Furious Author Cancels Pirated Book
Written by Ben Jones on September 04, 2008Writer Stephanie Meyer isn’t too happy with the Internet. The first 12 chapters of her eagerly awaited book, a counter-view novel to Twilight, has hit file sharing sites. Despite knowing who was responsible, Meyer’s anger seems only to be for her Internet fans, while she plans to cancel the book.
This year we’ve reported on several book authors who embraced the Internet, and BitTorrent in particular. Having pirated copies of their books listed on BitTorrent sites such as The Pirate Bay is considered to be an honor to some. They use it as a promotional tool, and actually sell more books because of it.
One of the prime examples is best-selling author Paulo Coelho, who said he sold thousands of extra books because he pirated his own books. “Sharing is part of the human condition. A person who does not share is not only selfish, but bitter and alone,” Coelho told TorrentFreak in a follow up interview, explaining why he decided to share his books for free.
Responses to unauthorized filesharing vary. Those that have embraced it have seen dividends. Others fight it and throw tantrums, or use it as an excuse. A prime example of the last category has emerged, in the form of author Stephanie Meyer. Meyer, best known for her recent hits based around vampires, caters to the ‘young adult’ market re-popularized by the Harry Potter books.
In what seems like an echo of what happened to Potter author Rowling, Meyer’s latest book, Midnight Sun, has leaked online. Not the entire book, but a major part of the first draft, comprising the first 12 chapters. Meyer says the source is known to her. In a statement on her website, she says
“I have a good idea of how the leak happened as there were very few copies of Midnight Sun that left my possession and each was unique. Due to little changes I made to the manuscript at different times, I can tell when each left my possession and to whom it was given. The manuscript that was illegally distributed on the Internet was given to trusted individuals for a good purpose. I have no comment beyond that as I believe that there was no malicious intent with the initial distribution.”
Instead of rolling with it, working on reader feedback, and moving on and forward, Meyer is ‘throwing in the towel’ on the book for now, putting it “on hold indefinitely”. However, as was reminiscent of the buckcherry debacle, it smells of contrived events. A June update to her site said that she was working on it, partly due to fan pressure.
A leak that makes her so frustrated to want to write the book in the opposite way from intended, shouldn’t at the same time leave her ambivalent to the person and actions that caused it. It certainly shouldn’t leave her attacking her fans with statements such as:
“Just because someone buys a book or movie or song, or gets a download off the Internet, doesn’t mean that they own the right to reproduce and distribute it. Unfortunately, with the Internet, it is easy for people to obtain and share items that do not legally belong to them. No matter how this is done, it is still dishonest. This has been a very upsetting experience for me, but I hope it will at least leave my fans with a better understanding of copyright and the importance of artistic control.”
Yet again, P2P is blamed for ‘ruining’ something, and this will no doubt be added to the big list of ‘reasons filesharing should be dealt with more harshly’ that the governments of the world get hit around the head with (paid/lobbied/bribed).
Previously: ISPs Hand Over Details of ‘Several Thousand’ Pirates
Next: Download Torrents Instantly with Instant-Torrents
147 Responses
Boo hoo. Still, there’s always prostitution.
forget the book I would pirte pic of her naked.
she should be happy anyone even WANTED to read her book.
she’s probably a trillionaire anyway. what? so now she can’t buy another buggati veyron to match her stable of bentleys? boo-hoo.
artists shouldn’t make money. they should do it for the art, man. it’s not like art is real work anyway. she probably wrote that novel in a couple of hours.
if she really wants to make money off her novel she could just perform it live for an audience. it shouldn’t take more than 48 hours to perform a novel. it could work.
greedy artists…
Maybe she is just a perfectionist – I can understand that. If I was working on a project like that, I would want it to be so perfect. I would be very hurt if part of it was released without my permission before I had gotten it completely the way I wanted it. (This is the same reason many artists put cloth over their unfinished paintings – they want the work to be complete before being viewed.) Betrayal is such a horrible feeling to experience…she definitely has my sympathy.
Sad has a point here, it’s understandable, but not “throw in the towel” worthy. If it was after the fact I doubt she would’ve been so mad about it.
