Smart Bitchery member and fab author PC Cast wrote me the following rant, and I’d be a bad, bad bitch indeed if I didn’t pass it on verbatim to the rest of the world:
[S]everal of us (authors) are really getting pissed off at the horrid proliferation of the internet selling of our ARCs. It’s come to a boil lately (and you can check out my last 2 postings on my blog to get the dirt) because we’ve (MJ Davidson, Susan Grant, Gena Showalter, moi) discovered copies of our Mysteria ARC for sale on fucking ebay. Well this REALLY pisses us off because the goddamn copies are “like new no spine broken at all†which fucking means the fucking reviewers didn’t even bother to read the damn thing before they scurried out like cockroaches to sell their copy and make a damn buck. (One copy went for $30 something the other went for $20 something.) And we were only given limited ARCs for Mysteria, which we sent out at our own fucking expense to reviewers. So I feel fucked twice up the ass with no lube.
Okay, so here’s the point that we’re trying to get out there to readers: WHEN YOU BUY AN ARC YOU’RE RIPPING THE AUTHOR THE FUCK OFF. Not only do we not get any damn money from it, but no review, no numbers increase, and the publisher has an expensive ARC printed that doesn’t do us shit for good. Not to mention that legitimate, ethical reviewers and booksellers get fucked up the ass too when we (authors and publishers) run short on ARCs because unbeknownst to us we’re sending our limited supply to asstards!
Naturally I confronted the asshair sellers on ebay and got bullshit responses. I’ve reported their listings to ebay, too, as unethical. I mean PLEASE. It says clearly across the cover ADVANCED REVIEW COPY NOT FOR SALE. But ebay would sell its mom’s soul if it could turn a profit. Luna is actually trying to track some of these sellers to stop up the reviewer/bookseller leaks.
Anyway. It makes me mad. So fans who lurve us pay big money to rip us off? Okay, I can’t do math word problems, but this just doesn’t seem right.
I think there is nothing wrong with a bookseller giving away an ARC to a customer. That’s just fine. It’s like a little treat. I even applaud them. It’s the selling and profiting from the ARC that’s an issue.
And why is it that authors can’t have strong opinions on these subjects without being threatened with the “likely to turn off READERS” card? Can we not, too, be women who have opinions? Is there something about writing for a living that forces us into pillbox hats, gloves, crossing our legs at the ankles with a prim expression on our faces whilst being we’re good little girls? I like to think my readers appreciate the fact that I’m a real person who has a real backbone and real opinions. And I’m not going to sit on the sidelines with my mouth shut for fear of offending.
Brings to mind Bradbury’s point in FAHR 451.
i think the poster that mentioned ebay would never allow advance copies of lord of the rings or other movies to be sold, made a good point.
if the author owns the copyright and the book is labled ” not to be sold” then ebay shouldnt allow those to be sold on their site.
why do the two mediums differ? (movies/books) copyrights are copyrights.
P.C., is there any particular reason you’ve twice implied that there’s sexism involved in this? I don’t see how that comes into play at all or does anything but cloud the issue.
I would be steamed if I saw an ARC of a book I wrote for sale on EBAY. I am curious of another scenario I’ve seen a lot of lately. I work in a public library and about once a year my boss goes to some book fair for librarians where she is given several free ARCS. She then brings them back and tells me to put them in the collection. Umm…are we really supposed to be doing that or is library use a completely different story? When I discard them I can’t put them into the booksale so we have to try to see if someone will just take them.
Hrm. I’d have to say at first I thought, hey, that’s rather offensive. I’m not positive how it works (someone correct me), but doesn’t the cost of ARCs come out of the author’s pocket?
Let’s say I send out copies to reviewers, who turn around and sell the book on ebay. Way I figure it, they’re getting payment (cash at most, increased readership at least) in some way if they’re reviewing the book—and then to sell the book seems like double-dipping. Their benefit of a free book, as a reviewer, is that they didn’t have to pay for that cost of doing their job. Legal or illegal, I’d say it’s clearly unethical to then make more cash off me; if they’re going to do that, the least they could do is pay for the book in the first place. Then resell all they like, but I’m not made of money.
That said, I also recall being a bookseller myself, and getting ARCs for some unknown reason (I was never a very big bookstore, and in a small town, and rarely sold bestsellers; the first few ARCs prompted me to call the distributor and ask, “uh, do I have to pay for this? has there been some mistake? should I return this?”). I read some, didn’t read others, and they’d sit in a stack until I hit a point of frustration and put them all up on the shelf, and was done with it. I just didn’t know what else to do with them.
