Copyright means “right to copy.” Only the person who holds the copyright can do that. Ebooks fall into the same category. Unfortunately, both paper books and ebooks can be copied illegally. Ebooks are cheaper but the trend I’ve noticed is that it doesn’t mean they are better and the author makes less per copy. Let’s say, for example, that a paper book is copied. It’s usually copied because there is a demand for it. I’ve seen self-published books that read like most of the manuscripts my company rejects. The cost for a paper book is not just paper, ink and transportation. It includes at least two editors who are not just proofreaders but who can turn a good book into a very good to great book. “Real” publishers use four editors.
Things like tone, pacing, atmosphere and lots of research go into the fictional books we publish, plus logic and continuity. It still surprises me when writers hint at something cool but don’t add enough detail, or, more commonly, don’t know where to add detail, which means I’ll have to cross out a bunch of lines so the scene makes the point but doesn’t slow down the pacing. “The sun glistened off his helm as sweat poured down his face and the constant sucking sound made by his boots as he walked through the muddy field reminded him how tired he was…” and on and on. Those are “Who cares?” moments, usually fixed by “He completed his tiring trek through the muddy field” and DID SOMETHING INTERESTING. People get bored by unnecessary detail.
So imagine trying to find a gem in the middle of an ebook ocean. I think it would be safe to say that pirates have books and ebooks that people actually want. I mean, if people have to wade through lists of badly written books to get to the stolen New York Times bestsellers, why bother putting up stuff people aren’t looking for?
Ed
