Comments on: The Ethics of Royalties

By: Ali

Ali — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 04:05:16 +0000

Sounds like a good way to balance out the new vs. used dilemma. I've enjoyed reading your thought process about this and everyone's comments, so no, I don't think you're thinking too hard! Ali’s latest blog post:Two Announcements

By: glumpuddle

glumpuddle — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:36:25 +0000

Hahaha, I was thinking about this today as I purchased two books new because I had a gift card for a large chain store. I had funds for either a new hardback book (Neal Stephenson!) or a trade paperback and a regular paperback. I thought about the whole mid-list author thing and the alive/dead thing from the previous comments. I ended up getting The Time Traveler’s Wife and the newest Peter Robinson detective story in paperback. Robinson is a local writer, and I think his stuff sells well, but I still like to support locals. The TTW has a movie coming out so the author can’t be hurting but I’d rather support by book than movie. I’m pretty sure the NS book is coming out in paperback eventually and I just don’t have room for a bulky hardcover – so that also played into my choice. But the previous discussion on ethics here did play into my thinking. Then on my way home I stopped in at a used bookstore and plonked down four bucks for an out of print (I think) William Gibson book. Out of print books are, I think, also ethical used purchases.

By: Amy @ My Friend Amy

Amy @ My Friend Amy — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:30:08 +0000

Well you have conscience about it or you wouldn’t keep posting about it.

I definitely think you’re reading too much into my comment! Let’s say you’ve decided to buy a new book. You’re either going to buy the new James Patterson or the new Beth Kephart. Totally different books. You want to read them both equally though. Why not buy the Kephart book since she could genuinely use your support while not buying or buying the Patterson won’t make a big difference in his career. Why won’t it? Because not everyone cares enough about this subject to have written three blog posts on it.

Amy @ My Friend Amy’s latest blog post:Faith ‘n’ Fiction Saturday: Reader’s Choice Awards!

By: Kristen M.

Kristen M. — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 18:49:25 +0000

That's an interesting proposal. It's certainly a starting guideline for choosing which books to buy new. One thing I tend to buy new is the next book in a series because I have already waited a year or two for each new story. This certainly fits in with the "living authors" plan (except for zombie authors, of course). Perhaps a second criteria could be something that benefits readers as well -- buying new copies of foreign translated works. This is a market that is directly linked to sales. If we don't buy the books, they don't translate new ones for us and we miss out on some great literature! Kristen M.’s latest blog post:"I still remember the day my father took me to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for the first time."