The other “free” source of books was via a major broadcaster, which gets hundreds and hundreds of ARCs on a monthly basis, in hopes someone there will review them—music, movies, books, the whole gamut. There’s a room at the company where these items are dumped afterwards, and the employees are welcome to pick through and take what they want. My sister would go in and snag anything she thought might sell at my shop, or that I might like personally. (I still have about ten of the CDs or books she brought me.)
Again, it never occurred to me whether this was right or wrong, but I must add that in no instance did I ever receive a book by either means that was marked “NOT FOR SALE”. They all looked like normal books; I wonder how many ARCs are coming through employees at a television network, or a newspaper, or a radio station.
Does that change the ethics, if the person who received the book (in the end) in no way gave a promise of giving anything in return? And for those bookstores and businesses who receive tons of ARCs annually, just what are they supposed to do with them?
Y’know, come to think of it, if a book is NOT marked “not for sale, advanced review copy”, would this make it less valuable for resale on ebay?
And why is it that authors can’t have strong opinions on these subjects without being threatened with the “likely to turn off READERS†card?
Your a public person selling your work to consumers. Image is everything, they say, whether you like it or not.
All in all, I just find your rant rather colorful and insulting in some aspects of it regardless of the issue. It didn’t achieve the effect you were looking for from this reader.
“Anonymous,†the reason I purposefully used sexist analogies is because they work. Men haven’t been told for generation after generation to keep their opinions to themselves and just smile and look pretty. Women have. This is analogous to how I feel (right or wrong) when someone wants me to keep quiet about an issue. It’s a workable analogy, especially in light of the fact that I am a woman and I do write the much maligned romance novel. And FYI, on this site we’re not implying sexism, we say it out loud and we don’t do so anonymously.
Rebyj, you don’t see the same thing happening for movies because there’s actually a federal law against it, and they do everything they can to prevent it with added warnings and labels.
I’ve seen screening copies of movies up for the Oscar on DVD or videotape before they were even available in those formats, and not only are there warning labels on the box stating, “For promotional use only. Not for sale or rental. Art not final.” The label also repeats itself as an overlay onscreen every 20 or so minutes. PLUS, the movie switches from black and white to color and back again every now and then. Not to mention, there are more warnings on the box and at the beginning of the movie: For private home use only. Federal law provides severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized reproduction, distribution or exhibition of copyrighted motion pictures and video formats.
Same goes for software. There’s always extra labeling on top of the NFR (Not For Resale) indication. They include contact information and a note that if the item was purchased, please contact the company.
Just because a particular copy looks unread doesn’t mean the reviewer never read the book. I’ve now received three copies (which I did not request) of the same novel (not a romance). I ended up giving all three away after reading the first one. Sometimes the people (publicists, publishers or whoever) passing out these items do so indiscriminately.
If you want to make money from ebay sales or Amazon sales, join their affiliate programs and link to them from your website or blog. It’s a simple and easy way to make money.
I bought a JAK ARC. It was for sale before the book was even out on e-Bay. I couldn’t believe I could actually buy one. So I did. It wasn’t 30 bucks; it was like $15 (cheaper than the hardback, even). I haven’t bought one since; I did feel slightly bad about it, but it was kinda of like the skipping school bad feeling. Which is to say, I was thrilled.
Maybe if JAK knew she’d be mad, but I expect JAK takes it all in stride. I buy her books at USBs too. She’d probably rather I didn’t, but they’re books that had been out of print, and I believe when they got released in special editions I bought them new too.
Once, and I kid you not—I sold a Castle MacFadden of hers on e-bay for THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FOUR DOLLARS. WHOOEE. I read it first, of course. But it paid for my vacation to see my mom. Which was a crappy vacation now that I think about it. Probably JAK would have rather had the $374 herself. And she could have that and more if she had a copy of her MacFadden Hired Husband and sold it on e-Bay. But I doubt she would. She probably doesn’t need the money.
I buy her books in hardcover as soon as they come out. I have multiple copies of paperbacks. In short, I spend a lot of money on JAK and she gets the major portion of it.
I think that what you are mad about, P.C. Cast, is not that people sell and buy ARCs, because that’s kind of silly. You can’t control it and getting angry about something you can’t control is unproductive and’ll give you a heart attack some day. I think you are mad that writing books doesn’t pay what it should. And especially romance books. It sucks, but that’s the way it is. Luckily, even though the industry doesn’t respect romance writers like they should, romance readers do. We spend lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of money on books. Wherever we find them. And we always will. Don’t force us to trade in back alleys. That’s just wrong.
I’m not turned off by your rant, it was kind of funny and vulgar. I love funny and vulgar. Plus, I have a very stressful job where I don’t get the respect I deserve, either. Thank god for romance books, without them, I’m pretty sure I’d cut someone.
Maybe I’ll buy one of your books when I go to the bookstore tomorrow to pick JAK’s new Amanda Quick.
