I was thinking about how printed books are sold to distributers by publishing companies, which determine the success of a book based on how many copies they've sold, which determines how much the author makes off of their book. Publishing companies sell their printed books in bulk to distributers who are responsible for keeping up stock of popular books, and so they mostly just buy more copies of a book from the publisher when they run out. So that got me thinking, if someone was to steal a book from a bookstore, then the book store would still have bought the book from the publishing company and would still have to buy more stock of the series to replace what was lost when the book was stolen. So therefore, wouldn't stealing a book from a store support the author just as much as buying it would? It would be illegal and you'd be hurting the book store, but this is a hypothetical I was just thinking about so I'm looking for some feedback on if this is how things would work.
Isn't it also sometimes based on the profit the books make? And I don't think stolen books will be counted towards the books sold.
slight tangent cause it's a lot easier to get an epub then to physically steal a book, but piracy in and of itself is not necessarily bad. It generates interest in the IP and distributes it in areas where it would otherwise not be available. I originally pirated skyrim but then actually bought it.
Is stealing a physical book considered piracy? Does the publisher/author lose money if a box of books is destroyed by a distributor?
Only if you read it without also having bought another copy elsewhere or barter it to other people or pretty much anyone else reads it creating a loss of revenue for the author.
If you really want to separate it as is, you aren't hurting the author or the publisher because you are hurting the bookstore that bought the book. Stealing one book per se wouldn't really affect a store's business, especially a popular one, though it's still a quantitative loss. The publisher cares about how much will sell to profit, and the author cares whether it is published and sold enough to maintain a living. The bookstore might be a larger customer for the publisher, but popular enough books will probably have other copies bought in bulk. No, it's called theft.
pretty sure that real pirates stole real spices and stuff. eh, it was a tangent. but that stolen book has the same potential effect just on a smaller scale
Yes, if you steal enough or dramatically enough, get caught in the process and somehow make it to the news. You become good advertisement for the book.
btw, I think authors are paid a lump sum initially and then royalties. so it's not like they're losing a lot across the board.
I worked in a bookstore years ago and yes that's pretty much how it works. The one difference is that not all books arrive in stores from distributors, some come direct from the publisher. Unsold books would be 'returned' and will count against the author's royalties/sales. The fact that Amazon doesn't really 'return' books is one of the very few reasons publishers love Amazon. Edit: Publishing contracts handle royalties at a long delay partially because of returns. Publishers don't really know how many copies they actually sold, so they can't pay out in time. The entire publishing industry is messy with legacy contracts and inefficiency.
Publicity is a different kind of story, but it is still commonly abused. Generally targeting small artists unless used by actually horrible negotiators, people will ask for a product in exchange for publicity. Publicity is great and all, but if you are cold, hungry, somewhat late on rent, and some dick on Twitter says he/she wants a commission in exchange for publicity, it's something not guaranteed and definitely something that can't satiate hunger. I think this would go the same with a starving author. Better find a side job fast. To be fair, as a consumer, you'd rather not feel cheated after purchasing a product. You don't want to pay ten or even five dollars for a book at Fifty Shades quality. At least I wouldn't. Therefore, piracy can be used as a measure to test out the waters and see if it's something someone wants. Interested? You might feel obligated to support the creator. Not interested? Then it's thrown in the trash and forgotten. Physical books are kind of harder to do this since they're, you know, physical copies. Technically, if you're banking on pirating something, you aren't even the target consumer. You might not have the money, or are not interested in the topic, or have no means to legitimately receive a copy either. Is it legal? No. But it isn't completely black of an area either. It's not like some businesses don't sweep you off the rug and slap you with a "No Refunds" policy either.
All the books that I have in my house were stolen from the age of 8-16 my parents had no money so stealing encyclopedias, books about space, books about technology, books about video game cheats or game magazines was very normal. of course when I grew up and got a job I no longer stole anything. My favorite was stealing playstation magazine which would come with Demo CD for games FF8 being one of those demos. back in the 90s you could order Game pro magazine and get like 3-4 magazines and then check the box that says bill me later and they would send you like 3-4 more magazines before they cancel and just fill in a new form with new name and same address do it again.
The most stolen book from libraries is the Guinness World Records, but I can't find a number for it. If you steal enough books to beat this record, then you can turn it in for 800 USD and turn yourself in as well!
Completely tangential from your tangent, had you stolen a book in the era of spice pirates, you really did steal a small fortune.
just one? at best its about publicity~ now lets assume all book from that author stolen, or most of it~ what will happen? its popular sure but da bookstore may worry to take any future work from that author cuz it bring more trouble~