Fair Reading

Today, as a member of the Society of Authors and because I live in Scotland, I received another enlightening Society of Authors in Scotland (SOAIS) email newsletter. Within today's delivery was a wonderful idea from the SOAIS Chair, Nicola Morgan. If you like reading as much as I do, why not enjoy what Nicola Morgan has to say about "Fair Reading"? Here's what Nicola had to say.

"A Mission

"Do join me. I've been nipping away at unsuspecting members of the public for a while now about an idea which I call "Fair Reading". Just as Fair Trade is about allowing a producer to benefit properly, Fair Reading is about allowing authors (and publishers) to earn fairly from their work.

"When people are enlightened about the consequences of "unfair" reading, they often change their purchasing and borrowing habits. So, here is the message - do spread the word if you agree.

"The Premise:

"Our income is increasingly undermined by several factors which threaten the quality and range of future books. The factors are:

• Untenably high discounts and promotions, incurring minuscule royalties.
• The rise of second-hand selling of good-as-new books, (for example on Amazon Marketplace), so that authors and publishers are bypassed from the earning cycle.
• Abuse of copyright by illegal photocopying or printing.
• Potentially, abuse of copyright by illegal free downloading of ebooks.

"The Problem

"As author / publisher income falls, authors and publishers become less able to survive by producing writing of depth, quality or innovation. The consequence of cheapening and devaluing books is therefore the diminution of literature's range. This is "unfair" reading, reading which puts no value on the work of the creator and simply scavenges, greedily and carelessly.

"The Conclusion: Fair Reading

"Fair Reading means, where possible, buying a book at a fair price that brings reward to the creator and protects the value of the written word, or borrowing within the PLR scheme. Each time we choose to buy a cheapened book or acquire an author's work for nothing, there is a small negative effect on the writer. Small effects add up to major consequences. A fair price protects future books. It matters.

"Even if many people ignore the message, others will hear it and there are people who care enough to change their practices, once they understand. I now find people apologizing to me for having bought a book at high discount and that sense of guilt warms my heart! I don't expect miracles, and I perfectly well respect that readers can't always afford to ignore high discounts: all I want is that each reader should make an informed choice. At the moment, readers are not informed and if we don't inform them, who will? Who should care more than we do?"

Editor's Note

You can contact Nicola Morgan at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Nicola Morgan has no connection with InternetTIPS.com. As a fellow author and owner of InternetTIPS.com, I was impressed with what Nicola has to say about "Fair Reading".

With the gift buying season just around the corner, I want to draw additional attention to the plight of many authors and publishers around the world. That's why I simply chose to include Nicola's note about Fair Reading here in this blog today.

As a predominantly digital author, I am in a much stronger position compared to most writers who opt to use the more traditional publishing routes by writing mainstream books. Yet I understand that writing for the digital markets is not every author's preferred option.

More importantly, what do you think about the idea of Fair Reading? If you agree with Nicola, please consider the idea of Fair Reading when you invest in books of any kind. Thank you.

InternetTIPS.com is a unique, plain English "How to" resource designed to help you create a profitable interactive Web 2.0 website rich in content, community and commerce. We can work with you to design, create and populate a "ready-to-go" website for individuals, small- and medium-sized businesses and organizations. Clients can tap into over 20,000 hours of web design and writing experience for no additional cost. To discuss your project, in the first instance, please contact Brian Austin using our web Contact form.

---