However, artists do deserve to make money, once you hit millions of dollars it gets a little iffy as to what their goal is, but they do deserve to live a decent life. Novels take a while to write unless it’s a total piece of shit. Real character and plot development take a lot of thought and creativity to get it to work/flow just right, so #3, you can shove off.
aww poor book fuk you! aha
torrents and p2p will live forever
“old ones die my night new ones come up by day”-MininOva
she body for sex porn time>?
Meh, vampire authors = mediocrity.
@4
I don’t get how having a work released elsewhere makes the author’s work less perfect.
In any case, Meyer is just a stupid selfish jerk. Also, she’s only harming herself. I don’t see any reason why she can seem “noble” out of doing this. She can only seem more selfish from this. She thinks she can command others what to do. She thinks that other people somehow need to do everything to her wishes in regards to her work. Talk about selfish.
@4
I don’t get how having a work released elsewhere makes the author’s work less perfect.
In any case, Meyer is just a stupid selfish jerk. Also, she’s only harming herself. I don’t see any reason why she can seem “noble” out of doing this. She can only seem more selfish from this. She thinks she can command others what to do. She thinks that other people somehow need to do everything to her wishes in regards to her work. Talk about arrogant.
(note to blog owners: please delete this comment along with comment #7)
She has the right to do it, but honestly I cannot either understand or support this attitude. BTW, my Pirate Coelho site needs more links! Feel free to contact my team at
http://piratecoelho.wordpress.com/
I’d siihb.
Does she even understand that those first 12 chapter will boost her sales by making the fans wanting more? Of course if the 12 chapters were really good.
“Does she even understand that those first 12 chapter will boost her sales by making the fans wanting more? Of course if the 12 chapters were really good.”
yeah, releasing the first part of the book is like releasing the first part of a movie – people will want to finish it :P
Alright I find her tantrum obnoxious, but it’s just as ridiculous of us to start into the “she’s so rich” and it’s “so easy” to write a novel schtick. Most authors, even relatively popular ones, are not that wealthy. J.K. is the exception and far from the rule.
She believes that there was “no malicious intent with the initial distribution.”"
So the fans who downloaded it are in trouble, but the ‘trusted’ person responsible for making it available isn’t? Great way of thinking, Meyer.
So somebody that the author knows broke an assumed trust by making the work available to the general public using computer technology.
And this is now the fault of the technology, is it?
No. The author demonstrates fault for assuming trust in people for a start. The author is also at fault for holding a belief that information made public in this age can be controlled. The distribution technology isn’t to blame here, people are. The author should realize it’s possible people don’t operate according to one’s own preconceived idealistic notions, and that the now-antiquated distribution protocol one may have been counting on to provide no longer operate conducive with reality. The old models have failed and/or are failing in the face of new technology. Either one should figure a viable method of controlling it, or adapt to the change.
–
P.S. Is one to shape systems to people, or people to systems?
lol, her statement makes it sound like her “trusted individuals” either were completely clueless and maybe sent it to all their friends and stuff, or they “accidentally” seeded it, but ofc “no malicious intent intended”, I can understand her being unhappy about her unfinished book being leaked, but I think the blame really is on her “trusted individuals”
i cant read an entire book on the computer… when i dl a book its really just to get an idea what its about… i have dled books and if they interest me i go out and buy it so i can read it anywhere… it just isnt the same reading a book on a computer screen
I call terrible book or blown marketing stunt for such. I would assume she tried to do the viral thing and people hated the book. Well, that’s the only reason why I could imagine someone who received a crowd of several people to read it now refuses to actually make money from it.
#14 and #15 kind of sum up my thoughts on this.
Almost half of the comments before mine are direct attacks on the author, and for reasons OTHER than her canceling the book. Some of you guys make THE WORST case for pirates somehow being right. If you want to be taken seriously and disprove her actions, you aren’t going to do it by calling her a slut. Good lord. You idiots need to grow up.
@16 Are you out of your mind? it was the author’s fault for assuming people can be trustworthy? We should all walk around just stealing from each other and not trusting our friends?
For the record, I agree that this was a dumb thing for her to do, with regards to the book. But there is just absolutely no excuse for the kinds of cruel things you guys say in response.
Yes blame filesharers and let your friend who leaked the stuff seem like an angel..
shotgun please?
She isn’t saying they are an angel. Because someone’s copy leaks doesn’t mean they are the ones to do it. We don’t know the story. It could’ve gotten stolen off their computer or something. There’s any number of ways this book could’ve leaked.
