Comments on: Maksim Moshkow and lib.ru: On copyright and how e-books are helping the Russian publishing scene

By: Quinn Anya Carey

Quinn Anya Carey — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 20:25:59 +0000

Robert, on the issue of translated vs. native works, I find it interesting how lib.ru has made translations of English-language books available before they officially come out in bookstores, and/or keep them available when they're no longer in print. This summer, all of a sudden a lot of Terry Pratchett books were released in Russia. I don't know if it was for the first time, or a re-release, or a release by a different publisher, but the point remains that since 1997, translations of some of the Discworld novels have been available on lib.ru

By: Robert Nagle

Robert Nagle — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 19:40:34 +0000

Branko: If ebooks become more focused on multimedia rather than text, you may be right, but I suspect that text-only ebooks won’t require a lot of technical expertise or expensive equipment.

marketing is another issue of course. But royalties & advances in the USA aren’t substantial enough to convince writers to sell future rights.

As for compensation, I don’t know what qualifies as “making a living,” but I’m not sure the status quo has done any better.

By: Branko Collin

Branko Collin — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 13:56:07 +0000

Quinn, great series, I’d love to see more.

As for DIY publishing: DIY publishing? The entire reason there is a publishing industry is because publishing is a skill that authors tend to be bad at. Middlemen will never go away in a world that has traded generic skills for specialized ones.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 07:35:47 +0000

“David, few writers have understood the technological issues better than Cory, but I think a large number of writers under 40 nonetheless understand that DIY publishing will eclipse mainstream publishing and have modified expectations accordingly.”

Robert, I just hope they can make a living at it! A TeleRead-style approach, by the way, could work with both DIY and mainstream publishing–since librarians would be evaluating quality as opposed to the amount of the PR.

To address the issue of translation, I’d love to see English-language e-books to introduce us to Russian novelists of today, not just the greats of yore.

David

By: Robert Nagle

Robert Nagle — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 06:40:50 +0000

Great interview. On another note, when teaching/visiting Ukraine between 1999 and 2001, I was surprised to see the large number of translated works from US publishing companies (and yes, Oreilly books & Dummies books are really big there!). Yes, Stephen King and romance writers are big there also.

I’m sure it has gotten better since that time, but Western publishers have have an advantage in promoting their titles. Contrast that with the US, where foreign publishers don’t do a particularly adequate job of promoting translated works.

David, few writers have understood the technological issues better than Cory, but I think a large number of writers under 40 nonetheless understand that DIY publishing will eclipse mainstream publishing and have modified expectations accordingly.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 05:09:55 +0000

That was an education, not just an interview–thanks, Quinn. I know much more about Russian e-publishing than before. Nice work.

Needless to say, I suspect that Cory Doctorow would be highly enthusiastic about the use of e-books to whet people’s appetite for p-books. At the same time I’d hope he would concerned about the declining revenue opportunties for writers. Without or without the Net, this problem would still exist in Russia and elsewhere.

David