From what I glean from the trade news, there doesn't seem to be any sustainable negative impact on book sales from giving away free books. Of course, free books aren't free to the person giving them away. I've witnessed varying reactions to giving away my books, and sometimes I think the person would have appreciated it more if they bought the book. So I think the whole concept is individual in nature.
I was looking up something about Ayn Rand and saw a website listed that posted her book, Anthem, free on their site. I found that very disturbing. It wasn't the Ayn Rand Institute site and I didn't go look to see if it was done with permission or not, because I didn't want to increase their web traffic by as much as one visitor.
What bothered me, as best as I can tell at the moment, is that I enjoyed reading Anthem. I found value in it. Ayn's writing style, as with most great writers, is uniquely hers. I thought it was well worth the money to buy it. And in the end, I found posting it free somehow disrespectful of its value, perhaps even devaluing it.
Obviously someone devoting a website to Ayn Rand must be a fan of her or her works. Still I took it as an assault that they had given her art for nothing (and sincerely suspect it wasn't theirs to give). As hard as I try to spin it some other way, and as obviously wrong as I am, sitting here I still have the feeling that in their enthusiasm, they had something of valuable that they didn't respect.
I felt the same thing when I learned Ted de Grazia took his paintings into the Tucson desert and burned them in protest to the inheritance tax his children would have to pay for having them upon his death. The odd thing about such concern for his lost paintings is that I am not a huge de Grazia fan. But I'm not fond of Rembrandt's Night Watch either, so what do I know?
Most writers cannot support themselves by writing fiction. Ayn Rand took seven years to write one of her books. Sure the payoff was worth it. So why did it bother me to see that posting of her book for free? It isn't a rights issue. Perhaps for the same reason I am bothered to see books for a dime at garage sales. As radical as I am about pirating books (or music, or movies), at least the thieves realize there is value to them. (Not a value that is rightfully theirs.)
Even though the US schools are defunding arts programs, performing arts and fine arts, (while the UK is increasing subsidizing to their arts education), I still think we value the art of storytelling. So why did this bother me enough to table my scheduled post and write this one?
Thursday, May 14, 2009
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When Paul Fenton stops for breakfast in a small town, he gets more than he bargained for in the process.
When two-hundred-year-old human remains are discovered on one of Neptune's moons, Earth's history falls into question.
Emily's husband persuades her to try thalidomide to ease her symptoms as she is unaware of the devastating effects.
Who is the women's shelter bomber? Melissa Ryan suspects that her husband knows.
Further developments with the Wilder family.
A hidden past shakes the O'Donovan family to its core
A swirl of emotion and choice, set in Cape Town, South Africa
Love is a constant, but it comes at a price.
When the road ahead is unclear, sometimes you have to rely on trust.
The struggle between good and evil is ages old. It gets all the more complicated when the good guys aren't all good and the bad guys have redeeming qualities.
Story of a land mothering two races of people – the light-skinned and the dark-skinned.
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Six passengers' lives change for better or worse after they arrive in Honiton.
Resilience and love in a harsh and unforgiving age
Kathryn's Beach
High Tide
Storm Surge
So why did it bother you? Is it the abuse of intellectual talent maybe?
ReplyDeleteAnd the Night Watch - you need to see it 'in the flesh'. I have stood at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and stoodin front of that painting - photos and prints and on screen do it no justice. You need to see it and then, maybe, you'll get why people love it.
Carrie,
ReplyDeleteI still cannot put it into a coherent sentence why I found that disturbing. Anthem has value to me, great value, and it was as if they were giving it away like one gives away free promo pens for their business. It just bothered me that they assigned no value to it, and more so that they had removed the cost (value) that had been assigned to it. Does that make sense?
If I ever travel abroad, I will be sure to visit the Night Watch. I am a starving artist, so don't look for any trips soon.
Nadine