alt Hacker NewsWhere possible, I try not to focus on negative motives. Quite simply, if people see a benefit in DRM-free, why not expect them to pay for it? And there are other platforms beside the two I mentioned – it’s not a choice between DRM-free and (for better or for worse) Amazon.
Replies
nprateem • yesterday at 10:30 PM
This is silly. You aren't competing with amazon you're competing with Anna. If someone is interested in DRM free they aren't stupid. Take the sale but don't take the piss.
In case your question was not rhetorical: to folks like me, I view DRM as abuse, because it inevitably leads to me paying for something that I won't end up being able to access down the line. It is in direct conflict with building a library. Having the author opt-in to applying DRM to their books (as you have on Amazon and Google Play, for example) and then expected me to pay them extra so I can actually own the thing I paid for makes me take three steps back from the "Buy" button. I tend to just walk out rather than be treated that way. As a result, I've stopped buying Amazon Kindle books entirely (now that I can't strip the DRM). If I'm paying the money, I'm going to demand control, and if I can't get that control, there will be no transaction.
FWIW, LeanPub for your book suggests $25, and the DRM-laden version is $13.50. That's quite the premium!