DRM everywhere but SmashWords for same eBook?

Just wondering what people's views are at the prospect of having a book with DRM also available at SW where it won't have DRM.

I know there are differing views on DRM. One view of mine is that so long as it doesn't affect functionality I am for DRM. I have heard the saying “A good business is one that has repeat customers” which is why no DRM gets the hard working, honest part inside me spinning around a bit. If someone with a good eBook that was well worth the money that they paid for it, did not pass it on to their mates for free because it had no DRM then I'm Lord Lucan.

My counter view to that is I don't know to what extent that would occur, so whether or not to DRM, is still something I am on the fence about. O'Reilly Media have no DRM but they sell to professionals like computer programmers and the like, so I don't think piracy is the same ball game for them as mass market like hollywood films or the like.

A complicated subject. The way I see it at the moment is that it would be OK to have DRM everywhere but SW because so long as someone wasn't intending to breach copyright anyway it wouldn't make any difference.

I searched the forums for “No DRM” and “No DRM for eBook” but the former was too short and the latter didn’t seem to have many relevant results by title.

Another curiosity while I’m here. I’ve noticed some eBooks share the same ISBN for different formats. The following two eBooks are in both ePub and PDF under the same ISBN.

http://www.ebooks.com/682830/ramp-rats/o-donnell-liam-deas-mike/

http://www.ebooks.com/876728/egghead/oceanak-karla-spanjer-kendra/

I’ll ask Nielsen about that, just thought I’d mention it incase anyone knew or has dealt with this themselves.

OK thanks, something to think about. I'm in two minds about using it or not. Nielsen got back to me regarding my other question and they tell me I need seperate ISBN for different formats of the same eBook.

Rant:

The providers of various mediums by which copyright material is conveyed seem a bit pig headed about it. The reason I say this is if not for the copyright industry the iPad would not exist on a commercially viable basis, neither would anything from a cassette player to search engines and the internet as we know it.

Not unless you want to create your own software, computer games, films, music and books. I hope you like my new film, I bought a $100 camera, put my Gerbil in a little parachute and dropped him from a balcony, don’t worry he’s OK. The film is called Skyfall.

Steve Jobs must have felt pretty safe leading the charge for DRM free music, infact copyright theft benefits the medium providers. ISP’s (Internet Service Providers) are not interested in restricting or stopping internet access for users who are breaking the law, every time they are put under pressure to do so they try and skip around the argument somehow.

Anti-copyright people say “ “Nothing physical is stolen, it’s not like it needs replacing.”

So it’s OK for the blue prints for the products of medium providers to be publicised.

Anti-copyright people say “Information should be free” as though they are fighting some kind of anti-liberal tyranny, but last time I heard, the DVD box set of 24 wasn’t needed for the Arab Spring and whether or not Queens greatest hits gets pirated has got absolutely nothing to do with the Global recession. I mean wow how did the berlin wall get knocked down in Germany, or the end of apartheid happen in South Africa before the internet existed?

First they came for music I did nothing, then they came for films I did nothing, then they came for eBooks (just continue with anything else that can be affected) then the entire industry was in the same boat and we all collectively did something about it.

You can get virus from downloading illegal content if you don’t know what you are doing. Often these places charge for access, such as a monthly fee. Kim.com’s new site “Mega” charges $9.95 per month. You might be able to listen to music in a few minutes but it may take a month to get through one good eBook that cost a few bucks.

Competition between pirates for the limited profit pool is also a good thing in my mind, if they only rely on ad revenue they are competing for traffic with every other pirate who is. If for a fee then you’re competing with other pirates, as well as Amazon, Netflix et al. who also have customer service.

Sorry folks, I respect your input and even though I can tell by the sales ranks on Amazon for your “unlimited simultaneous device” books they sell no less than what I generally see DRM or otherwise. I decided I’m gonna use DRM, I like word of mouth business, but that decision was largely on the basis I can opt out of DRM any time I want.

A deposit on a flat doesn’t mean the Landlord thinks I will trash it, taking my ID and / or making a deposit before renting out a hire car doesn’t mean they think I will steal it.

We have none of these advantages with eBooks, I don’t think DRM is as big issue as the anti makes it out to be.

I agree with you on the issue of DRM ensuring that once someone buys a Kindle they will never buy a Nook, particularly in light of how that’s a regressive step for books. It isn’t for computer games, being tied in with exclusive deals have been the norm for those quite a while. Doing that for music CD’s would also be regressive and be met with derision knowing that you can play a music CD on any manufacturers CD playing device. Implementation of DRM is important and they haven't got that right yet.

Lightning source are telling me I would need to set up eBooks again to turn DRM "on" or "off" which might cost me over £300 with all the eBooks I intend by the end of this year (what on earth for I don't know, the last eBook I set up on there took a matter of a few minutes until "Available for Download" while it takes me about 30 seconds to put an eBook through ePubchecker).

Somewhere I can publish ePubs and PDF's and be able to change the DRM settings without incurring fee's would be good, knowing how controvercial DRM is and how things / attitudes change over time etc. I have a feeling there's not such a place that is on Ingram.

James D. Macdonald said:

Some publishers are using "This e-book does not use DRM" as a selling point.

Click to expand...

Fair point, I'm aware of that. Perhaps to some extent it depends on the market. I think Bean books does, also O'Rielly. Both for niches, Bean for a crowd with specific taste and O'Rielly for techy people who probably have better things to do than pirate. Somthing main stream and marketed to teenagers might be a different issue.

To me there's the possibility that a non-DRMer "trend setter" compared to a non-DRMer within a norm of non-DRM might be different.

In other words no DRM might be Tor's unique selling point, but if no DRM was the norm no DRM would not be a USP to garner what sales it might have, and they might lose sales equally as much as anyone else.

The eBook market is increasing on the whole anyway, so to pinpoint an increase in or even maintainance of sales down to no DRM would be very ambiguous

Either way sales figures are not offered in that article either, just that the rate of piracy has not budged, which could be seen as negative in light of the anti-DRMers who argue they would buy eBooks if they didn't have DRM.

I'm with LS and have noticed it appears some, if not many, retailers are not showing my non-DRM books, so having DRM might increase exposure / sales, who knows.

I just learnt that you need "iBooks Author" to get your book onto iBookstore, then saw this...

"To download iBooks Author from the Mac App Store, you need a Mac with OS X 10.6.6 or later."....Hahaha! I'm not against Mac's but no thanks!

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ibooks-author/id490152466?ls=1&mt=12