“First – for those of you who got your panties all in a huff about my one sentence about fans who lurve us ripping us off. Ladies, grow a sense of humor. That was called sarcasm and definitely not meant to be taken literally. It was an “I don’t believe that for one minute†comment.”
Well, what about this:
Okay, so here’s the point that we’re trying to get out there to readers: WHEN YOU BUY AN ARC YOU’RE RIPPING THE AUTHOR THE FUCK OFF.
That was sarcasm, too?
Look, I totally agree that it’s unethical for the reviewers to sell these on ebay—but your rant is directed at the readers (fans) buying them. Right up there, in bold letters: “so here’s the point that we’re trying to get out there to readers.” READERS. Throw in a liberal use of the word “fuck”—in a ranty, pissed off way, not a humorous, snarky, or any other sarcastic way—and you’ve got readers who feel attacked.
Plug your dam, stop the leak. Be angry at the unethical reviewers, give them a nice swift kick in the ass for breaching your trust and wasting your publisher’s money. I’ll applaud it. But directing your rant at the readers (which is exactly how this is written, and my knickers aren’t the least bit twisted) is like rowing downstream ten miles and slapping the anglers (the ones who will feed you) with a rotten fish.
The readers aren’t the ones ripping you the fuck off. And if you’re directing this to readers with the intention of stopping the cycle of buying/selling, then there’s a hell of a lot better ways to appeal to a reader’s sense of ethics and justice than accusing them of stealing the money from your pocket.
dang…i am dirt poor and get to buy one book a freakin month.. i’ll do reviews for free books!
get me in the loop!
________________________________
April…..you said:
Rebyj, you don’t see the same thing happening for movies because there’s actually a federal law against it, and they do everything they can to prevent it with added warnings and labels.
does anyone know if the publishing industry is trying to get laws passed similar to the movie industry laws?
i always thought copyrighted products were protected under federal law.. (keep in mind my education after high school has come from fiction novels LOL)
You know, I started doing this reviewing thing because I got a lot of opinions about the books I read and I’m not too shy to express them to the world.
Also, for the free books. And you know, I’m starting to get free books here and there.
An author who is a regular on this site sent me one with an autograph with my name on it and it didn’t just say “happy reading,” either.
I’m really proud of it and wouldn’t think about selling it on Ebay.
Uh… where was I?
Damn it, I just got on the computer to check my email and here I am again.
And why is it that authors can’t have strong opinions on these subjects without being threatened with the “likely to turn off READERS†card? Can we not, too, be women who have opinions?
Yes, you can. And I don’t think it’s right for people to sell ARCs; your anger is understandable.
But you can have and express a strong opinion without telling readers, “YOU’RE RIPPING THE AUTHOR THE FUCK OFF.” I guess it gets your point across, but is the statement always true? I’ve received (though never bought) ARCs and later purchased the published copy so I can have a version with the final artwork. I doubt I’m the only one to do so.
I suspect I’m not the only one who couldn’t tell the difference between your angry use of “fuck/fucking” and the sarcastic use. It sure seemed like some of your anger was directed toward readers, even if that’s not what you intended.
For the record: yes, I’m a reviewer. No, I’ve never sold ARCs. I frequently give them away after reading them, and when I do, the book looks as if it hasn’t been read.
I repeat—I have no problem with your message. But judging by some of the previous comments, your delivery has turned off more than one reader here.
My first reaction to the rant was that it felt assaulting, then that it seemed an over-reaction to what, statistically speaking, seems a relatively small breach.
But, as I read through the comments here, I came to agree with the poster who pointed out the core problem of disrespect for Romance—and by extension, the Romance author—in various areas of the industry. Contracts depend on sales; publishers seem (to my unstudied eyes, at least) to view all but the celebrity authors as raw labor; reviewers may or may not be approaching the books in a good faith way, and readers, well, we have our own strong opinions about the final products, to be sure (FWIW, I do think readers who purchase ARC’s for well over the cover price are doing so out of fan loyalty and will absolutely buy the published book, as well). So as an author of a soon-to-be-released anthology, I could imagine that finding ARC copies for sale on eBay would feel like a last straw, of sorts.
On the other hand, I can relate to the anger of readers who feel as if they are being attacked and cheapened in a sense. Romance is so interesting in its uneasy balance of author and reader in a strange mimicry of female bonding/friendship. The genre seems reluctant to posit the relationship between reader and author as purely commercial, but it’s not quite personal, either. I think the lack of clear boundaries and the networks of relationships and connections that women’s fiction both reflects and seems to encourage sometimes leads to defensiveness on both sides.