Whereas, no offense, but the file-sharers know damn well what they are doing.
If you don’t believe me, LOOK AT THESE COMMENTS! Prostitution? Get the shotgun? Stick it in her butt? Yes, these are the words of the poor innocent little file-sharers with good intentions.
Real smart Stephanie Meyer,
Instead of making some money, you now make NO money.
Its Scientology’s fault.
Yeah, I don’t really understand how this is a bad thing for her career. If anything it makes it better. After Breaking Dawn came out many of her fans were angry at her, thinking that she ruined the series with her last installment of the books. This leak has made some of her former fans come back to her after being so disappointed with the fourth book. Reading 12 chapters is not reading the whole book, so fans will still buy it when it comes out. If anything, this leak just gives her more publicity. Which, for an author is always a good thing.
How very disappointing.
Although she writes magnificent work, if she’s so upset with the inevitable notion that her work will go on the internet, then she should stop writing and find another job.
The fact that she’s the sort who’d react in such a petty way over something so trivial makes me want to rethink my appreciation for her work.
“caters to the ‘young adult’ market re-popularized by the Harry Potter books”
Magnificent?
Shhhhhhhhhhutthefuckup…
She pardons the person who leaked it because it was not of malicious intent, but everybody else is automatically in malicious intent?
How ridiculous.
In addition, she should know that releasing parts before completing it is the best way to promote some material beforehand.
get a brain lol..
isnt it funny how stupid people can be and not even know? its like there so far gone they cant even reason anymore.
Yeah, vampires, awesome lady. I suppose you own that too. I hope you are footnoting every page because morally, plagiarism is one step worse than copyright infringement.
If I read a bedtime story to my children, I have reproduced the content of that book verbally enough so the child could remember it. So, let’s my kid has super memory and could write the story down on paper. Isn’t that every bit as effective as filesharing in terms of “copyright infringement”?
People don’t download your shit cause they’re cheap or poor. They do it because they’ve been ripped off for “their hard earned dollar” by lousy artists, filmmakers and authors with clever marketing.
This way, we get a taste of whether your material is worth buying. I know I always prefer the quality of CDs from a quality artist and the nostalgia of books from quality authors.
So how well did YOUR book do online?
As I have said before, the problem of anti-piracy is not a legal one, but a social one. She is fully within her rights to do this, but she is still stupid regardless.
im assuming this bitch only gave it to her close friends, why is she mad at the people who just downloaded it… Stupid silly people…. boycotting books from now on.
As I have said before, the problem of anti-piracy is not a legal one, but a social one. She is fully within her rights to do this, and she is doing nothing unethical, but she is still stupid regardless, and is still as bad as the RIAA.
@Daniel
I’m not sure if you’re directing your comment at me as the comment numbers here often change about, but assuming so…
I stated that the “author demonstrates fault for assuming trust in people” which, if the story here is to be believed, is demonstrably true given the sequence of events.
FAIL.
Please do cancel the book, they are fucking shit, as are all of these dumbed-down “Young-Adult” books.
It would be nice if people figured out that challenging yourself with a great book is a lot more satisfying that reading something written for a 12 year old. It makes me cringe every time I hear an adult say Harry Potter is their favorite, or it the best book ever.
as an artist
both my professional works, and my stuff submitted for free…are open to any piracy… piracy is the most ultimate show of value and has been since the first pirates, raided a ship and found there stuff, to be of value…then took it, and shared it with people who did not have means to get those things, making them a pirates by association
so if anyone took my work (same name at DeviantArt.com) and either spread it, or copied it, or even blatantly used my work, and landed them some big commercial art job
more freaking power to them, I will consider myself flattered
and if they pirated my works before I even finished!!! OMG…I’m blushing thinking about it
but sounds fishy to me, ya know the reverse hype engine
as I was forced to read one of her books…well it still sits unfinished 3 months later under my desk at work
Now let’s compare this author to Dmitry Glukhovsky, who wrote a post-nuclear book “Metro”.
Dmitry was posting the book to his site, chapter by chapter, and built a forum on it. He ended the book at 15 chapters, but the fans did not like the ending, so, he rewrote chapters 14 and 15, and added chapters 16 to 20 and moved the site from a free hosting to http://www.m-e-t-r-o.ru.
After the book had online success, he went ahead and published a paper version, “Metro 2033″. On LiveJournal, there were several possible book covers posted by users and one of them made it onto the official book cover.
