My Position on publishing, payments, and readers' rights.

[seawasp]

As once more the Ebook versus "realbook" kerfluffle has emerged (this time at Writer Beware), I wanted to clarify my stance on IP, books, etc., for any who are interested.

NOTE: The "you" in the following paragraphs is a generic "you" to all readers or potential readers, not any individual reader. If any of the comments don't apply to you personally, ignore them entirely.

If you purchase my book in ANY form, you have the inviolable right to read that book. You have the right to read it anywhere you like. If you have the ability to convert my book into electronic form, you have every right to do so for your own personal use. You have the right to not only re-read the book, but to give it away or sell it.

You don't have the right (though I cannot stop you) to make ADDITIONAL COPIES of the book and sell or distribute them.

If my publisher makes it difficult-to-impossible to obtain an electronic version and you've already bought a hardcover, it's illegal -- but, I think, perfectly reasonable -- for you to find a pirate copy and use that for reading my book on a portable e-reader. Though I hope to Gods that the pirate didn't just trust OCR scanner software.

You have the absolute right to like, or dislike, the book on any grounds whatsoever.

You have the right to create pictures inspired by the work, to write fanfiction based on the work, to make music videos based on the work, etc., so long as you're not making money on them (with the exception, I think, of pictures -- individual pictures/paintings of characters I think are perfectly fair game for sales).

You don't get to claim any part of the IP no matter what fanfic you write, even if I come out with a book that seems to have lots of elements from your fic in it. I have lots of ideas about my worlds, I'm a fanfic writer myself, and the odds are good that if I like an idea enough to use it that I've already thought of SOMETHING like it; in any case, my world, my playground, my option to use. So if you think you have a fanfic or other fanac material that's SO COOL that you fear it being stolen, don't let it out of your sight and don't let the world -- and especially me -- see it. It is POSSIBLE that I'll see something in someone's fan universe or other suggestions that's just amazingly cool, and I will acknowledge this in any way *I* see appropriate, ranging from a Tuckerization to an acknowledgement at the front of the book to even, if I feel so inclined and the contribution warrants it, payment in one form or another, But that's purely MY choice.

NOTE: The above paragraph addresses certain common concerns of authors, and some rather well-known debacles involving fans and authors. I don't want a repetition of the MZB affair.

I'm tickled pink to see any fan-made material, speculations, and so on. If you want to go beyond that level and start doing something serious -- a film, a video game, an RPG adaptation -- I'm very much open to deals on the matter, but at that point you DO need to talk to me about it so nothing illegal comes up.

Basically, anything that gets in the way of my readers buying my work, and thus paying me for my efforts -- and assuring me of CONTINUED chances of publishing my work -- is wrong. Anything that HELPS me make more money as an author -- looking LONG TERM -- is good.  The "long term" is important; many activities such as those of the MPAA/RIAA using the DMCA, etc., I see as extremely shortsighted actions which will damage them in the long term.

Comments

[autopope.livejournal.com]

This is pretty close to my general line, too, with this addition:

The ONE thing you can do that'll really piss me off and make me come after you with blood in my eye and lawyers (or a pointy stick) in hand is to use my work for your own financial benefit, without paying me.

(Regular ebook piracy irritates me but it's not worth getting worked up about. But if I catch somebody selling copies of my work, that's not on. If they're a foreign publisher in a territory the book isn't sold into, then I may give theem a chance to Make Things Right by signing a contract and paying me my fair share. If not, they're going to have to deal with the local publisher's legal department -- or with me, if $PUBLISHER can't be arsed going after them.)

NB: this has happened to me. Not amusing.

[seawasp]

Well, that's exactly why I noted "... as long as you're not making money from them".

I have no objection to EVERYONE making money from it, as long as I'm well up in the "everyone". I.e., I can't code a videogame, I can't make a movie, etc., so if someone wants to do those things, I'm very much open to working with them to make it happen.

If they do such things without asking me, I will be Not Amused.

