Aeryn
@chaoskirin.art
Author of Reality Breaker. New book SHADECURSED is available now!!! She/Her. 30+ NSP Official Artist. AerynChristie on Twitter.
https://linktr.ee/chaoskirin
https://linktr.ee/chaoskirin
In the end, the result is that you get less representation, less diversity, and less uniqueness in books because the only people who can afford to keep writing are the ones who write for a paycheck.
Publishing has to change. But stealing from other poor people isn't the way to do it.
20/20
Publishing has to change. But stealing from other poor people isn't the way to do it.
20/20
November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
In the end, the result is that you get less representation, less diversity, and less uniqueness in books because the only people who can afford to keep writing are the ones who write for a paycheck.
Publishing has to change. But stealing from other poor people isn't the way to do it.
20/20
Publishing has to change. But stealing from other poor people isn't the way to do it.
20/20
I would hazard a guess that most authors won't mind if people who can't afford the book or who don't have books available in their area found a free copy. But that's not what's happening. And I think people using this as an excuse know that, too.
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November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I would hazard a guess that most authors won't mind if people who can't afford the book or who don't have books available in their area found a free copy. But that's not what's happening. And I think people using this as an excuse know that, too.
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I'll make another thread about the excuse of "they weren't going to buy them anyway," but essentially, that isn't always the case.
A lot of piracy comes from people who could otherwise afford the book, but they don't WANT to pay for it.
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A lot of piracy comes from people who could otherwise afford the book, but they don't WANT to pay for it.
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November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I'll make another thread about the excuse of "they weren't going to buy them anyway," but essentially, that isn't always the case.
A lot of piracy comes from people who could otherwise afford the book, but they don't WANT to pay for it.
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A lot of piracy comes from people who could otherwise afford the book, but they don't WANT to pay for it.
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And because most good representation currently comes from the indie sector, that means those books stop existing.
I saw an author on here who was posting fellow indies, only to see an uptick in the piracy of those books.
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I saw an author on here who was posting fellow indies, only to see an uptick in the piracy of those books.
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November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
And because most good representation currently comes from the indie sector, that means those books stop existing.
I saw an author on here who was posting fellow indies, only to see an uptick in the piracy of those books.
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I saw an author on here who was posting fellow indies, only to see an uptick in the piracy of those books.
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But if you pirate from an indie author, they go from breaking even to claiming their book as an expense. If they are struggling to make ends meet and they have to drop an expense, one of the first things they'll have to look at is their hobby. Writing.
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November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
But if you pirate from an indie author, they go from breaking even to claiming their book as an expense. If they are struggling to make ends meet and they have to drop an expense, one of the first things they'll have to look at is their hobby. Writing.
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...that author isn't likely to get another publishing deal. Considering the advance for non-formula books and first-time authors isn't great, this means an author might get paid once for a book, and find themselves unable to ever publish again. At least the author got paid.
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November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
...that author isn't likely to get another publishing deal. Considering the advance for non-formula books and first-time authors isn't great, this means an author might get paid once for a book, and find themselves unable to ever publish again. At least the author got paid.
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The author has their advance and the publisher has done enough marketing to sell the book wide and profit from it.
If you pirate tradpub that are not best sellers, well, this is more of an issue. The author has their advance, but if the book doesn't profit... 14/
If you pirate tradpub that are not best sellers, well, this is more of an issue. The author has their advance, but if the book doesn't profit... 14/
November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
The author has their advance and the publisher has done enough marketing to sell the book wide and profit from it.
If you pirate tradpub that are not best sellers, well, this is more of an issue. The author has their advance, but if the book doesn't profit... 14/
If you pirate tradpub that are not best sellers, well, this is more of an issue. The author has their advance, but if the book doesn't profit... 14/
But more than that, I have a story to tell, and I can't tell it in the formula tradpub wants me to write it in.
So this is where piracy becomes a problem.
If you pirate tradpub best sellers, it's generally not an issue.
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So this is where piracy becomes a problem.
If you pirate tradpub best sellers, it's generally not an issue.
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November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
But more than that, I have a story to tell, and I can't tell it in the formula tradpub wants me to write it in.
So this is where piracy becomes a problem.
If you pirate tradpub best sellers, it's generally not an issue.
13/
So this is where piracy becomes a problem.
If you pirate tradpub best sellers, it's generally not an issue.
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You're getting representation from indie authors, who again, are generally publishing their books because they want to tell a story. It sure would be nice to make a career out of writing, but generally we're just hoping to recoup costs. At least I am.
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November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
You're getting representation from indie authors, who again, are generally publishing their books because they want to tell a story. It sure would be nice to make a career out of writing, but generally we're just hoping to recoup costs. At least I am.
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The point is, the people getting enough money to survive and provide for themselves are the people writing the formulaic novels. This formula does not (generally) include representation for disabled/POC/neurodivergent/queer/etc. Because tradpub thinks those won't sell.
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November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
The point is, the people getting enough money to survive and provide for themselves are the people writing the formulaic novels. This formula does not (generally) include representation for disabled/POC/neurodivergent/queer/etc. Because tradpub thinks those won't sell.
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As you can see, that's just not enough for an author to live on. But it IS enough to recoup the costs of the novel--at least in part. And getting something back is really important, especially for people who are struggling already.
