/Video because it may be off topic. I think it needs to be said; to clear the air as it is said. I have the skill to to turn text into speech that rivals bookradio, the use of commercial grade software is a must. If I want an uncompressed audio of anything ditto that. Video? Off topic but proper tools required for quality. DRM? See Digital Millennium Copyright Act. But I am lazy plus retired. Someone else can do the work and sell it to me (audible, baen, amazon, etc.).
How does this apply to publishers format game? Easy answer is I should not have to waste my time undoing a stupid business model when all I want to do is read or listen to purchased product. The stuff from download sites is a symptom of a bad business model.
Posted by Brenna Lyons
Dutch,
But the problem remains… If you have a decent contract, an out of print book has reverted rights back to the author. The publisher cannot legally put the book out for sale again in ebook format, if that is the case. Not without the author’s involvement and a new contract.
In some cases, they can’t, even if the book is OOP and the publisher still holds rights to reproduce and sell, because the publisher might only hold PRINT rights and not ebook rights. That’s more common in NY conglomerate than you might think. A lot of savvy authors a decade or more ago refused to sign them away. From what I’ve seen…good thing for them they did! So they can’t put the title out in ebook without a contract addendum.
Unless it’s a really old title, chances are the setup to get it into ebook is negligible. In fact, I’ve been involved with the process of getting several books that we had ONLY the print copy of the original of into ebook, and it’s not difficult at all. The OCR scan, check for conversion errors and a new cleaning edit, and reformatting is really not that hard to do. No worse than formatting for a clueless green author and easier than those edits by far.
Now personally…I always seek to get my OOP titles back out there, as an author. I only have two that are not actively out for sale or given as a free read now. It only makes sense to allow new readers coming in to buy the old books.
As far as audio? To be blunt, turning a book into a proper audio book…the professional type…costs money. Some publishers have that sort of money to invest. Some don’t.
But I’ve used text to speech and will continue to use it for audio editing. Not to your quality, and most people won’t have that professional software available to make their text to speech audio, which is why I still say that text to speech isn’t likely to replace audio books soon. I can’t say what pirates will do with your type of software, but I can guess. If they pirate with it, they deserve to be prosecuted. If readers use it for access…kudos on making a better product for you to access with.
In fact, I don’t have a problem with someone like yourself using your software to make a better conversion for others who need access…as long as you don’t make a full-blown business out of it or pirate along the way. Why? Because believe me, someone out there will sue you for piracy using the same prosecution line they used in the Clean Flicks case, creating a new version without the express permission of the original creator and selling it.
Brenna
Posted by Dutch
Hi Brenda,
On OCR to ebook. I have done that using iMac and a HP all in one printer/scanner. It was a real chore in the late 90s taking Hardback print copy to readable, searchable and indexed format for CD ROM; per customer spec. Results? By today’s standard less than a good PDF. Ok, that was not really an ebook just letting you know I understand part of the process.
Copyright! Sounds like the record label model - grab all rights possible. Glad authors didn’t fall for it like musicians did.
On audio? I support audible because of the setup cost; they made the commitment in equipment and quality narrators in-house. I own Random House (aka BigBook) and other shops - tape, CD, digital download. But as you know BigBook has a system and it is bookstore shelves with bestsellers.
(..) But I’ve used text to speech and will continue to use it for audio editing. Not to your quality, and most people won’t have that professional software available to make their text to speech audio, which is why I still say that text to speech isn’t likely to replace audio books soon. I can’t say what pirates will do with your type of software, but I can guess. If they pirate with it, they deserve to be prosecuted. If readers use it for access…kudos on making a better product for you to access with. (..)
I pulled this out so there is no misunderstanding. Quality text to voice (the technical term) can be done but the trick is the license fee for voice library when commercial runs are contracted. The software is cheap but the fees are not. The software I use is a step below that - single user, personal use only or research. Everything I do is in personal or research mode. Nothing ever gets to the internet except a minute or two of test samples. I wish I could do production but that would be for somebody like Audible, Penguin, et. al.. We agree audio cannot be done on the cheap unless user does it.
As far as I know what audio that download sites have is less than ideal. Conversion via A/D and then skip any serious editing of dynamic range or worse convert directly to lowQ mp3. I doubt, but cannot rule out, text to voice done with unlicensed voices. If they commit one IP crime, what is stopping them from adding more IP violations? I don’t know today but need to lurk some.
My to do: See if there is an ebook/audiobook situation like the one that movie houses cannot handle well - screener or advanced copy being posted on the net. Mishandled & 3rd party posts or deliberate post by the reviewer. Fact is I have been offered DVD copy before 1st theater opening - at lunch!
I have had this discussion with Jerry Pournelle a while back. I should find that letter & e-mail because I think nothing has changed.
I think you and I are on the same page. || humor - UnderCoverTech; sounds like bad Harry Niles parody.
Posted by J.A. Konrath
I’m sick of people using logic and common sense to deal with this issue.
As an author, I want someone to knee-jerk react to piracy without any evidence whatsoever, and then make specious arguments without any data to back their lazy opinions up.
I demand LESS actual facts, and more hand-wringing and rabble-rousing and kow-towing to Big NY Publishing.
Most important of all, I want the leader, who represents my interests as a middle-class American author, to be richer than God. I want a man in charge who pays more annually in taxes than what I earn a year. That’s a guy who will look out for me.
Oh… wait a sec. I’m not a member of the Author’s Guild.
Nevermind.
Posted by Brian O'Leary
Sorry that I have been slow to re-join the conversation this week. I’ve been attending conferences in Washington and (now) Salt Lake, so my normal schedule is a bit disrupted.
I wish I could put all of you together on a discussion group or a panel to hash these issues out in real time. It feels as if there is much more agreement than not, although nuance does exist.
Even where we disagree, the differences are ones we can test, not just a function of assumptions. That’s the discussion I hope to make a reality when it comes to piracy.
@J.A. Konrath - it’s a pleasure to have you post. My approach to the AG is “eyes open”, in that I know the ship may turn slowly, if at all. But the AG can be a force for positive change, and I figured it’s worth the outreach. You did make me laugh, though, and that’s a good thing 