An interview with Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl With a Pearl Earring, in Monday’s Times of London suggests that digital book piracy may discourage authors from writing. Unless, that is, the publishing industry can come up with a different business model.
Echoing arguments made by the music industry, the article cites freewheeling digital reproductions of Harry Potter novels, cookbooks, travel guides, and other fiction and nonfiction texts as a possible disincentive for writers to continue practicing their (occasionally profitable) craft. Ms. Chevalier, chair of the UK’s Society of Authors, says “writers who write books that you dip in and out of” will suffer the most.
“[The payment structure] is a dam that’s cracking,” she told the Times. “We are trying to plug the holes with legislation and litigation but we need to think radically. We have to evolve and create a very different pay system, possibly by making the content available free to all and finding a way to get paid separately.”
At a recent industry discussion on copyright law, the article says, she offered several alternative income sources for the publishing industry to consider: government, business, rich patrons, and the public.—Catherine Rampell