[arcadiagt5.livejournal.com]

Applauds and tweets.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

I once had someone ask me to autograph a photocopied copy of GT: Ground Forces. He didn't seem to grok that by not buying his own copy he was stealing money from me, from SJG, and reducing the chances of further books being produced.

[muirecan.livejournal.com]

Very nice, though I'm going to have to comment that some commercial ebooks need better proofreading. Particularly at the prices they are charging you would think someone had actually proofread the document. At least I don't see that so much with Baen. But really if you are a professional publishing house why are you releasing ebooks that have been OCR'd and then poorly proofread.

[robotech-master.livejournal.com]

The interesting thing is, it would be perfectly legal "space-shifting" to take a printed book and make an electronic version of it yourself by scanning, OCR'ing, and proofing it. But it's too much effort right now, so about the only people who bother are pirate uploaders (who get paid back in book-release egoboo). Most consumers feel the time that would be spent in that process to be more valuable to them than the money it costs to buy a second, electronic copy of the book.

But as I point out here (http://www.teleread.org/2010/04/06/p-books-to-e-books-the-ethics-of-downloading-and-the-legality-of-scanning/), scanning technology is marching ever onward, and it is not beyond the realm of possibility that within a few short years "riffle scanners" that can scan an entire book in moments just by flipping through it will be in many consumers' living rooms, or even built into our smartphones.

Wonder what publishers are going to do then? (Probably what the music industry did after "space shifting" legalized CD ripping: sell more digital content once people have gotten even more used to using it, but still complain a lot that piracy is killing your industry.)

[denelian.livejournal.com]

........


only very slightly related...

the last time i LOOKED, GCA was being put on the shelves on March 29th; i had pre-ordered and paid for it right after my BDay, out of BDay money.


and NO ONE [as in, the people from whom i pre-ordered; the people who were obligated to tell me] told me that the drop date had changed. i had to CALL CS AND ASK WTF WAS GOING ON.
they appologized, thusly "we do assume that customers make a reasonable effort to keep track of when their purchases will be available"

!!! when i pre-ordered, it was for March 29. not your fault, or Baen, or B&N - but damn was that CSR kind of shitty about it. and all i had done was ask "why wasn't i sent an email about it? gods know you email me about *everything* else involved in shipping - i have the bloody tracking number BEFORE UPS has it [or the book(s)], i get about 15 notifications about EVERY ORDER I MAKE. but you couldn't send me an email telling me the drop date had changed? is there a way to do that in the future?"

[NOTE: i started off MUCH more polite that i appear above, and ended MUCH *LESS* polite than i appear above. this was the average level, and to be honest i think my bitchyness after that "reasonable effort to keep track". BS! most people pre-order so that the can get the book ASAP but without having to REMEMBER they are getting the book ASAP. books are NOT delivered on the drop date - for instance, the new Harry Dresden book came out yesterday [tuesday]. and the absolute soonest i can get it is thursday, since it WILL NOT ship until tuesday. if i were *WILLING* to remember the drop date, i'd go buy it in-store the day it came out *fume*
ok, sorry - would you like this almost-new and only gently-used soapbox? just one ARC of Threshold, special deal just cuz i like yur face :D lol]

[seawasp]

Well, as far as I have known, release date for GCA has always been April 27th. Bookstores can sometimes make assumptions that they can get books earlier than the standard release date.

I've gotten my copies already, so I would presume some stores will be getting it now, or very soon now, well before the original release date.

[denelian.livejournal.com]

and that's probably exactly what it was - the store assumed they were going to get it early.

i was tired, and annoyed. none of it was aimed at you - sorry :)

[voradams.livejournal.com]

I had no issue with buying the eBook, BAEN really truly gets eBooks.

And lets be honest, DRM makes it harder to read than unDRM, the only people who get punished are the readers who paid money.

I had issues with other eBook sellers, who region lock a book, even though it is legal for me to buy it under Australian Laws.

Ah well, at least Ryk can go buy hookers and blow with the money I paid for reading the book early :-)