I think one area I’m not so sure about is the area of reselling an e-book. By all means, if someone buys one, it should be theirs forever. Unlike a physical book it takes up no space, so you don’t have to get rid of them every so often (or buy a bigger house, or even rent storage space for them as one author I know does!) I also believe in keeping the price low. However I tend to think of them as an experience rather than a tradeable good. Every one pays for the experience if they want it. A tricky aspect though, and I am not 100% sure where I stand.

Have you looked at eBay recently? Sellers –who cheerfully admit that they haven’t read an e-book romance for years and have never heard of half the authors they are ripping off– are taking your advice to heart, it would seem, and are burning multiple DVDs and CDs for sale in multiple auctions.

On eBay, you can find sellers listing “2010-2011 Bestsellers” and claiming that they own the copyright to these contemporary, recent bestsellers.

I think that you should clarify that what you are suggesting is a wish list, not the current law.

Maybe Josh is right and only amateurs and the wealthy, along with retired folks who don’t need the money, will be able to afford writing. I wonder what that will do to the quality of what is available? It will certainly cut down on variety.

Of course. But it isn’t just authors who need to speak up. It’s everyone who finds such creative theft abhorrent.

Most readers do support the arts and literature by paying for the books they read — and bless them for it because authors could not continue doing the work they love without the support of readers. But we’re in the midst of a publishing revolution driven by technology, and if writers and quality fiction aren’t to be one of the casualties of this revolution, there has to be serious consideration of the long range effects of viral sharing.

And if you were eating dinner with any of those people, I’d confront them on it. You need to put a face on the problem otherwise people do not see the results of their actions. It may not be comfortable, but if you can say, “This actually hurts someone and that someone is ME”, it’s no longer bits and bytes on a computer file. It’s a person, a real live human being.

In writing the eBook Reader’s Bill of Rights, it was to get the ball rolling on bigger issues than simply libraries and eBooks. It was to get authors, readers, publishers, and everyone between to come to the table and work on a long term solution that helps everyone. There may be a series of perfect solutions, but to get people to talk about it the first step.

But the viral nature of digital content does change some of the ethics of ownership, and I think that does have to be addressed.

Maybe I feel this more keenly because I write in a niche market where the percentage of piracy is higher than perhaps in mainstream.

I’ve seen threads — and heard live — people boasting that they never pay for books. Never. It’s a point of honor with them that they don’t pay for books. I’m not sure where the honor lies in that, but that’s how they view it.

As someone who makes a living writing, that’s distressing when those people follow up such comments by saying they’re a “fan” of my work.

Yes, you’re right. This is a difficult subject for many of us, and it’s not easy to try and stay objective. We have copyright laws for a reason and much of digital sharing — at this point in the game — strikes at the heart of those protections.

Perhaps we’ve finally reached a point in technology where only amateurs and the wealthy can afford to write.

What I am finding interesting is the hostility towards the end user (whether it is libraries or readers) that is on display in some of the comments I have received (not yours, mercifully). If I was a reader and read some of the authors comments that were on this post and others, I’d actually stop reading those authors. Because I’d rather not feel like I’m being treated like a potential criminal with every interaction.