IMO, the corporatization of mass market publishing is out of control, draining any reverence for the art of writing out of the “business” of producing books, and catching many authors under the machinery. I don’t know what the solution is, but I think it’s a shame when authors and readers, whom I’ve always felt should be natural allies, are estranged while publishers continue to rake in the dough at all of our ‘expense.’ I wonder sometimes if authors and readers are more often bound together in feeling ill-served by the genre/industry rather than bonded in an empowering or celebratory way around books for which we share a certain enjoyment.
As for the issue of ARC distribution, my understanding is similar to that of the poster who thought the process was somewhat “indiscriminate,” and therefore I am skeptical that it’s just reviewers who are selling them on eBay. I think that two issues might be conflated here, both of which are entwined with the central issue of disrespect for Romance.
And as for eBay’s involvement or lack thereof, two words: USER AGREEMENT, aka contract delimiting eBay’s obligations. Did any of us actually read that thing before we agreed?
Regarding Jane’s much maligned comment about series characters and copyright, I was told that when authors are writing for packagers, for example, they may very well have sold the copyright (trademark?) for their characters to the packager, so I think it depends on the specific conditions of authorship. I’ll also admit to trepidation regarding easy distribution of the “thief” moniker, given what I’ve learned about tort law in the last couple of years.
And whether it’s enforceable or not, it’s still illegal. If a copyright holder stamps “Not for resale†on anything, then it’s Not. For. Fucking. Resale.
Um….not really. Computer software companies still put notices on their packaging saying that you must abide by the terms and conditions – period. Even though the courts have said that they don’t always apply.
“Not for Resale” isn’t a legal notice – it’s just a notice. It’s helpful at work (bookstores get advance reader copies too); it keeps us from accidently shelving it with the regular book when it comes out.
Copyright does not allow the copyright owners to dicate how and when actual physical products will be sold on the secondhand market – ever. Once it’s out of their hands, it’s out of their hands. The only reason they can keep you from reselling software is because it requires a copy to be made every time it’s installed, sold, etc.
“Not for Resale” is more of a contract between the publisher and the people such books are given to. That’s they only sense it which selling them is illegal. It’s more like the notices on the Scholastic books that sometimes slip through our returns that say “not for retail sale.” It isn’t a legal notice, but such books are different from the regular copies we sell (often lower quality) and we have promised Scholastic that we won’t sell them. So – we’d get in trouble for misleading customers and breaking contract with the publishers. Violating copyrights isn’t even on the radar.
That said, selling acrs before the book is published and/or without explaining that the book is not proofed? Highly unethical and immoral even when no contract explicitly says it’s illegal.
After, and with explanations as to what an ACR is? Pshaw. That’s worse than complaining about the strips I take home.
Golly, sounds like everyone’s getting their knickers in a twist over this one.
I’ll delurk with just one observation:
“For people who think authors should just smile politely and ignore this asshat behavior (like good little girls). How about this – how about you go to work and bust your ass for months. Then your boss lets other companies get a peek at your work. Well, some of those other companies grab the work and sell slices of it on the sly for their own profit? You gonna be okay with that? Sit back and smile politely? Not give a shit? I don’t think so.”
Actually, anything I produce for work belongs to the company (in my case, a school district). I can say absolutely nothing about what is done with teaching units, lesson plans, or testing instruments I develop. The district could bundle up the curriculum I’ve spent five years honing, and sell it, and I’d have no say in the matter, and no financial return, either. I’m pretty sure that applies to most other career fields as well. And it has nothing to do with being a “good little girl.” It’s just the way the profession works, so I suck it up and do my job.
What strikes me as distasteful about the ARC situation is the prepublication release. Other than that, once something has been given away, it’s no longer yours to control. It may be unethical to sell the copies before publication of the actual book, but unless there’s a contract stipulating that the reviewer/bookstore/whatever won’t dispose of them before publication, there doesn’t seem to be any illegality involved.
Okay. When an author only has 30 ARCs out there, I can definitely see the upset. And I personally know of some publishers to remain unnamed whose authors actually pay for their own ARCs, which I think is appalling. And I can see why I’d be less upset about all this than those people.
BUT… that SAID… it’s time to take a breath.
“Not for resale” is not a gentleman’s agreement. It’s legal language. It’s just not something you’re likely to get prosecuted for, because it’s not worth it, and hence people think it’s “less” illegal. The reason movies count for more is because movies make money, and hence, their lawyers are bigger and scarier. The book business doesn’t make the kind of money that movies make, and so we’ll never have that kind of power. End of story.
ARCs on eBay don’t even come close to threatening our true bottom line. Six ARCs bought before the book comes out represent six readers who love you enough to do so, and there’s a good point made that they’ll probably buy the regular edition, too. They’re collecting. You. And while the person selling the ARC gets money on that sale to which they are not entitled and that is Wrong, your reader gets you. And that’s a good thing.
