Stealing Trek Literature

[label]

There no longer has to be "middle men" controlling what content can get published.

Oh goody, like online fanfic, where no one believes they need the help of an editor, a designer or a publisher.

Oddly enough, authors throughout history did just peachy without most of that stuff for hundreds of years.......

I see the value in a good editor....helps polish the art being created. However, with the advent of digital media and the ubiquitous internet access available to all, the need for publishing support will be greatly reduced which should result in

A) Quicker time to market
B) Cheaper books
C) Greater shares of the profits going to the artists creating the work.

Everyone but the middle man wins and I think right now they do more harm then good anyway.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Oddly enough, authors throughout history did just peachy without most of that stuff for hundreds of years.......

Yeah, but only the good stories survived. The bad storytellers and wandering minstrels were chased out of town, and were probably stoned to death.

 

[JD]

I'm with Therin here, I really think you do need some middle men, just for quality control and marketing. I don't think getting rid of anyone involved is the solution, they just need to work out a new way of doing things together.

 

[Therin of Andor]

One of our big morning newspapers in Sydney comes with a glossy, funky mag of music, book, game, movie and TV show reviews. People send in their brief reviews in "phone text speak" (and probably as Tweets these days) - and they are published unedited. For anyone who sees grammar and spelling as a way of upholding a certain status quo of excellence, these reviews are frightening things.

 

[Deano2099]

I'm with Therin here, I really think you do need some middle men, just for quality control and marketing. I don't think getting rid of anyone involved is the solution, they just need to work out a new way of doing things together.

You need an editor (disclaimer: I am an editor ) but they don't have to be a middle-man. They can just be someone that works for and with the author in order to make a better book.

 

[Therin of Andor]

they don't have to be a middle-man. They can just be someone that works for and with the author in order to make a better book.

But... that editor is the conduit between the author, so passionate for the work that he/she may be biased against any suggested changes, and the world of the readers at large (and currently, the publisher, booksellers and marketers who want to see the book get out to the biggest audience possible). Thus the editor is always "a middleman", even though they may take on some co-creator responsibilities at times.

 

[Destructor]

Imagine if every creator of music, books, art, etc suddenly went on strike en masse.

Given the current state of music ATM I wish they would stop :P

While that is a joke, and a good one, it's also pretty accurate. I don't think we are really going to have to imagine it- just wait a few years while their revenue streams dry up and they stop creating out of necessity.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Imagine if every creator of music, books, art, etc suddenly went on strike en masse.

Given the current state of music ATM I wish they would stop :P

While that is a joke, and a good one, it's also pretty accurate. I don't think we are really going to have to imagine it- just wait a few years while their revenue streams dry up and they stop creating out of necessity.

Those who do it for the craft will continue to do it, for the same reason writers write and poets muse. Maybe we'll watch folk singers on Youtube, but there will always be people making music. ;-) I doubt very seriously that commercial music will disappear, though.

 

[James Swallow]

Yeah, but only the good stories survived. The bad storytellers and wandering minstrels were chased out of town, and were probably stoned to death.

Ah, the good old days... *sighs wistfully*

 

[JWolf]

Not all independent authors are bad at editing their books. And when authors do get full control of their backlist books, they can make them eBooks and sell them however they want.

 

[Technobuilder]

Hmm, Stephanie Meyer might never have been if there wasn't a publishing juggernaut behind her.

If only.

 

[JarodRussell]

See, the problem is not the publisher itself, it's the publisher's policy which has not adapted to the 21st century.

 

[Therin of Andor]

See, the problem is not the publisher itself, it's the publisher's policy which has not adapted to the 21st century.

Imagine you are an author about to have your first book published but your innovative, future-seeing publisher, who is attempting to sign you to a contract that seems unlike any other existing contract, and they say, "Trust me!". You and your agent may be very reluctant to sign, just in case the whole publishing industry pans out differently.

It's a gamble. It may or not pay off. Like the situation in which actors are convinced to take a percentage of a film's profit instead of a salary. Some of those brave actors ended up very rich. Others earned nothing at all.

These things will almost always move cautiously.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Not all independent authors are bad at editing their books.

Ummmm, like who? What creative person worth his or her salt puts out a work of commercial creativity without asking at least one trusted, perceptive ally, "What do you think?"

And when authors do get full control of their backlist books, they can make them eBooks and sell them however they want.

Yeah, just like no one Internet browser is capable of seeing every web page exactly as the publishers intended them, and any idiot can be an Internet publisher?

Throwing this stuff back at the individual authors is going to make today's situation better? I guess while ever you see Publisher = Evil/Greedy you won't be convinced of anything else. You really need to meet some publishers, and discover they are just as passionate about the written word as the authors and agents.

 

[Avon]

Frak.

Steal as much as u can. not like anyone can do anything 'bout it.

i'll only pay 4 it if the ds9 relaunch get even half decent.

speaking as a guy what has 3 diffrent copies o' dune.

 

[Keptin J D Reed]

Frak.

Steal as much as u can. not like anyone can do anything 'bout it.

i'll only pay 4 it if the ds9 relaunch get even half decent.

speaking as a guy what has 3 diffrent copies o' dune.

Wow. We made it 32 pages before an idiot posted actually advocating stealing outright. Unless I misunderstood the post and missed some hidden meaning. The "speaking as a guy what has 3 diffrent copies o' dune" bit made absolutely no sense to me at all.
Is this guy actually saying that because, in his opinion, the books are rubbish, it's okay to pirate them??? But if they are rubbish why do you want them at all, even for free. Confused.com.
An intentional wind up I hope. Best to ignore.

 

[JD]

Yeah, I'm kinda shocked it took this long. Sadly there are a whole lot of people who just don't get it out there.

 

[label]

Yeah, I'm kinda shocked it took this long. Sadly there are a whole lot of people who just don't get it out there.

Yeah.....people who don't support artists they enjoy are not only shooting themselves in the foot but everyone else who enjoys the author as well. It's not only a matter of integrity here, it's common sense.

 

[Winterwind]

While I could be wrong, I'm interpreting that as being sarcastic.

The "three copies of Dune", to me, clinches that. I doubt they're three stolen copies.

 

[LightningStorm]

Frak.

Steal as much as u can. not like anyone can do anything 'bout it.

i'll only pay 4 it if the ds9 relaunch get even half decent.

speaking as a guy what has 3 diffrent copies o' dune.

You have a warning for trolling, advocating theft in a thread against theft by the creators being stolen from isn't even remotely close to productive discussion.

Comments to PM.

Wow. We made it 32 pages before an idiot posted actually advocating stealing outright. Unless I misunderstood the post and missed some hidden meaning. The "speaking as a guy what has 3 diffrent copies o' dune" bit made absolutely no sense to me at all.
Is this guy actually saying that because, in his opinion, the books are rubbish, it's okay to pirate them??? But if they are rubbish why do you want them at all, even for free. Confused.com.
An intentional wind up I hope. Best to ignore.

You have an infraction for flaming. Calling someone an idiot isn't acceptable.

Comments to PM.