A Pirate By Any Other Name

Is a thief. I'm talking about e-pirates, people who illegally upload things like movies, music and books to file sharing sites to that other people can download them without paying.

The dirty bottom line is piracy is stealing. No matter what country it happens in. No matter who does it. I've heard arguments for it like the particular book isn't available in the country of the person who wants to read it. My answer? Then you don't get to read the book. Don't ask me questions like "Would I steal to feed my family?" and "Would I steal to provide them life-saving medicine?" to try to show me that everyone's willing to steal. Those questions don't really compare to "Would I steal for a few hours enjoyment?" do they? It's not the same thing. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

Authors are often told that piracy isn't lost sales or that people who download one book illegally often go out and buy the whole backlist when they discover a new author. Really? Authors have stopped writing series because piracy has gotten so bad. I know at least two that I could name. Who knows how many more didn't get another contract because of lost sales and dwindling sales numbers? And it doesn't matter if you're print published or epublished, you'll be pirated just the same. Ask JK Rowling - the Harry Potter books have never been released in eform and yet her books are some of the most heavily pirated.

I'm a small fish in a very large pond when it comes to being pirated, but I know authors who've seen hundreds of thousands of illegal downloads on their books.

Ebooks aren't the death of publishing. The epirate is. What do you think should be done about epiracy?

Ereaders and questions

Did anyone get an ereader for Christmas? If so, which one did you get? Or maybe you already have one? What do you think of ebooks? Do you read them?

I have a Sony reader and I love it. I love traveling with a whole library of books without the bulk. I love the ability to just whip that thing out and read wherever I am - in line, in an airport, in the car (not while driving obviously.) But as much as I love my Sony, there are other readers cropping up that have caught my eye. Also, I'd really like one I can take notes on so I can edit my own books that way.

What do you think about ereaders and ebooks? I'd love to hear your opinions!

E-ducation

It has surprised me for a while now that schools, most specifically high schools and colleges, haven't led the way in the ebook revolution. Then yesterday my godson, Tommy, called to ask for good places to download classics, Hamlet and a few others, for his spring semester at a private high school. I was delighted to hear he and his classmates are welcome to use ebooks in lieu of a specific edition of these classic texts, and that he has a few teachers who have sought out text books available in the format.

It always seemed logical to me that high schools and colleges would want to jump in with both feet on this technology. Even disregarding the cost-- which would be substantial, the convenience and health benefits are huge. Rather than carting around a book bag that weighs more than most of the cheerleading squad, students could pack a light sack with a Sony E-Reader or an Amazon Kindle, some pens and pencils, and a notebook or-- better still, a netbook mini computer. Under five pounds and everything necessary for a full day of classes. Makes perfect sense to me.

Not only that, but students could purchase a reader for under $300 as incoming classmen, use it for high school, college, and grad school, and download many books for free. Certainly text book publishers would be smart to give bulk discounts. Imagine starting school in September or January, logging on to the high school home page, and downloading all your texts for the year. They don't tear, wear, get dropped in puddles, or have a place to ink "Bongo loves Daisy" with a big heart around it. How often, during debates and stump speeches, have we heard politicians bemoan the out-dated text books in struggling school systems?

Why hasn't this happened yet? Long ago many colleges required incoming students to own laptops and provided discounted models. Some even included the new computer in the tuition. And net-books, mini pc's, really evolved out of the "one laptop per child" movement that sought to provide small, scaled down, child-sized computers for kids.

I'd love to see this idea spread. It would be great for schools, great for ebook publishing, great for young people with straining spines and groaning pockets. And I'd love to hear from readers. What about you? Does your school district encourage the technology? Do you love or hate the idea?