Look, none of us writers are in this for the money. Hour for hour, I could make more money stocking shelves at Walmart. We do this because we love it and because we are passionate about what we do. If you stop reading PC because she feels strongly about this issue, then you lose, because PC is amazing. And she is amazing because she has passion, because she’s the kind of person who will stand up and give her opinion, damn the consequences. I may kinda disagree on this issue – in that I think it’s not worth it, not that I think she’s necessarily wrong – but still. Damn. If I had someone doing me wrong, that’s the girl I’d want in my corner, hands down.
I can see how some readers might feel disrespected by the way she expressed herself, but I totally get it. She meant no disrespect. She’s just got a lion’s roar. Sometimes, when we really care about something, we all get a lion’s roar. And her quotes, while certainly posted with her permission, were originally part of a private e-mail (or at least that’s my understanding.) How many of us haven’t gotten a little overexuberant in a private exchange? Anyone? Beuhler?
Readers, trust me, no one loves you more than the authors you love. You are everything to us, and I think I safely speak for all authors here when I say you are deeply treasured.
re: Jane’s comment about series characters and copyright
What’s that thing about Dara Joy and her characters of the Matrix universe, then? Or will I get branded “YAUR” [Yet Another Uneducated Reader] on my forehead here, too? 😀
“First – for those of you who got your panties all in a huff about my one sentence about fans who lurve us ripping us off. Ladies, grow a sense of humor. That was called sarcasm and definitely not meant to be taken literally. It was an “I don’t believe that for one minute†comment.”
PC Cast, you seem to have a track record of saying one thing, pissing some people off, and then make a claim that you were misunderstood because it was actually written with sarcasm/humour.
That card is getting a tad overworn. Try another excuse or better yet, write well enough to ensure that you won’t get “misunderstood” again because if you use it one more time, I will finally believe that you do think that readers are a bunch of dumb creatures; an implication that appeared in your comments quite oft and for a while.
I’m all for opinionated authors – love them madly, in fact – but I’m not that much a fan of backpedallers. But, don’t worry, PC, I will still buy your books. I might not be a “fan” of you, but I do like your previous books. Thank you, however, for agreeing to have your rant reproduced here at SBs. My hat’s off to you on that.
Just a note on the law here. Something isn’t slightly illegal. It is against the law or it isn’t. It isn’t like horseshoes.
In regards to the movie issue, the federal law that prohibits copying encompasses all copyrighted works regardless of medium. This issue of the sale of ARCs is not a republication or recopying issue. The sale of a copy is clearly wrong and illegal and punishable by alot of fines and even imprisonment. (ie the selling of PDF versions of books. wrong. wrong. wrong.)
It is the sale of a promotional piece which is in question. I understand that movies/DVDs which are provided to reviewers are accompanied by contracts which bind the reviewers to a certain conduct of behavior. It is the violation of this agreement that is legally enforceable. My point in the original post was that publishers and authors aren’t doing enough to protect themselves – get a contract with the reviewers akin to somethin like Ann described and you have a legal leg to stand on.
In the tort law, the only defense to a defamatory statement is the truth. If the sale of an ARC is not illegal (as conceded by Ms. Cast), a person cannot be “guilty” of theft. That’s the truth. If you want to say that the sale of ARCs is like stealing money, you are probably safe. But calling someone an outright thief? That’s actually a violation of a law.
Why are you picking on reviewers? Most of your ARCs don’t go to reviewers. I worked in various BIG bookselling chains for years and can tell you we got a visit 4 times a year from our Random House rep who came in with a box of books that the BOOKSELLERS grabbed up. We also got roughly 5-10 ARCs a week. The children’s clerk at the last place gave out HP#3 and #4 to customers to read months before the book came out. Eldest and the teen Patterson ended up at the used bookseller down the street more than a week before they came out. Half of our anime displays ended up on ebay so it wouldn’t surprise me if some of my fellow booksellers sold their ARCs. If you can find someone out there willing to pay to read an uncorrected proof of Kim Harrison’s new book, why not take their money? You’d rather see them in the trash?
If someone requests and ARC and then sells it? She’s a skunk and deserves to be cast out of society forever.
But most ARCs are just sent out to the usual suspects, unsolicited. In that case, I say they’re gifts and recipients can do what they want with gifts.
I even have made and paid out of my pocket for ARCs and I believe this to be true.
Kate, who’s found my books, personally autographed, on ebay. Gah.
I have to agree it is shitty. For one I would have loved a copy of the ARC to review as I am sure a few other reviewers would have.
Instead someone made a profit for doing nothing.
