E-Guns Blazing, Part 4: As Bondage Begins to Crack if not Break

This will be my (J.C.) last note on this topic for a while. There is little more to say that you have not already heard or want to hear — if you have been following along or sought out more info on your own. Like happened in the Music industry, DRM is beginning to fracture in the ebook industry, this time in the open rather than unseen to the public eye. It may not disappear entirely, but cracks can be widened over time with enough applied force and decay of the chains. The problem still remains as to what can effectively protect authors and publishers from book theft without infringing on consumer rights or being subject to the dictates of the vendors. It may well be a pipe dream that is not to be. I touched upon this in some ways previously in how print books were never safe once we entered the digital age; that was an illusion.

A while back, publishers large and small demanded the option to not use DRM on certain or all titles they released; it was the large operations that made a difference. Vendors had to comply when a couple of those made it clear that they intended to turn away from DRM as it existed… and would not list titles with certain vendors that did not comply. Even the direct publishing portals we use have or now have the option to not use DRM.

The vendors still control the actual DRM process, and at present, there is no other option or way that its use is efficient. Or in other words, it is not efficient for publishers and authors to live with a system that is outside of their control for their rights. Obviously, at least major publishers (if not authors) have some influence to bring to bear. In fact, it started a little while back, as you will note in the articles below.

The first link at the bottom of this article is one that was broken in the first of this series of commentaries, but it is just as appropriate here. Also take note of the sites these articles come from; some are actually geared specifically to information in ebook, publishing, and library industries. With all of this in mind, Barb and I will try our first experiment in non-DRM publishing as well.

The upcoming release of Homeward, IV: The Keepers by Barb will be DRM free.

This won’t mean much to Kindle users, as Amazon’s AZW/TOPAZ format will not “play” on anything but a Kindle device/app. But you can still get your hands on Calibre to transcode it into EPUB if need be for other devices you personally own. Without DRM in your way, it is 100% legal to do so… but just your own devices and not anyone else’s. For those buying through one of our other selected vendors, you will already be purchasing an ebook in the EPUB format, the most common format worldwide.

We will see how this experiment goes with this one title for about a month before we make any decisions concerning past “tales.” Time for us as well to put some faith in our readers. I (J.C.) just got knocked down with a head cold in the middle of freakish heat wave in Oregon of all places; 101F yesterday by 1 p.m., PST. But I will still be up on my feet long enough to get this next entry in Tales from the world of the Noble Dead Saga out the door. Then, fate willing, and barring no other catastrophes, I need to get back my actual writing.

Stay Tuned!

• Publishers begin removing DRM from ebooks
• UK publisher, Duncan Baird Publishers, goes DRM free
• Amazon quietly lets publishers remove DRM from Kindle ebooks