And here is a gallery of illustrations made by fans:
http://www.m-e-t-r-o.ru/gallery.htm
As for Stephenie Meyer, she looks like Indiana Gregg of book publishing to me. FAIL.
Obviously, this is another publicity stunt.
She will then re release her book, or something like that.
This smells of Indiana Gregg…
This is the main problem with the old way of thinking. Restriction of knowledge. Has been done through the printed word.
You can read if you where educated.
You can buy books if you have money. Without the two, you are screwed.
Just another example of doublespeak and propaganda.
Simply said. She is a nobody, who will now get publicly thanks to torrentfreak and other internet “news” sites that will spread like wildfire.
Smart move, indeed.
Look at the bitch, Gregg and her wanker husband.
Who the hell is she? I only know Jeffrey Archer,Robert Ludlum and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
@37
Indeed, it is important for people to realize that this kind of democratic culture is much better and more conducive to creativity than the current copyright regime.
As I have said, it is not a problem of the law. It is a problem of the undemocratic attitudes of society.
btw, IT IS NOT PIRACY, if you download for free.
Piracy by definition: buccaneering (hijacking on the high seas or in similar contexts; taking a ship or plane away from the control of those who are legally entitled to it) “air piracy”.
However, when you “pirate” intellectual property you are not hijacking it from anyone. You are simply passing on data. If you are intelligent enough to figure out how to get it for free, then, by all means, you should have it.
Information wants to be free.
Control of information never, NEVER works, as long as Humans have free will.
Note that the online version of the book “Metro” is still posted on http://www.m-e-t-r-o.ru , and the fan forum is still running (there are some nice fan fiction stories based on “Metro”). Dmitry Glukhovsky is working on a new book, “Sumerki” (”Twilight”, ah, the irony!) and the idea is the same: publishing the book in electronic form as it is being written, chapter by chapter. http://www.s-u-m-e-r-k-i.ru/
I avoid broadcast TV, news, books etc, so I have never heard of Stephanie Meyer but this article piqued my interest. I found that her first grown up Sci-Fi book “The Host”, was a NYTimes number one best seller in May. I never read books (too ADD to finish most of them or stick with them)
So I went to Demonoid downloaded the audio unabridged version and have just started to listen on the MP3 player it’s actually surprisingly good. Without file sharing or the internet I would probably never be able to listen and I certainly couldn’t afford to buy an audio book (or not too many anyway)without P2P I would just forget the name and never “discover her”. So P2p got her another potential fan, so she would be wise not to piss us off , because one day it will be just easier for me to buy the audio version of her latest book ( I will have extra cash) and I will be too busy to spend a lot of time at my computer searching and downloading.
She is just ignorant and truly believes she is losing and the P2P community is stealing- it takes a while for people to adjust to the new and see it actually can improve the bottom line.
Whats the big deal you can borrow almost any book (audio included) from your public library for free. Are libraries screwing authors when they give away usage of copyrighted works for free?
I wouldn’t download it, nor seed it.
Who is Stephanie Myer?
Here is a better non-shooped pic:
http://blog.mawbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/post.stephenie-meyer.gif
Fat capitalist pig. Cash over everything.
I am all for file sharing, but she is absolutly correct, when it was shared out before it was ready she lost artistic control.
I think she played this cooly, she is mad that it got shared out, but understand that there is nothing she can do about it now, and then she posted it on her own site.
I think the article turned out a little one sided, what is this fox news?
I read somewhere else that she even had a draft on her own website for downloading…
Wouldn’t this be the best way to promote an upcoming book?
Just spread some draft on the internet (clearly stating it’s a draft) that misses the last couple of chapters.
If people get interested in it they most likely pay for the final version when it is out.
King Jing,
Yup, that is exactly what it is. Plain and simple, obviously we are all talking about it, so mission accomplished!
Whats hilarious, if it wasn’t for torrentfreak I would never know who she even is. haha
So thus, the cycle continues. Now, I will do what I did to Gregg’s shit… muahahahhaha
i thought books were written to inspire people……what if the lord of the rings were copyrighted,there could not have been any orcs,or a major part of warcraft,since warcraft takes a lot of INSPIRATION from LOTR so does many fantasy novels…….i guess some of the authors write books to earn money,than to inspire people, or have a wider areach
I’d like to understand why TorrentFreak published that news and indiana greggs news too.
