[Scotty]

I didn't see any indication that Battuta was talking about strictly ebooks.  "The future of writing" is fairly all encompassing.

[Goober5000]

Ebooks are an important subset of Amazon's product line.  Battuta doesn't have to "strictly" talk about ebooks to talk about ebooks.  Unless you're characterizing his comments as "Don't support Amazon.  Unless you're buying ebooks; those don't count.  Buy all the ebooks you want."

Providing DRM-free ebooks is an excellent strategy for a competitor publisher to distinguish itself from Amazon, in precisely the same way that GOG distinguishes itself from Steam.  Amazon's format is closed and proprietary.  I was asking if there was a viable open and DRM-free alternative.

If there isn't one, that's fine, but I see that as a missed opportunity on the part of non-Amazon sellers.

[deathspeed]

My local library has some titles available in EPUB and PDF format as well as Kindle, but Adobe's DRM is a pain in the ass to set up.  I had to first download a compatible reader app, then install some adobe digital editions spyware on my PC (I'm pretty sure it was contracted by the NSA), then figure out how to link it to my tablet.  Then when I got a new tablet, I had to figure out how to transfer the permissions to it after installing the reader app again, since apparently only one mobile device per email address is supported.  It was worse than manually installing FSO pre- Goobstaller.  Maybe there is an easier way, but there is no way in creation that my parents would be able to figure this out.  When there is a kindle version available for checkout, I go with it just for the ease of use.

[AdmiralRalwood]

Pretty hard for Amazon to remotely delete an ebook after I've made a backup of it and stripped the DRM from it.

[Ghostavo]

If you give a **** about the future of writing, and you want to avoid an awful oligopolist monoculture, don't support Amazon.

So what are the alternatives?  One of the things I dislike about Kindle eBooks is that it's a closed proprietary format and Amazon can delete books from your library at its whim (as happened a few years back with 1984, of all books).  Is there a popular DRM-free standard that could provide a viable competitor to the Kindle format?

It may be proprietary, but it's not closed. It's a mobi file (an open format) with a high compression option.

[General Battuta]

I believe Tor (my publisher, and a very large player in the SF/F market) sells DRM-free ebooks, but I haven't explored exactly what that means.

[haloboy100]

The publishing hassle/bull**** is the a fairly big reason I've abandoned writing fiction as a source of income. If I were to write a book, I'd probably just release it for free.

But of course, people need to know about it, hence requiring publishers...

So, yeah, **** writing.

[General Battuta]

The publishing hassle/bull**** is the a fairly big reason I've abandoned writing fiction as a source of income. If I were to write a book, I'd probably just release it for free.

But of course, people need to know about it, hence requiring publishers...

So, yeah, **** writing.

I wrote a book, found an agent within a couple months without hassle, sold it to a great publisher within a month or two after that, and got a generous advance I could live off for a few years (if I wanted to risk it).

Don't give up on your dream if that's what you want to do. But don't quit your day job either: writing is not a reliable source of primary income unless you're extremely successful.

[Goober5000]

I wrote a book, found an agent within a couple months without hassle, sold it to a great publisher within a month or two after that, and got a generous advance I could live off for a few years (if I wanted to risk it).

The problem with large advances is the risk that the book doesn't earn out its advance.  (Not saying your book is one of them, though I am curious what its estimate is.)

If publishers are offering larger advances, this likely means they are focusing primarily on huge bestsellers to the detriment of books with smaller audiences that may not make big splashes but are nonetheless worth publishing.  It's the same problem with Hollywood churning out sequels and remakes to the detriment of original stories.

[Phantom Hoover]

Personally I haven't really seen any evidence that this is the case in the book industry, except by an implicit analogy to music, film and game publishers.

[General Battuta]

I wrote a book, found an agent within a couple months without hassle, sold it to a great publisher within a month or two after that, and got a generous advance I could live off for a few years (if I wanted to risk it).

The problem with large advances is the risk that the book doesn't earn out its advance.  (Not saying your book is one of them, though I am curious what its estimate is.)

The idea that failing to earn out an advance is a career-killer is endemic, but inaccurate. It's not a huge problem.

If publishers are offering larger advances, this likely means they are focusing primarily on huge bestsellers to the detriment of books with smaller audiences that may not make big splashes but are nonetheless worth publishing.

The first supposition here is incorrect, the second is also incorrect, and the conclusion is so incorrect it's nearly the opposite of the publishing industry's current MO. Publishing is remarkably willing to take chances on books with small audiences, and first advances are usually modest to tiny.

[InsaneBaron]

If you give a **** about the future of writing, and you want to avoid an awful oligopolist monoculture, don't support Amazon.

So what are the alternatives?  One of the things I dislike about Kindle eBooks is that it's a closed proprietary format and Amazon can delete books from your library at its whim (as happened a few years back with 1984, of all books).  Is there a popular DRM-free standard that could provide a viable competitor to the Kindle format?

WHAT? That's like the guys who censored Fahrenheit 451 - irony blindness?

On a more serious note, I'm interested in the same question. I'm none to happy with Amazon's EBook system or publishing policies (although I often end up buying physical goods other than books there...) What's the best alternative?

[Mars]

I haven't tried it recently, but Google play in .MOBI?

[Mikes]

Living in Germany I pretty much rely on Amazon ...

Bookstores over here have a very limited supply of titles in their original (English) language and I really do not want to put up with those craptastic translations ...

Course you can order them at the store as well, but that often takes several weeks for English language titles (no not kidding.)