I think it is all sorts of shades of wrong for a reviewer or even a reader who has won a copy to sell an ARC before the book is released. After it is released I still think it is shitty but I am more eh about it.
To me, why buy it when you can spend less for the book itself. I buy lots of used books. So if I am going to spend cover or over for a book, I want the author to get their piece.
But I also think anyone spending 30 bucks on a book will buy it as well. Most of the ARC’s I have are signed to me and I can’t imagine selling them. I would let a friend borrow an ARC and am apart of a trade group I would freely give an ARC too I didn’t want to keep. At the same time I can’t see selling OOP books and trade them to readers who want to read them because they love books.
As for the rant, yeah I can see why some readers would get pissed about it. But really I didn’t, which may be because I agree.
Maili stole must of my thunder 😀 especially her comments about Dara Joy’s problems and backpedallers.
I couldn’t care less if you rant and rave, curse, scream, yell or sue the people who are selling your ARCs on Ebay, but you are also attacking your biggest fans, those so desperate that they are willing to shell out money for a book that hasn’t yet been released. Anyone buying these books are rabid fangirls and I can’t believe I’m defending these idiots.
Okay, so here’s the point that we’re trying to get out there to readers: WHEN YOU BUY AN ARC YOU’RE RIPPING THE AUTHOR THE FUCK OFF.
Anyway. It makes me mad. So fans who lurve us pay big money to rip us off?
That was sarcasm, thanks for pointing that out, it certainly sounded like one pissed off author to me.
How much money are you really talking about? Maybe someone out there can do the math.
You have every right to go after the “asshair sellers” and being annoyed at the readers who buy them. But, you can’t see that by venting at the “fans who lurve us” you risk alienating your existing readers and your future readers. Is a handful of dollars really worth it?
Ok, here I come, late into the fray.
For firstly: Yes, it sucks ass these people are making shitloads of cash off the ARCs when the authors make nothing from the sale. It also sucks ass for them that I resell books I bought that I didn’t like and buy books by authors I’m not familiar with at my local used bookstore, and the author makes nothing off those sales, either. So is it just the ARC resales or second hand bookstores that should be abolished because of no profit for the author? I also use my local library: should it be abolished because the author makes no profit when I read their book? What happens if I borrow one from my friend—should my friend and I be prosecuted because the author loses the royalties from a book I probably wouldn’t have bothered to read without the insistence of a friend?
For secondly: I’ve bought ARCs before. Then, after reading them, I go out and buy the book—generally in hardback, the day they go on sale—and the author makes money off me anyway on a book I’ve already read but just can’t live without. BECAUSE I DON’T BUY ARCS AT RANDOM. Only for authors I really, truly, madly, deeply love. They’re too expensive, otherwise.
For thirdly: I use what I’ve read in the ARC, and my enthusiasm for that author, to encourage others to read that author, generally encouraging them to buy the book in hardback.
NOT ONLY does the author profit from me, but s/he profits from my friends, the ones I use the ARC to lure into the readership. Who sucks ass in the scenario? The person who got the ARC for free, then resold it at grotesque profit and probably shipped it in the cheapest fashion available (Book Rate—aka, Slow Ass Boat Through China, Around To Majorca, Then On To You, If You’re Lucky) because even though they’re making a 100% profit on the ARC they can’t be bothered to spend $1 more to ship it first class mail. And if they break their agreement to write a review for the author, they doubly suck, because that’s what they owe the publisher/author for the privelege of getting to read the book early.
It sounds as if this person doesn’t know who buys their ARCs or why or what go on to do, ie, buy the actual book. Because if you’ve ever read an ARC, you know how annoying it can be. Not fully edited or typeset, gaps, misspellings and things that get changed later on before the hardback is actually printed…. Only a great fool or a great fan would buy an ARC.
DianaW said everything I was going to say, only better. So re-read her 8:41 PM post like it just echoed through the room.
PS—I’ve never bought a romance ARC, either, and they weren’t no $35 bucks. I’ve dropped $150 for a Douglas Preston ARC, then I dropped a further $30 for the hardback when it came out. I did get gummy dinos and a bookmark with the ARC, too (the promo items that came with the ARC) and I told Mr. Preston about the whole thing. He just asked if the gummies still tasted good. 🙂 I fully intend to get the paperback of the same book when it comes out. And if I could find an ARC of RELIC anywhere on earth, I’d mortgage my mother to get hold of it. I should just get “Rabid Fan-Gurl” tatooed on my ass and call it done.
I’m a pervy book fancier, that’s my only excuse.
[Dusting off my hands]
There. I have blogged the Last Word on the subject. At my blog. And because I have used a lot of bold and even red letters, and invoked the gods of writing. I’m clearly correct on this issue.
Phew, what a relief for all of us, eh?
