Copyright issues

A writer's query elicited this reply from me today.
Copyright questions often come up. There is absolutely nothing to stop anyone infringing copyright, copying work and passing it off as their own. It's possible to do this with any work, printed or digital. If the stolen work then becomes a huge success, the original author can be a) extremely proud and b) go into battle. On WRD the downloader's name and address and date of purchase are recorded - unlike bookshop sales - so lawyers can cite dates. However, the b) option is likely to be beyond the budget of the victim. What are the chances of such huge success from a stolen work happening? Pretty infinitesimal, I think. Very few people make their fame and fortune from writing. A thief is not going to succeed where the genuine author hasn't yet succeeded.

There is something called DRM. To quote:

Digital rights management is a generic term for access control technologies that can be used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals to impose limitations on the usage of digital content and devices.

But it's not foolproof and is said to be more trouble than it's worth to impose.

My view is that the more readers a writer has the better for that writer. So I don't want to restrict access in any way.

World Book day in March

There's going to be quite a hullabaloo created by print publishers in honour of World Book Day in March.  This will give a boost to all those writers who have books in print.  WRD is about all those writers, good ones, who don't have books in print at present.  Perhaps I shall encourage WRD writers to find three new readers each and we'll arrange for free downloads on World Book Day. Good idea?  

Ariadne's thread

Exploring ways to publicise WRD is daunting.  I've started creating and running some Facebook ads.  While setting this up I went off in many different directions, led by Help buttons and Like buttons and the videos and photos of Facebook friends.  Somehow I got involved this morning in checking out the website of someone living in South California.  My first Facebook ad delivered him to my doorstep as a follower.  He sounds like an active and experienced worker on the social network self-promotion circuit.   Or did he arrive via the Adwords campaign I'm running?  What kind of thread would Ariadne provide to help an internet maze adventurer?  The Back button helps me re-wind my way to the start but I could do with something more like a visual map to see where I've been and where I want to find again.  Add to Favourites gets quite clogged up.  Spring-cleaning takes time.    Is it worth all this mind-drain?  Should I perhaps get back to the ivory tower with papyrus and reed pencil? 

Quantity/quality

Thanks to Robert McCrum for this quote from the preface to Tom Jones, cited in his Observer book column last Sunday ...
"An author ought to consider himself," wrote Henry Fielding, "not as a gentleman who gives a private treat, but rather as one who keeps a pub, at which all person are welcome for their money."