On Used Books

Being an aspiring author, the subject of used books tends to be fairly touchy in some of my social circles. For a great many published authors, used books are Evil Incarnate. A recent article on AOL suggesting that buying new books is a waste of money single-handedly raised the ire of an entire gaggle of romance writers on an email loop I’m on.

I don’t object to their opinion. I understand why they’re upset. Royalties are their livelihood. Many of these women’s entire paychecks come from nothing but the sale of their books, and, let me tell you, it’s not easy to get rich on royalties, unless you’re Nora Roberts. And even she had to work up to it. So I get where they’re coming from.

What I do object to is accusing used book buyers of being immoral, scum-sucking, penny-pinching pirates. Buying used books is neither immoral nor illegal, no matter what it does to an author’s royalty statement.

Here’s why it’s not illegal: When you buy a book, you are buying the physical book: paper, ink, covers, step-back covers with sexy half-naked men… oh. Ahem. Right. Where was I? You are buying the book, not the words. You are not buying a license to read those words. Ask any lawyer. That will hold up in a court of law. (Ebooks are a whole different kettle of fish, and I don’t like kettles of fish, so I won’t go there, but anyway.) So, when you buy the book, you are free to do anything with that book that you so choose, including selling it used for a whole lot less than you bought it for. And that means the people who buy your used books are also well within their rights.

Now, in my opinion, here’s why it’s not immoral and here’s why, when I am published, you will never hear me squawk about my books being sold used: new readers. Simple as that. The more people I can get to read my books, whether they get them new or used or traded or bookcrossed, the better off my career will be. Each new reader has the potential to become an uber-fan, and uber-fans are an author’s best friend. They buy all your books, they chat you up to their friends, they turn other people into uber-fans. And that means, ultimately, more sales. (It also means creepy stalkers, but hey, we’re looking on the bright side here.) Yes, royalties are important, but it seems to me that a writing career is more important, and the more readers you have long-term, the better a career it will be.

I’ll conclude by saying I’ve reformed my book-buying ways since I realized how important royalties are. I buy new (though discounted if possible… hey, I’m still cheap), especially from authors I know. Still, I would never, never hold buying used against someone. To do so seems unfair and, really, unworthy of my annoyance, when there are so many other more important things I could get annoyed about… like who the heck stole my tape dispenser off my desk again. I’ll find you, tape dispenser stealer. Be warned.

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