Probably the best that authors can hope for is to track down the reviewers selling ARCs and get them taken off the publisher’s list of recipients. That would be a small victory.
I really doubt (and I’m sure PC would agree) that readers are out to screw the authors.
Most consumers still don’t equate piracy with theft. If it’s in front of them, they’re going to take it, whether it’s an ARC or a music file or a ripped DVD, and not think any harm is being done to the artist(s) they love. They’re wrong, and that’s why education is important.
However, I’m slightly on the libertarian end of things here, thinking that more exposure is better, even if it comes at the expense of a small amount of royalties. A copy of my book is doing me no good sitting on someone’s shelf at home. Let it be borrowed, resold, donated to a library, whatever, as long as people are reading it and talking about it. In the long run, it’ll expand readership.
But when an ARC says NOT FOR RESALE, well duh. There’s no excuse. Publishers compose and send ARCs at great expense for a purpose. Lining the pockets of unscrupulous reviewers isn’t the purpose, last I checked.
One of the things I love so much about this site is that we all get to bat around our opinions. It’s so nice to see a popular site where everyone doesn’t feel they have to agree or tippy-toe around. Smart women with strong opinions = fabulous.
Thank you, Lani. Your post was right on. And, yes, my original rant was cut and pasted from a private email from me to Sarah. I’m cool with Sarah posting it, but had I known she was going to I can tell you I would have cleaned it up and made the focus of my anger more easily identifiable – the people who callously profit from an author’s work without even bothering to review said work.
I am absolutely not disdainful of my readers, quite the opposite.
And my “agenda†in bringing the ARC issue up at all is that I think it’s unethical to profit from the sale of them. But Jeri said that way better than I.
An interesting sidebar to all of this: A fan bought a copy of a Luna book from an Amazon seller. She received the book and was shocked to see it was an ARC. She notified Amazon and Luna. Luna was very interested in this and a senior editor there told me that they are attempting to track the ARC leak to a specific reviewer who will be taken off their ARC list. Huh.
Hey y’all – so no one thinks that any email to me or to Candy is public fodder the minute you hit “send,” I want to apologize to PC. I thought she was fine with my posting her email as written, so while this debate has been most curious and certainly strong, it was based on an error on my part. I want to alleviate any suspicions that I handle email thinking primarily of site content and flammability – I assure you I do not.
So, PC, mea culpa. I’m going to toast myself in penance over a pile of burning eBay ARCs. K?
I say this is tackier even than selling ARCs:
At some bigger conferences there are books on the chairs during meals—gifts for attendees. And then there is the signing times sponsored by publishers. You pick up your free copy of the book, wait in line and then the author signs it for you.
I watched a fellow author (unpubbed back then who has since then hit best selling lists) gather up those free books on the chairs when no one sat down at the table . . .and then, later, gather up some of the freebie books in the signing sessions—without bothering to get them signed.
When I asked her what she was going to do with them, she said sell ‘em on ebay.
Now that is tacky. I wonder if she still does that and how she would feel if anyone did that with her books.
This whole debate has got me wondering how authors feel about their OOP books being sold for way above sticker price on eBay, Amazon, ABE books, at local bookstores, etc.—or even the sale of used books, period.
While I’m not a big fan of ARC’s, I do buy used, and I have paid an exhorbitant amount for several OOP books (i.e. Chase’s The Lion’s Daughter way before it was re-released—almost 20 bucks for that one, I think). In regard to my used book buys, I try to balance it out with new books from the same author, often trying out the author with a used copy and then going new in the future if I like what I read. I try to buy used to support authors I want to see around for a while. In one case I have taken a sworn oath never to buy a particular author’s books new EVER AGAIN, but this is an extreme case, and my curiosity in even reading them at all has nearly petered out. I really hate feeling ambivalent about buying used, though, because it does allow me to buy way more books and to try many more new authors.
On some level, though, I can’t help but feel that—given the way the arguments against ARCs have proceeded here—there is an implied similarity for some authors between selling ARC’s and re-selling books, especially above their sticker price. If this is strictly an “ethics of profit” argument, is the sole difference that ARC’s are stamped NFS and pre-published? Or is the issue one of others besides the author profiting from the sale of books? In other words, if the sale of used books looks more like the sale of ARCs to authors, then what’s the upshot of that? And if the sale of ARCs is easily distinguished as different, what, essentially, is the difference? What about people who sell ARCs after the book itself has been released, especially if they sell them for what any used book might likely cost? Different, the same, a hybrid case? I know that some people will see the differences as crystal clear, but I am sensing an undertone that makes me feel like it might not be for some authors.
I would LOVE to be an official ARC reader. Can I get on the list if I promise to read them promptly, and never sell one? Can I, can I, please??
