Publishing data that can be replicated cost-free by anyone on the internet and expecting to then sell it seems like a weird business model to me. Computer programs use software as a service as a business model and it works pretty well. Someone has to come up with a way of making money that is not as absurd as "please pay for my data and don't share it".
(2) DRM. (Oh, wait, that's condemned as corporate evil. Nevermind.)
(3) Subscription-only based access to books (e.g. Safari, Mapt), so you can't read them offline, or retain them in any fashion. (Walled garden; independent authors can't deploy to this.)
(4) Honor system...which is the current system, but hey, honor is quite obviously dead. ;-)
Pardon my cynicism. It isn't aimed at you. But the above unfortunately is the current list of options for books. The very nature of books doesn't lend itself to a service model.
Believe me, I've actually considered option (1) for some of my publications. After this overall comment thread, it's becoming a legitimate possibility.
Publishing data that can be replicated cost-free by anyone on the internet and expecting to then sell it seems like a weird business model to me. Computer programs use software as a service as a business model and it works pretty well. Someone has to come up with a way of making money that is not as absurd as "please pay for my data and don't share it".
Current options:
(1) No more ebooks. (You really want that?)
(2) DRM. (Oh, wait, that's condemned as corporate evil. Nevermind.)
(3) Subscription-only based access to books (e.g. Safari, Mapt), so you can't read them offline, or retain them in any fashion. (Walled garden; independent authors can't deploy to this.)
(4) Honor system...which is the current system, but hey, honor is quite obviously dead. ;-)
Pardon my cynicism. It isn't aimed at you. But the above unfortunately is the current list of options for books. The very nature of books doesn't lend itself to a service model.
Believe me, I've actually considered option (1) for some of my publications. After this overall comment thread, it's becoming a legitimate possibility.
It sure seems like a hard position to be in, I hope someone finds a way to make money with books without depending on honor. Best of luck!