出版与作家生涯2012disruptiveconversations.com
作为一名作者，我为何真心讨厌电子书DRM
As An Author, Why I Truly Hate Ebook DRM
导读
这是一位作者对电子书 DRM（数字版权管理）的吐槽：DRM 名义上保护作者，实际却限制读者、绑定平台、扼杀创新，而且作者拿到的版税本就微薄，防盗版并不是作者真正的痛点。对写作者而言，它提醒我们：作品写完只是开始，分发方式、读者能否方便获取、以及收入结构，都会反过来影响作品能走多远。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
先算清自己的收入结构：零售方先拿走约一半，出版社再分成，作者实际到手的版税往往只有标价的百分之十左右，写作数月换来的回报极不成比例。
- 02
把“读者能否方便地拿到作品”当作写作之外的重要一环，限制访问渠道往往等于限制自己思想的传播范围。
- 03
选择分发渠道时，优先考虑不锁平台的格式与商店，让同一本书能在多种设备上被读到。
- 04
论证时要区分“原则问题”和“实现问题”，很多看似不可调和的争论，其实只是实现方式没做好。
HN 评论精选
作者实际版税极低，防盗版并不是作者的核心利益所在。
我也是作者，完全同意这篇文章。而且作者拿到的版税少得可怜——大约是出版社收入的 10%，而出版社拿到的是零售商抽走约 50% 封面价之后剩下的那部分。想想写一本书要花几个月，再除以这点回报，就不难理解为什么作者很难为“损失的版税”生气。
jgrahamc查看英文原文
I, also an author, 100% agree with this. Also, the royalties that authors receive (roughly 10% of what the publisher receives after the retailer has taken their large, say 50%, part of the cover price) is tiny. When you consider the months of work to write a book and divide by the return it's not hard to see why authors have a hard time getting upset about 'lost royalties'.
DRM 的多数弊端是实施问题而非原则问题，可用低成本方案化解。
我不喜欢 DRM，也总会选没有 DRM 的替代品，但我不认同文中的这些论点。比如“DRM 反读者”：完全可以做到让书在人与人、平台与平台之间转移——读者提交转移申请，出版社重新编码给新所有者或新格式即可；但你会认为自己作为购书者有权复印并分发复印件吗？“DRM 锁定平台”也未必：出版社可以轻松提供多种格式，从源文件转换在技术上是小事。“DRM 增加不必要的复杂度”确实如此，但大多数人是用阅读应用而不是文本文件读书，这层复杂度可以对读者隐藏，问题出在实现上。“DRM 扼杀创新”：作者拿不到钱、吃不上饭同样扼杀创新，这里需要平衡，不是一切都要免费。“DRM 阻断思想传播”：在很多国家买不起书的人可以去图书馆，他们不需要拥有这本书就能读到其中的思想。总之，电子书 DRM 的问题在于实现方式；文中列出的很多问题是真实的，但只要出版社做几乎零成本的事就能基本消除。
casca查看英文原文
While I don't like DRM and will always choose an alternative product that does not have it, I don't buy these arguments. So looking at his points: "DRM Is Anti-Reader": There's no reason that DRM could allow the easy transfer of a book from one person or platform to another. You could submit a transfer request and the publisher could re-encode the book to the new owner or format. Would you expect that as the purchaser of the book, you'd be allowed to photocopy it and distribute the photocopy? "DRM Locks Readers In To Platforms": This is not necessarily the case. The publisher could easily offer the same book in multiple formats. Converting from source is a trivial technical task. "DRM Adds Unneeded Complexity": DRM does add complexity, but as most people read via an application rather than a text file, this can be abstracted for almost all readers. Again, this is a problem with the implementation. "DRM Stifles Innovation": Authors not getting paid so that they can eat also stifles innovation. There needs to be a balance here, it's not all about making everyone's work free. "DRM Halts The Spread Of Ideas": If someone can't afford the book, in many countries they can go to a library. They don't need ownership to read the ideas. In summary, the issue with DRM for books is the implementation. Many of the problems listed are real but could be almost completely negated by the publishers doing things that cost them almost nothing, even following the assumption that everyone wants to read their books for free. To be clear, I'm not implying that I support DRM or that it really does significantly reduce the availability of books that have not be paid for, just that the arguments presented here are against the current implementation rather than DRM itself.
作者与读者站到同一边，才可能推动分发平台改变。
如果反 DRM 的运动能同时来自内容生产者和消费者，也许分发渠道也会加入进来。
ChuckMcM查看英文原文
If we can get the antiDRM movement coming from both content producers and consumers, perhaps distribution will join in.
同类还值得读
写书：值得吗？
Writing a book: is it worth it?
Martin Kleppmann（《设计数据密集型应用》作者）复盘写书到底值不值：金钱回报低、耗时极长，但带来了可见度、信任和职业机会。
出版与作家生涯2020 · 642 分 · 287 评4 条写作要点编辑精选写书并不是个好主意
Writing books is not really a good idea
这篇文章讨论靠写书谋生的现实难度，评论区从版税数学、收入预期和写作目标三个角度补充了作者视角。
出版与作家生涯2021 · 577 分 · 609 评4 条写作要点编辑精选如何自助出版一本书：实用资源清单
How to self-publish a book: A handy list of resources
这是一份关于「如何自助出版一本书」的资源清单帖，涵盖从编辑、排版到 ISBN、销售渠道的实操工具与花费。
出版与作家生涯2018 · 558 分 · 88 评4 条写作要点编辑精选我自助出版一本Ruby on Rails书，赚了7万美元
How I Made $70k Self-Publishing a Book about Ruby on Rails
这是一篇 Ruby 开发者自述：他把一套 Rails 性能课程（书＋视频＋答疑）自出版，一年毛收入约 7 万美元，并总结了选题、定价、营销等经验。
出版与作家生涯2017 · 539 分 · 175 评4 条写作要点编辑精选石黑一雄警告年轻作家因“恐惧”而自我审查
Sir Kazuo Ishiguro warns of young authors self-censoring out of 'fear'
石黑一雄提醒年轻作者因“恐惧”而自我审查，即这条帖子讨论的核心。
出版与作家生涯2021 · 396 分 · 641 评5 条写作要点编辑精选