A CABAL BLOG POST!, by FURB:

A while ago I was reading the forums at a very fun book website called bookcrossing.com. I came across a message posted by CynthiaA. In it she talks about how her friend (who works for a Canadian publisher) feels that people that use websites to acquire free books are going to cost her the job she loves. CynthiaA's friend had sent a link to a New York Times piece that contends increases in efficiency in the secondhand book market are causing problems throughout the publishing industry.

The New York Times piece was not overtly hostile towards such efficiency in second hand books. However, author David Streitfeld virtually sounded the dirge of the giant publishing houses, citing layoffs and contractions at major houses in his piece. When doing research for a previous NY Times article, he bought a used book for only two bits. He interviewed the seller of the book, whose motivation was to sell said book in order to buy more books. Streitfeld interviewed people who viewed his buying behavior as downright theft from that book's author! When Streitfeld interviewed said author, she was a bit dismayed, but not angry about the low price her hard work fetched on the secondary market. I think that Streitfeld's real lament is the prospect of losing that experience where he scalds his soft palate with a latte macchiato sweetened with honey whilst seated in a leather armchair (in a corporate chain bookstore) reading latest selection made by The Oprah Book Club.

Down the thread a bit was a humorous one liner that really made my day. "Oh BOO HOO!" it exclaimed. It reminded me of a crass expression my brother is fond of saying when people complain about their present unfortunate circumstances. It may be sad when people lose jobs that they love due to market changes, be they in the the publishing world or in the world of food preparation. Isn't it better for those loosing their jobs to find a more productive use of their time, talents, and energies, rather than languishing in a field that no longer needs that product or service they have erstwhile provided? I have lost a job that I really loved, and it absolutely crushed me. I was deeply saddened and hurt by the turn of events. It took me a long time to get over what happened, and to forgive my former boss for being a drunken lout. In the end, with the encouragement of those that love me, I found a better situation for myself.

Most posts in the forum topic didn't make explicit reference to market forces as opposed to the political economy in play. But a few looked to the future of what publishing may become, drawing parallels with such movie delivery methods as Redbox, Netflix, and iTunes. Print-on-demand technology, or even speculating how e-Books may finally become the preferred method of text delivery. Book sales may be generated much the same way as concerts generate album sales for musical artists. Also noted were how existing market inefficiencies in publishing have lead to higher costs for consumers of new books, be they new titles or back catalogued items.

This bookcrossing forum thread really strikes a chord with me in light of some recent exchanges with a fellow that I am acquainted with. I had been talking on the phone with venerable author and Liberty Conspiracy radio and podcast producer Gardner Goldsmith about his forthcoming book (a work of non-fiction). I was asking him how his manuscript was coming along. He told me that he really needed to get a publisher so that when the book was finished, it would be published right away.

As I was talking with Gardner about this, I thought of people that I knew in writing and publishing. I quickly remembered a tremendous book by my friendly acquaintance, Edmund Contoski, entitled Makers and Takers.  I mentioned Contoski's book in our conversation. Gard was floored to hear me talk about this book. I think he's a bit jealous that I have a signed copy. Makers and Takers is published by American Liberty Publishers out of Minnesota. Mr. Contoski also is in charge of that publishing house, so I took the liberty of sending chapters two and three of Mr. Goldsmith's manuscript to Mr. Contoski.

A couple of days later, this came as a reply from Edmund Contoski:

"I wish I could be more helpful about publishing Gardner's book. Unfortunately, in recent years there have been a lot of changes in the publishing industry that have not been encouraging to the production of new books. Add to this the effect of the recent economic downturn and the outlook is even more discouraging. Even before the economic slowdown, you probably heard about all the bookstores and publishers who have been going out of business. With more and more people getting their information over the Internet, it is really hard to get people to buy books. This, of course, is the main reason behind many of the bookstores closing.

Bookstores have always been really important as a way of allowing customers to learn about new books by browsing in the stores. So a really important way for people to learn about new books has been very seriously reduced. Another negative from a publisher's standpoint is the sale of used books over the Internet, such as through Amazon.com. It used to be that if someone heard about a new book, say, from an author's appearance on a talk show or reading a book review, he would buy the book. Now he will go to Amazon.com and see if he can buy a used copy at a much reduced price. This helps to spread the author's message, but it raises heck with the income for both authors and publishers and certainly reduces the incentive for publishing new books.

A few years ago I embarked on the idea of writing a series of booklets (selling for $3.95) as a cheap way for people to learn about my writing and, hopefully, encourage them to buy my books. I wrote three of these booklets (one is no longer available), but the result was so discouraging that I didn't produce any more of these.

At present it seems unlikely that American Liberty Publishers will publish any more books. We will maintain our website since we do get occasional orders and even some speaking engagements. So we do want people to have a way of contacting us. We even still get an occasional order from a library. (We got a LOT of orders initially from libraries because the American Library Association's influential periodical BOOKSLIST recommended Makers and Takers for library purchase. That was quite an honor. It was particularly impressive because it is something seldom achieved by new or small publishers--especially for a free market book!)"

I am sympathetic to all involved with the publishing industry. It is undergoing some major changes. What their world will be like in 10 years?  I can only speculate.  I feel that there is probably going to be a legal battle coming that will make it more difficult for people to sell used books. Maybe books will be sold with an end user license, like when you buy computer software. Said license will state that it is a condition of sale that you agree not to copy, sell, trade, or lend this copy of "your" book.

Maybe I have a little different view of intellectual property rights. In my life I have over 15 years of experience in food service as a chef and a baker. Authors, inventors, artists, and marketers get government protection when they file for a copyright, patent, or trademark. A chef cannot do that with a recipe, even when it is totally original. Only if he also is a geneticist and can make a wheat plant actually grow French Toast can he apply for a patent. Why are the authors, inventors and marketers protected by a legal monopoly for their thinking, while the equally valid work of intellect done by the chef is not? No wonder Homer Simpson once noted how people "...mocked his interest in the pastry science."

An author will write a book. The author will sell the rights to the book in exchange for royalties from the publisher. The publisher files for copyright protection, which uses coercion to enforce that copyright. Everyone is excluded from disseminating that information for his own gain unless they apply that knowledge personally (without permission). No one except the publisher can disseminate that information without the threat of violence entering the equation. This is a tremendous benefit to the publisher and to those that are in his camp. It allows the author and publisher to have monopoly control over the distribution of this work. When the second hand market cuts in on the author/publisher profit (greatly increased by their cartelization) there is a tremendous outcry.

Now if a chef comes up with a recipe, he will first put it up as a special in his restaurant.  Let's call it Pulp's Diner. If the recipe is popular enough, it may be placed on the regular menu. The chef only benefits when the menu item is sold. A patron could buy that menu item, eat it, and sell it second hand, but mainly the market for second hand food is Bowery bums, stray dogs, rats and other varmints. Even if the Bowery market is a viable market for second hand food, the rights of the creative mind behind the food has not been abrogated. As an aside, there are viable aftermarkets such as food delivery services (http://www.slcwaiter.com) and composters (http://www.vermontcompost.com).

What is actually very likely to occur, is that other chefs in the kitchen at Pulp's Diner are likely to learn the recipe. Over time some of the chefs will leave the employ of Pulp's Diner and go to work for The Harlequin Tea Room, and other various competitors in the marketplace. Unless the owners of Pulp's Diner, as a condition of employment, get the other chefs to sign a non-disclosure agreement to maintain the proprietary strength of their menu, they are powerless to stop the dissemination of the recipe for Toast Soup. It is only after the enterprising chef writes a cookbook, or gets himself a t.v. show, that his intellectual property becomes protected by the guns of government.