We don’t care.
Nobody would even buy their “art” (I’d say ‘preformated low-culture products’ instead), so why do you even make those attention freaks any kind of promotion ?
Let them remain in the shadows, where they belong
I’ve read all of her books and while they aren’t fantastic they’re enjoyable. However, this makes me think a lot less of her. Unless she stops whining, I don’t think I’ll buy anything else of hers.
I went to the source – her website. There are two issues I see here:
1) The right to share copyrighted material, and
2) The right to share pre-production material
Now, regardless of the first one of what is done, it is a federal crime to share copyrighted works (unless permitted to do so by certain labels or artists). It can be justified by users that they’re helping the artist because they’re “promoting” it.
With the second issue, I can definitely understand why the writer feels violated. If I were working on a paper that hasn’t even been finished yet, I wouldn’t want someone to leak it and pass it around – because it’s not a finished product yet. I want them not only to see everything grammatically correct, but to make sure the data is correct – basically I want my best foot forward. In this case it was grammar, and it was the story-line
At the same time, her attitude is not going to woo many Internet-savvy customers. I remember when the Harry Potter (Bk 7) was leaked. J.K. Rowling basically said that leaks aren’t to be trusted – only depend upon the real source. Was it honest? No. But it was genius! She basically looking the other way, and not having a fit, at least in public. (She did fail, however, when she took an Internet company to court for publishing a book that was a guidebook).
Anyway those are my two cents …
-you missed alien anal probing
-cheese stick in arse
-stripping
and last but not least.
SHIT FOR BRAINS.
@23
Damn near every single vampire book in the last 20+ years has heavily ripped off VAMPIRE JUNCTION by S.P. Somtow.
Meyer’s mediocre efforts are no different.
The toughest vampire book I know of? – John Shirley’s DRACULA IN LOVE.
The first couple NECROSCOPE books are a close second.
The Delicate Dependency by Michael Talbot is a slower but very interesting vampire novel.
There are so many books out there. I doubt we, sharers, even wants to read the book in the first place.
The ones who wants to read it are probably those who’ll look for that title, and it’s probably not us. We’re not the audience. People generally don’t like reading ebooks.
People also don’t like incomplete version of the book. It almost seem like publishing mere 12 chapters are a tactic to get controversial publicity.
I’m not even interested in browsing the content despite the fact that the news is in torrentfreak because I know I can just download any other books and there is a pretty big chance I’ll find something better.
I applaud Meyer and hope many more authors follow in her footsteps and cancel their books. There is entirely too much junk being published today.
I understand why she is upset – the draft posted is an unfinished work, a piece of work in progress. If someone were to post my writings in their current state, I would be humiliated. First drafts do not properly represent a writer at all. So I get why she is pissed.
On the other hand, blaming P2P (which is more suggested than out-right stated if I read her quote correctly) seems like a pretty silly thing to do. Especially considering the fact that she originally planned to POST THE WHOLE THING ON HER WEBSITE. The first chapter was already on there.
So she should be pissed at whoever leaked it because what they did was wrong, they did steal from her and they took her creation out of her hands before it was ready to be seen by all. I just hope she gets over it and learns to roll with the punches and finish the book anyway.
Just felt I should add that I am all for sharing and am actually a waffler myself. My beef is strictly with what they took, which was an unfinished piece of art which the creator was not ready to hand over yet. I feel at this stage, it was in her hands and those of the people she trusted. They abused that trust and I’d say they at least owe her an apology.
What probably happened was she gave it to some young adult so that they could beta it for her who ocr’d it and then uploaded it with out knowing what could / would happen as a result.
I can see where she’s coming from slightly, where as I feel that if the 12 chapters had been checked and slightly cleaned up before being uploaded she would be being unreasonable.
I can understand how she probably felt, but canceling her book was just pointless and idiotic. Had I been her, I would have started advertising the fact that the first twelve chapters were available on via bittorrent as a preview to increase hype over the book. She’ll probably lose readers over this, to be honest.
I wonder how long it will take these people to realize that the MORE drama they make over p2p, the MORE popular it will become.
another ads
I would like to point out that there is one author who became successful only by giving his stuff away. Scott Sigler was one of the writers unfairly denied a publishing deal, he gave away his books in podcast audiobook form on his site, and thanks to the massive publicity from that, he made a major print deal. I guess giving your stuff away really does sell more. Did I mention he hit the bestseller list? Several Times? Suck it, Stephanie Meyer.
