jabberwockypie:

abraxis-and-anceline:

libraryadvocates:

Several library organizations and advocacy groups, including the American Library Association and ReadersFirst, have come out against Tor’s embargo. In a phone interview with io9, ALA president Loida Garcia Febo expressed her concerns that it could mean more trouble for libraries and their relationships with publishers, taking into account how hard they had to fight to get e-book access in the first place. She also said how unfortunate it is that the embargo is targeting sci-fi and fantasy readers, given how dedicated and passionate they are about the written word.

Tor. Y’all are a bunch of idiots. Don’t do this. If I can’t get your books at the library, the I just… won’t read them at all. Unless it’s an author I already follow. I only buy books if I know I’m going to love them, which means that I have to have already read them before, or be very familiar with the author. There are TWO authors I will buy without reading first. TWO. That’s not two authors published by Tor, that’s two total.

I don’t actually know anyone, at all, that buys books without having read them first or without having read a enough books by the author to take a chance. Don’t be stupid. This will hurt your sales way more than libraries would.

Also, congrats! You just guaranteed jump in the number of people pirating your books! Way to go, that’s totally what you were aiming for, right?

That was MY first thought upon reading this.

Authors urge readers to use the library rather than pirate books if they can’t afford to buy them.

If they’re not available at the library … what’s the logic here? Does Tor REALLY think people will just go “Ah, yes, I didn’t buy these books before because the library had them. Now that’s not an option, so I’ll definitely buy them.”?

People who were going to buy the books ANYWAY will just buy them the same as before.

People who wanted them from the library will either a) not read them or b) pirate them.  Or c) just decide to wait the four months and be Really Annoyed about it.

Regardless, it’s not going to generate more sales, and it’s going to hurt authors.

It’s going to hurt libraries. If people can’t get books they want from the library because the library can’t afford the license for the book, patrons will use their libraries less, because they’ll feel like they can’t rely on their libraires to have new books or books they want to read. At a time when libraires are getting their funding slashed everywhere, when people are raising ridiculous alternatives like Amazon taking over from libraries, this will do nothing but hurt.

Tor needs to look at things like the Baen Free Library and realise that restricting access is not going to drive up sales, it’s going to drive people away. Whereas making books available in as many mediums as possible, for affordable prices, will increase visibility and profits. I can’t tell you how many new books/authors I’ve found through libraries over my lifetime, but it’s been hundreds, and the ones I really love? I BUY. And without libraries, I wouldn’t have known they existed.

Tor Publishing Issues a 4-Month E-Book Embargo on Libraries, Cites Retail Sale Concerns