4 ms·

But the author is only one of the many people who are involved in the production of a book. Editing. Typesetting. Cover design. Cover art. Marketing. Arguably,

But the author is only one of the many people who are involved in the production of a book. Editing. Typesetting. Cover design. Cover art. Marketing. Arguably, all of those things are important and contribute to an author's success.

kstrauser 3y ago
Doesn’t the publisher pay them a flat fee?
lrvick 3y ago
And when those people give me a low friction way to pay them without supporting DRM, I will gladly do so. Of note, none of those people get paid when you buy a secondhand copy of a paper book. Piracy is no different here.
- lxgr 3y ago
  > none of those people get paid when you buy a secondhand copy Yes, which is why nobody is saying "buy second-hand books to support your favorite author". Also, it's probably a small effect, but I'd guess that the existence of a secondary market contributes to at least some primary sales (since the buyers know they will probably be able to resell a book if they need to, making them more likely to buy a primary copy if they want to read it right now). Somebody paid for a second-hand copy, nobody paid for a pirated copy.
  - lrvick 3y ago
    "the existence of a secondary market contributes to at least some primary sales" Incidentally, many favorite books that I pirated when I was broke and had very little room, I later bought paper copies of. I also pirate most music, but if I really like a band I discovered via piracy, I will buy their vinyl or see them in concert. The ability to freely share content scondhand, be it a paper book or in digital form, creates new fans. Some of those fans have money to give back, or will share with people that do.