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I know it is unpopular and complicated to talk about book piracy/pdf sharing but I did want to talk briefly about a very pragmatic, unemotional effect "voting with your wallet" has.
I'm a full-time writer, happy at my work, happy with my readers, happy to be able to devote myself to this with pretty undivided attention. I'm currently wrapping up the final book on the Dreamer Trilogy, a spin off series to the Raven Cycle.
This is a spin-off trilogy I desperately wanted to write, and it had the added bonus of being a continuation many readers also asked for. NICE.
When I get to the end of any project, it's time to start thinking of what I'm doing next, which triggers the peculiar, particular flowchart of most full-time creators.
What do I want to write? What can I afford to write? What do readers want? What will pay my rent?
What do I want to write? What can I afford to write? What do readers want? What will pay my rent?
Increasingly, the question of "what do readers want?" has had to be balanced with "what will readers pay for?" which is where this becomes tangled pragmatically with pdf sharing.
Out come my royalty statements to see what's actually paying for my heathcare, gas, school, etc.
Out come my royalty statements to see what's actually paying for my heathcare, gas, school, etc.
I think readers might be shocked to know that if I was looking at raw numbers, the "vote with your wallet" means that I could better afford to write a continuation of the Shiver series, or another book in the Spirit Animals series (has social media even heard of that one?)
That doesn't mean I wouldn't write something less commercially viable, of course—I write for passion, too, and it's important I love what I'm working on.
But passion also doesn't keep the lights on. I do still have to make decisions with an eye on the market.
But passion also doesn't keep the lights on. I do still have to make decisions with an eye on the market.
And if I, a happily successful author, still need to be thinking in these terms, imagine how strongly this effect trickles to other creators starting out or working in more niche markets.
So this isn't a finger wag, just an example of how numbers affect what gets written next.
So this isn't a finger wag, just an example of how numbers affect what gets written next.
(the reality is that I don't have any spin-offs on the docket right now, only brand new stuff, which is its own terrifying and risky and exciting prospect)
The upshot is this: you can ask me (and other creators) for content all you like, but one million tweets & instagram comments & facebook pleas can't argue with our royalty statements. The two generally have to match in order for creators to embark on a several year project.
Unfortunately, it does feel like we are moving more towards that old, old patronage system, one that motivated art for a very long time—where just a handful of wealthy patrons bankrolled art, which meant that art shifted to please their narrow tastes.
I'd rather have a crowd-sourced, funky, progressive, unusual art model, but it does mean readers have to understand their role in it (and accept what it means to content if they opt out.)
/fin
/fin
