3 ms·

Ok yes all true. But if authors cannot make a living then what? What if the content was sourcecode for your non-open-source software - would you still feel the

Ok yes all true. But if authors cannot make a living then what? What if the content was sourcecode for your non-open-source software - would you still feel the same way? In order for ideas to be free there has to be some new way to compensate authors for their hard work. Voluntary donations don’t work well enough. Perhaps the solution is an “idea tax” that everyone pays a small amount into every year - and the proceeds are distributed pro rata to authors based on the relative proportions of their content in all downloads? You can’t just liberate all content and not also find a way to compensate people who work to make the content as their paying jobs. That isn’t sustainable. There is a missing idea in your plan. I think it can be solved somehow - but might require an equally radical and blanket solution on the economic side.

mschild 4y ago
The idea is to provide a system that "Just Works". I know what OP is talking about. Managing ebooks is a pain in the ass. I want to buy books directly from the author and put them on my reading device, but I barely ever have the option to. Often the only source for ebooks is Amazon, which I dont really want to buy from for several reasons. There are other stores, but often their ebooks are locked to their specific devices, essentially locking you in to whatever platform you pick. God forbid the one you picked doesnt have a particular book you want to read. I end up buying a paper copy, because I dont have to deal with yet another shitty ebook that may or may not work.
BlackFly 4y ago
The idea isn't missing, you just didn't see it. He (and I as well), want to be able to easily buy non DRM'ed epubs so we can transfer them from one reader to another, sometimes offline. After getting increasingly aggravated by Amazon over the years, I transfered my files out of Amazon into Calibre and onto my Kobo. I am not at all interested in connecting Amazon to my Kobo. I explicitly do not want Amazon to know I bought a Kobo, they can of course see I am not buying any more books from them. [I buy them from multiple competitors these days.] It was solved already in the distant past. It is called first sale doctrine. You sell me a copy. That copy is mine, we no longer need to speak to one another unless I want to buy something else from you. "Oh, but what if you copy it and give out many copies?" So you're assuming I'm a criminal and using that to justify ruining the perfectly good relationship we had before? If I'm treated like a criminal anyways and get a better experience by actually being a criminal--well it is better to be a criminal and treated like one than an honest person treated like a criminal.
eikenberry 4y ago
> Ok yes all true. But if authors cannot make a living then what? 97% of authors do not make a living off their writing. (https://authorscast.com/how-many-writers-make-a-living-writing https://authorscast.com/how-many-writers-make-a-living-writi...) > What if the content was sourcecode for your non-open-source software - would you still feel the same way? Personally I like to write code, not run a business. I let others pay me to do that so I don't have to deal with that when I work on my own projects. I like this arrangement as a creator as work keeps me exercising my writing so I can build more interesting things. I find I'm more creative when I stay in that programming mindset. - I think the best idea we (humanity) has had for supporting the arts has been patronage. It lets artists build up a following over time who might include enough people willing to contribute to supporting them produce more work. The internet gives this idea a lot more power than it used to have and has become the default model for many artists on the net. TLRD; support the people directly without holding their work prisoner
- mark_l_watson 4y ago
  After writing 10 books for major publishers, I just self publish now. My newer eBooks are always available to read for free in my website [1]. I used to also provide free PDF downloads on my website but I was getting 1 book sale for every approximately 50 free downloads. Making people read for free via HTML pages is not as convenient for them but I now get about twice the paid for sales each month. This is a compromise that I am happy with. [1] https://markwatson.com https://markwatson.com
laserdancepony 4y ago
> the proceeds are distributed pro rata to authors based on the relative proportions of their content in all downloads? That way we get the content farms we have already on Insta/YT/TikTok etc. Just flooding the platforms with random stuff with shit background music, shitty autocaptions and robot narrators until something sticks. Then produce more of the same.

mschild 4y ago

The idea is to provide a system that "Just Works". I know what OP is talking about. Managing ebooks is a pain in the ass. I want to buy books directly from the author and put them on my reading device, but I barely ever have the option to. Often the only source for ebooks is Amazon, which I dont really want to buy from for several reasons. There are other stores, but often their ebooks are locked to their specific devices, essentially locking you in to whatever platform you pick. God forbid the one you picked doesnt have a particular book you want to read. I end up buying a paper copy, because I dont have to deal with yet another shitty ebook that may or may not work.

BlackFly 4y ago

The idea isn't missing, you just didn't see it. He (and I as well), want to be able to easily buy non DRM'ed epubs so we can transfer them from one reader to another, sometimes offline. After getting increasingly aggravated by Amazon over the years, I transfered my files out of Amazon into Calibre and onto my Kobo. I am not at all interested in connecting Amazon to my Kobo. I explicitly do not want Amazon to know I bought a Kobo, they can of course see I am not buying any more books from them. [I buy them from multiple competitors these days.] It was solved already in the distant past. It is called first sale doctrine. You sell me a copy. That copy is mine, we no longer need to speak to one another unless I want to buy something else from you. "Oh, but what if you copy it and give out many copies?" So you're assuming I'm a criminal and using that to justify ruining the perfectly good relationship we had before? If I'm treated like a criminal anyways and get a better experience by actually being a criminal--well it is better to be a criminal and treated like one than an honest person treated like a criminal.

eikenberry 4y ago

> Ok yes all true. But if authors cannot make a living then what? 97% of authors do not make a living off their writing. (https://authorscast.com/how-many-writers-make-a-living-writing https://authorscast.com/how-many-writers-make-a-living-writi...) > What if the content was sourcecode for your non-open-source software - would you still feel the same way? Personally I like to write code, not run a business. I let others pay me to do that so I don't have to deal with that when I work on my own projects. I like this arrangement as a creator as work keeps me exercising my writing so I can build more interesting things. I find I'm more creative when I stay in that programming mindset. - I think the best idea we (humanity) has had for supporting the arts has been patronage. It lets artists build up a following over time who might include enough people willing to contribute to supporting them produce more work. The internet gives this idea a lot more power than it used to have and has become the default model for many artists on the net. TLRD; support the people directly without holding their work prisoner

mark_l_watson 4y ago
After writing 10 books for major publishers, I just self publish now. My newer eBooks are always available to read for free in my website [1]. I used to also provide free PDF downloads on my website but I was getting 1 book sale for every approximately 50 free downloads. Making people read for free via HTML pages is not as convenient for them but I now get about twice the paid for sales each month. This is a compromise that I am happy with. [1] https://markwatson.com https://markwatson.com

laserdancepony 4y ago

> the proceeds are distributed pro rata to authors based on the relative proportions of their content in all downloads? That way we get the content farms we have already on Insta/YT/TikTok etc. Just flooding the platforms with random stuff with shit background music, shitty autocaptions and robot narrators until something sticks. Then produce more of the same.