Okay, so here’s the point that we’re trying to get out there to readers: WHEN YOU BUY AN ARC YOU’RE RIPPING THE AUTHOR THE FUCK OFF.
Anyway. It makes me mad. So fans who lurve us pay big money to rip us off?
Wow, holy crap. I’m really glad I read this whole thread before making a comment cause I got a chance to cool down. I too make big ranty rants which I regret, and get taken the wrong way etc, but damn that is the way the cookie crumbles if you’re gonna rant.
That was straight up an attack on fans, and I feel even more insulted at the implication that we can’t understand some apparently very finely honed sarcasm. Just say sorry, I didn’t mean it that way, I was ranting and pissed, not I’m sorry you didn’t understand my true meaning cause you just don’t get my uber sarcasm skillz.
Fantastic author, rant personality rather like mine, let that be a lesson to me if I ever get published to keep my rants to myself.
1) The children’s clerk at the last place gave out HP#3 and #4 to customers to read months before the book came out.
I call bullsh!t on that one.
2) tracking down ‘rogue reviewers’: not gonna happen. At the BEA they give out ARCs like candy. And the long-term financial loss from damaging the publisher’s relationship to the reviewer would be much greater than the $4.00 they are losing from the sale of the ARC to an end-customer.
3) In my line of work I’ll often get a crate of books for free from a publisher. These are not ARC copies, but final print run. Say I take one of these copies and give it to a friend. Say the friend sells it on ebay. Is that OK? Worse than selling an ARC? Better than selling an ARC? The result is the same – no money goes to the author.
4) I used to volunteer at a Friends of the Library bookstore. ARCs would come through our hands. We sold them like any other used book, for about fifty cents. Is that OK? Worse than selling on Ebay? Better?
5) Say I’m a reviewer and I get 10 ARCs a week. I read some of them, not others, review the ones I like. My home is getting flooded with poorly-bound books. None of my friends want my free books anymore. What should I do? Thow the books in the recycling? But I can’t – my local recycling agency won’t take bound paper. Is it OK for me to throw it in the trash? Is it OK for me to donate it to the library? Is it OK for me to sell it on Ebay?
6) Do you get mad about someone selling a first edition of your work on Ebay for more than cover price? If the book is still in print, are you getting ripped off?
Disclaimer: I don’t sell on Ebay, I’m not a reviewer, and none of these questions are rhetorical.
While I can see the problem with selling ARCs on eBay for exorbitant prices, what do you folks think about giving them to used bookstores or, as has been mentioned above, having libraries sell them later?
I can’t imagine a reviewer should feel compelled to keep every single ARC s/he receives, and I agree that making a profit from it is definitely unethical, but…should s/he just toss it in the trash?
I purchased an ARC of one of my favorite books from a used bookstore a few years back. Like many a rabid bibliophile, I enjoy having several copies of books I love. I’m quite certain the author in question neither knows nor cares that this tiny bookstore in a tiny town in PA sold an ARC six years after her book came out. But maybe I’m wrong.
Thoughts?
I don’t normally have that much of a problem with reviewers selling ARCs, but recently my husband and I experienced a really, really annoying situation: ARCs of his latest novel showed up for sale on Ebay a whopping month before we ever got any actual authors’ copies from the publisher. Yes, it was combination of slow publisher and greedy reviewers both, but you shouldn’t have to go to Ebay to buy your first copy of your own darned book.
I personally don’t care if booksellers are handing out ARCs to readers or libraries. I think that’s cool and better than throwing them away unread.
I have some ARCs myself of a couple of historical romances that I picked up at a garage sale some years ago. I loved the stories and they introduced me to a couple of great authors I might have missed.
My main problem was the idea of someone selling them, especially before the book comes out.
Am I the only one or are you guys also thinking, “HOLY CRAP did this post EVER wind up with a ton of comments!!!!!” LOL
—Cynthia Williams
(This comment is both late and rather disjointed; my apologies in advance)
I am uncertain on the legality issue myself, but I believe it is unethical for a reviewer to sell what is essentially promotional material—and promotional material clearly marked as “not for sale” to boot. Whether such an action is outright theft or not, it’s still undefensible from an ethical point of view.
Like those samples of new fragrances at the perfume counters at big department stores, ARCs are not printed to be sold. It is particularly galling, as a reader, to see an ARC for a long-awaited book on eBay a month before the release date (but that is probably just me,though).
[Then again, I don’t think publishers print and bind books to have them change hands a few dozen times through used book stores and garage/yard sales, yet they do; yet in the end, I believe that used book sales help the authors by exposing their work to a wider audience, just as word of mouth does.]
PS I am with mapletree7 on the Harry Potter books suppossedly sold ‘months’ before the release date: utter BS