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November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
As you can see, that's just not enough for an author to live on. But it IS enough to recoup the costs of the novel--at least in part. And getting something back is really important, especially for people who are struggling already.
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You'll be lucky to break even. Sometimes you have to accept you're publishing just because you have a story you want to tell. Most books will never sell more than 500 copies. With retailers like Amazon taking a cut, this might come to about $1500 over the lifetime of the book.
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November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
You'll be lucky to break even. Sometimes you have to accept you're publishing just because you have a story you want to tell. Most books will never sell more than 500 copies. With retailers like Amazon taking a cut, this might come to about $1500 over the lifetime of the book.
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But indie comes with a whole other slew of problems. There is no advance and you have to incur all the costs yourself. You also have to market. When you have all this dumped on you, you quickly realize that you will likely never make a profit. 8/
November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
But indie comes with a whole other slew of problems. There is no advance and you have to incur all the costs yourself. You also have to market. When you have all this dumped on you, you quickly realize that you will likely never make a profit. 8/
And it's not because the AUTHOR failed. It's because the thing they were paying the publisher for--to market and sell their book--was not being done.
This is why a lot of authors turn to indie publishing. It's not because tradpub is hard, it's because, for a lot of people, it's unfair.
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This is why a lot of authors turn to indie publishing. It's not because tradpub is hard, it's because, for a lot of people, it's unfair.
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November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
And it's not because the AUTHOR failed. It's because the thing they were paying the publisher for--to market and sell their book--was not being done.
This is why a lot of authors turn to indie publishing. It's not because tradpub is hard, it's because, for a lot of people, it's unfair.
7/
This is why a lot of authors turn to indie publishing. It's not because tradpub is hard, it's because, for a lot of people, it's unfair.
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There's a whole conversation to be had about tradpub doing insufficient marketing for some books while overhyping others, but in the end, when the under-assisted book fails, it's very unlikely that author will ever be published again. 6/
November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
There's a whole conversation to be had about tradpub doing insufficient marketing for some books while overhyping others, but in the end, when the under-assisted book fails, it's very unlikely that author will ever be published again. 6/
That isn't all at once. It's over the course of a year.
And because tradpub has caught onto the fact that they can force authors to do their own marketing through social media, they dedicate all their marketing to their formula-written books, and don't tend to help other authors out at all.
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And because tradpub has caught onto the fact that they can force authors to do their own marketing through social media, they dedicate all their marketing to their formula-written books, and don't tend to help other authors out at all.
5/
November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
That isn't all at once. It's over the course of a year.
And because tradpub has caught onto the fact that they can force authors to do their own marketing through social media, they dedicate all their marketing to their formula-written books, and don't tend to help other authors out at all.
5/
And because tradpub has caught onto the fact that they can force authors to do their own marketing through social media, they dedicate all their marketing to their formula-written books, and don't tend to help other authors out at all.
5/
Moreover, if tradpub does take a chance on a unique story, the advance paid to the author is often so much less than advances paid to formulaic writers. Those making six-figure advances are following the formula. Everyone else gets between 7-10K.
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November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Moreover, if tradpub does take a chance on a unique story, the advance paid to the author is often so much less than advances paid to formulaic writers. Those making six-figure advances are following the formula. Everyone else gets between 7-10K.
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Tradpub is not taking chances, especially when it comes to marginalized authors. Even though there are white women all over TikTok bemoaning the fact that they can't sell their books, the overwhelming majority of published authors are white cis women, followed by white cis men.
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November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Tradpub is not taking chances, especially when it comes to marginalized authors. Even though there are white women all over TikTok bemoaning the fact that they can't sell their books, the overwhelming majority of published authors are white cis women, followed by white cis men.
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It is a problem with the industry.
The issue is that people have caught onto this trend, and there are some authors who want to sell books rather than telling a new, unique story. Because they know what the industry is buying, they write exactly that. I can't really blame them for it. 2/
The issue is that people have caught onto this trend, and there are some authors who want to sell books rather than telling a new, unique story. Because they know what the industry is buying, they write exactly that. I can't really blame them for it. 2/
November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
It is a problem with the industry.
The issue is that people have caught onto this trend, and there are some authors who want to sell books rather than telling a new, unique story. Because they know what the industry is buying, they write exactly that. I can't really blame them for it. 2/
The issue is that people have caught onto this trend, and there are some authors who want to sell books rather than telling a new, unique story. Because they know what the industry is buying, they write exactly that. I can't really blame them for it. 2/
Me, a casual ArcGIS user: wait there are applications for GIS in gaming?... Oh. OH.
November 25, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Me, a casual ArcGIS user: wait there are applications for GIS in gaming?... Oh. OH.
I know this won't get through to the people who pirate, because you don't fucking care. As long as you get what you want, right? As long as you're entertained.
November 24, 2025 at 8:22 PM
I know this won't get through to the people who pirate, because you don't fucking care. As long as you get what you want, right? As long as you're entertained.
I understand that books might not be available where you are. Or that you might not be able to afford them. But you can't solve capitalism by stealing from people who cannot afford to live. The fact that you don't care about that makes you no better than the people who perpetuate this system.
November 24, 2025 at 8:22 PM
I understand that books might not be available where you are. Or that you might not be able to afford them. But you can't solve capitalism by stealing from people who cannot afford to live. The fact that you don't care about that makes you no better than the people who perpetuate this system.