If you love books, watch it. =)
DRM is really a strategy for *reducing* the usability of an ebook: You can only use it on the right hardware, with the right kind of data connection, and while the server hardware is operating properly. The first time any of those things is not true, the reader is going to look for a way to access the content he paid for.
And he's going to find it, in the form of the hacked ebook or scanned and OCR'd PDF of the hardcopy. From then on, he's a pirate. And having already crossed the line, he's going to find that it's not only cheaper to read the pirate versions, it's easier and more convenient. Access to the content without the hassles of DRM becomes the "Gateway Hack" to not buying any books at all.
In fact, they may already have done it: For most authors, it is easier to pick up the latest version of the huge, combined all-in-one ebook pack (currently nearly 4700 books) than to find those of a particular author, and easier to find everything from a particular author than just one of his books. Ebooks are so *small* compared to video, or even audio (virtually every popular audio-book is also available) that they are all just combined into one giant mega-bundle. With one download, their quest for one usable ebook yields a library they couldn't finish reading in their lifetime.
I just looked up your name, and the combined version of *your* work includes not only all your novels, but all of your short fiction, non-fiction, interviews, and a snapshot of this very blog. A reader couldn't get that comprehensive a package from a legitimate source, at any price.
via antipope.org
A very nice summary of a problem publishers either don't see or don't know how to deal with.
That being said, I DO want the authors I like to get money from their books.
True, I borrow rather than buy nowadays, when it comes to dead tree books, but that's because I don't really like reading on my iPad 1, and I don't own other readers. And also because it's one less physical thing to move.
Charles Stross has enough of a fan base *from* coming from traditional publishing that I believe he can indeed drop the middleman if he wants to.
But what about those writers who are just starting out? Realistically, they haven't got the reach, the polish, and the marketing that a publisher provides. Not to mention, having a dead tree publisher also helps with reputability. >.> I confess that if it isn't an author I know, then self-publish greys into fanfic or Legendary Times 'scrollers' for me. (LT is LegendMUD's newsletter that I used to subscribe to when I lived there.)
Not to mention that it isn't really possible to get a 'combined' version of an author's works without stealing. I assume this is due to all the different contracts associated with different books, across different publishers.
But if the only way to get something people want in a form they want is to steal it... >.> I dunno, but to me, that smacks of market opportunity.
