Are you are referring to EDC (electronic data capture) in the non-clinical sense? If so, this is the very reason why eBook Prep refuses to produce ebooks in the PDF format. It is simply too easy for a pirate to run a PDF’ed ebook through OCR (optical character recognition) software, slap his/her name on it and make the book his/her own. And the software to do it is super cheep.

The Kindle Swindle Blogmarket post — I have no doubt that authors have been swindled. There’s thousands (and thousands) of DRM free ebooks out there, all waiting to be pinched by someone and then uploaded as their own.

Here’s my experience with Amazon: When ePublishing Works! uploads an author’s title to Amazon (with the author’s permission gained via a signed ePW author-member agreement) I receive, within 24 hours, an email from Amazon telling me that they already have a title by “that” author (in my case the cited title is a print tile). In order for Amazon to release my listing into their store, I have to send Amazon a copy of the author-member’s signed agreement. Amazon does this EVERY time. Given the number of titles ePW lists, the process is a royal pain in the butt. But, I happily comply because Amazon is working to protect authors’ rights.

On the flip side — There’s nothing to keep a pirate from OCR’ing a PDF or DRM-free ebook, coding the resulting text for KDP, giving the book a slightly different title, then uploading it under their own name. There’s no way Amazon can police such behavior.

The best solution: choose DRM. DRM isn’t a guarantee against piracy. But a locked house is still harder to break into.

Here’s a great article by Laura Resnick on DRM: http://www.epublishingworks.com/articles

Hope this helps.

Nina

Dara — Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. I have had an absolute blast.

To any and all of my commenters — Thank you for making this so much fun. I’ll be checking back here, now and then. But if you have a question that needs an answer, shoot me an email. I’d be glad to help.

To those heading to the NINC Conference in October…. see you there!

Nina

And thanks to everyone who gave Nina such a warm welcome.

Hi Margay — Thanks for stopping by.

If I’d come upon your question last week, I would have said: There’s an excellent chance we’ll see “e” released before print. As a matter of fact, some smaller presses are already doing exactly that.

But, then I read this: All Eyes on Amazon Publishing ( http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/48259-all-eyes-on-amazon-publishing.html ) If I’m reading this article correctly, Amazon is getting into Traditional PRINT publishing. Why, boggles the mind.

Thoughts, anyone?

Nina

Anybody have the power to approve a message stuck in moderation?

My answers to Kate’s and Marianne’s questions both seem to be stuck.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Nina

I agree with you on DRM. Once Amazon stops warring with Apple, and Apple with the rest of the industry, I think DRM will be next hot topic. And like the music industry, I’m thinking it’ll all come down on the DRM side, especially if Amazon has anything to do with it. After all, DRM benefits the eReatilers as much as the author.

Nina

Thanks for stopping by. And thank you for your wonderful comments. You’re books are doing very well. And soon, even better. Thanks for being one of our ePW for Readers guineas.

Nina

You made what had seemed like a daunting, endlessly complicated task surprisingly easy. So far the 3 ebooks have been well-received. I couldn’t be happier. Not only *would* I recommend you to anyone an everyone, I HAVE, many times!

~ Reb