Dear Author has started a thread for authors so that they can post and talk about piracy and related issues. Jane says that some authors believe they need more of a forum to discuss their frustrations. A laudable goal, and I, too, wish we had more author postings in the comments and in articles on the site. Any authors want to send me their thoughts?
Here is a quote from her post, a quote that makes a lot of sense to me:
Yes, publishing is tough these days. Publishers are turning away books they may have bought in the past. Booksellers are cutting back on their orders and contracts are being canceled. This is not the result of piracy, but you can certainly try to sell me on the idea that it is. I am convinced that the best thing for authors and publishers to do is to make sure that the pirate has the least attractive option. This is a phenomenal article on the futility of fighting piracy. Piracy, like the poor as Matthew says, will always be with us. Nothing the RIAA or MPAA has done in terms of anti pirate measures has worked. The pirates will always make material available for free. The goal then must be to make the legitimate purchase equal to or better than the pirating experience.
That interview was spot on.