eBooks, eReaders and Who Actually Owns Your Book

I read an interesting article about eBooks and eReaders and the concern over government control this morning in the February 17, 2012 issue of the magazine THE WEEK.  Some of the writers quoted in the article were concerned that some shadow group, in this case the government, could either delete or edit a book without a reader’s knowledge or control.  They referred to the incident several years back when readers who had purchased Animal Farm from Amazon.com found it suddenly gone from their Kindles.  This can happen on some eReaders because many of the titles purchased are actually leased so the buyer doesn’t own the book. 

This is never a problem with my eBooks.  When my readers purchase a copy of The Heir of King Meldh, they own it.  Period.  I recommend that my readers download their purchase to their desktop first and then transfer it to their eReader.  It’s easy to sync eBooks between iTunes and iPods/iPads/iPhones.  (See details  here) .

In all honesty, I’ve never experimented with other readers, but I wouldn’t purchase a device that couldn’t sync with my desktop.  After all, they are nothing but a flash drive with a screen!  If they can’t be accessed as a memory drive from my computer I’m just not interested in owning one.

Of course, the manner in which I sell my eBooks leaves me vulnerable to theft if my readers what to share my books directly with their friends.  After all, the books are just a digital file and can be copied and downloaded to any number of devices.  However, I trust my readers so I haven’t gone to any effort to “lock” my digital downloads.  I believe that the type of person who wants to read a faith-based fantasy is not going to take advantage of me as an independent author and publisher.  Over the years, most (I’d say 95%) of my paperback books have been purchased with a downloaded order blank submitted with personal check.  I’ve never been stung by a bad check and I have faith that my digital readers are just as honest.