Right.

So make up your mind. Do you want to make more money off of it or not?

I'll assume you do. Then you *should* let people have copies for free. No publisher has *ever* lost sales by giving away books. Take a look at the Baen Free Library (www.baen.com/library). Eric Flint states that he's sold 4 or 5 times as many copies as he's 'lost' through having the books available online.

When I was a high school kid, I heard about this new gaming system called 'GURPS'. It sounded interesting -- but I was dead broke. There was no way I could afford the $20 for a copy.

So I borrowed it and made a copy. Shock. Horror. I was stealing from the company who produced it!

In the past 10 years, I've purchased 4 copies of that book (one in hardcover), 8 other books in that system, and 3 books in another system by the same publisher. I've also got a subscription to their online magazine (one of the few that I know of which actually makes a *profit*).

None of this would have happened had I not copied that first book -- because I've almost always been the one to introduce the game to my friends, including my wife. The single exception was a gaming group *that I sought out* because they played GURPS. Wouldn't have done that if I hadn't already liked GURPS.

Now, don't get me wrong -- certainly you still have the right to object. I just object to the idea that it's costing you or any other author money. It's not.

It's giving you money by increasing sales.

Shalon Wood

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