Filesharing as a civil infraction is as rape to a criminal act. Pirates see and take what they want with no regard to the rights holder, argue that “at least she got SOMETHING” out of it”, then mock and hold the victim accountable to her grief and anger. Saying something like “Instead of making some money, you now make NO money.” is like saying “at least with rape you get SOME sex instead of none at all.” A lack of morality manifested as online piracy remains the greatest of all obstacles to our digital future.
“Due to little changes I made to the manuscript at different times, I can tell when each left my possession and to whom it was given.”
hehe… sounds like traders of shows in the old days who would mark their tapes so they’d know the source of a bootleg….
I don’t blame this author for being irritated about the release of a first draft that is presumably far from the final production she intends to show the world. Alienating her “Internet fans,” though, is not the way to deal with the issue or channel her anger – it’ll end up costing her money in the long run.
@68
Yeah – I think it was pretty bad of the reader to upload with out asking but now that its floating around she should just put it behind her.
I was really looking forward to this book! I know it sucks that it got leaked but she shouldnt let one person ruin it for everyone else whos completely addicted to this series. I dont even want to read whats been leaked. Im still hoping she’ll change her mind.
Stephanie who? enough about article. when i was a child i have read hundreds of books, but my enthusiasm for it had faded in years of growing up. but this Paulo Coelho seems like a good thing to start again.
“when it was shared out before it was ready she lost artistic control.”
Artistic control is exactly the problem. Everyone should have their freedom of speech and information to have their own ability to express their own version. The people are the ones who should be in control.
@71
This is the real issue here. She’s punishing the many for the sake of a the few. And what was it that those few actually did that was so terrible? They got excited that they might get a “sneak peek” at a book they’ve been dying to read. I understand her ire at the chapters being leaked (and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the leak was intentional). But, her real beef should be with the “trusted friend” who released it without permission, not with her die hard fans who only want more of what she writes.
BTW, I’m surprised there are so few here who seem to have heard of her. All of the books in the Twilight series have hit #1 on the NY Times Best Seller List. Not that they’re great works of art or anything, but she is being hailed as the “new J.K. Rowling.”
@57 and @62,
Basically you two are saying that getting information of drafts out there makes you look bad, but the fact is that it’s on file-sharing networks, not on her site. It is absurd to say that one should have control over what other people do with their works in order to ensure that they look good. Of course, the friend who shared it may have been dishonorable, but to blame P2P networks for anything is out of place.
Attention whore threatens to join Taliban. Taliban leader Osama bin Laden responded “She’s more than welcome. We hadn’t any execution of infidels or other whores lately. It’ll be a great event.”
Why is she not mad at the person who u/l’d it, whom she knows?
Why is she mad at strangers?
Cause it’s all fake!
Just like vampires!
Stephanie, you are a joke!
(note to blog owners: please inform #10 that vampire literature is the height of banality. Ooh, blood. Oh my, neck bite. Uh oh, here comes the sun. It’s all so scary.)
pain4money, you are my long-lost brother. Power to the emotionally secure!
Of course with all the free publicity she will release her book as planned. I bet she hopes it will spawn a movie and she’ll make even more money! Imagine that! Quick facts for the Hollywood movie industry, in 2007 they made record profits despite any perceived so called pirating. Plus, if anyone here cares to research it they will also discover that the movie industry presented false numbers when they reported movie piracy to the US congress. Check out zeropaid.com for details. If anything P2P is free advertising and helps sales. The industry full well knows this and uses it to their advantage. This is what we’re obviously seeing here.
I don’t know about anyone else but pirating books shouldn’t even be called that. You can go to the library and not pay a cent to read this book now people just don’t have to get off their butts to read this. People are always whining about books being put online its not stealing if its freely available elsewhere.
better go after the libraries too, since you don’t pay for the privilege of reading the books there.
Seriously, so am i gonna get sued when I lend my friend a book i bought and read? Cause apparently I don’t actually have any rights, even the ones granted to me via fairuse.
Who cares? She’s a shitty writer anyways.
I vaunt to drink her blood
I think she just has a control issue and is one of those people that are “afraid” of the internet. The real buyers of her book are probably the same types of people who are “afraid” of the internet. In my opinion she should write a book about people who are “afraid” of the interweb so they can all be a happy non-digital family and create support groups.
could be a marketing scheme or she leaked herself (or asked a buddy to leak it) so she could just throw a fit and cancel it and not have to write the rest…
i bet in say 3 months she claims she decided to continue the novel for x reason and will now put out a special edition with added notes and her personal journal of this tragic occurence that ruined her life and forced her to go for rehab after she got addicted to cocaine to forget it all…
also, i’d do her !
http://www.kruhm.org
mmmm shes hot
OK, one of two things is happening here. Possibly both.
Number one, she doesn’t have an ending and is using this leak as a way to put the book on hold until she can come up with something worthwhile.
Or
Number two, she’s using file sharing as so many other so called artists to generate interest. Controversy sells folks, she’s merely trying to play us for fools.
I suppose it’s also possible that she really is this ignorant and us file sharers must pay the price for it.
Roffle roffle roffle
Those books sucked.
C’mon, ppl don’t read ebooks, or they just read few pages…if they like it, they go and buy it.
So she should be happy her book was promoted… if it is a good book, people WILL buy it.
However art should just be done for art, not for money…
@15
true, but meyer’s twilight series got optioned to become a movie, for which production has already begun and it looks to be a blockbuster. She’s not gonna be hurting for cash anytime soon.
Honestly she should be flattered that people want to read her book–reading an imperfect uncompleted copy of a book (or listening to a poor quality pre-release rip of a CD) is a comment of how dedicated an author’s(artist’s) fans are. And usually its fans who are that dedicated who will buy the final work and contribute to sales by word-of-mouth…
@4: “Betrayal is such a horrible feeling to experience…she definitely has my sympathy.”
Mine too! But, that doesn’t take away that she acts a little (really, a little, no more) overreacted, these things just happen. But it sucks to be betrayed by a friend.
@24: “If you don’t believe me, LOOK AT THESE COMMENTS! Prostitution? Get the shotgun? Stick it in her butt? Yes, these are the words of the poor innocent little file-sharers with good intentions.”
Yeah, that’s kinda sick :(
All I have to say is I know quite a few authors who couldn’t get published so they put it out for free and because of it, now they have publishers and are launch day are easily making it into the top 50 on Amazon. People like Scott Sigler, Mur Lafferty, Tee Morris…
Wow, I never thought much about filesharing, but now I see the torrent world is populated by greedy little infants who want what they want when they want it and how they want it. Whether or not this was a publicity stunt, it was an *unfinished* draft of an author’s work. Who knows how far along it was? She has every right to withhold her work until it reaches a level of quality that she and her editors are satisfied with. It’s the popularity of the FINISHED work that sells books. All issues of profit aside, the idea that readers and torrent users have the inherent right to see any portion of a writer’s work in any condition they choose is simply irresponsible, selfish, bullying.
O.K. personally I am in love with the twilight saga and I am a very devoted fan. I am going to marry Edward someday and so are most of my friends but anyways…i would love to read Midnight Sun but i will not read it until it is finished otherwise it will kill me. So please publish it. I beg of you!!
she is shit…i never heard of her and even though i prob would never like her i will now download and seed any of her books i come accross as punishment for opening her big fat mouth instead of her big fat thighs!
What’s fascinating here is:
1. A portion of the book leaked, and obviously generated some level of buzz.
This woman’s assertion that those downloading the book are “dishonest” is, quite simply, specious — copyright was originally only designed to be an 11 year term “to promote the useful arts and sciences”. It was NEVER intended to be viewed as a “fundamental right”, nor was it intended to be life of the copyright holder plus 70 years.
How is this relevant?
The media distribution companies suceeded in turning 11 years into just short of perpetuity, and as a result, nobody respects copyright anymore. They’ve succeeded in ramming it down our throats for decades, damn near destroyed “fair use” exceptions, and — as is now coming to light — bribed/browbeat/bullshit government into acting as their thugs.
So now, when somebody’s unfinished work gets leaked, it’s understandable that there’s very little sympathy.
Given the fact that this would SEEM to have “whet her potential audience’s appetites”, it looks to me like she’s playing martyr, and I wouldn’t be suprised if she seeded the thing herself as a publicity stunt.
It’s becoming really trendy to blame “the Internet” and bemoan the fact that nobody gives two shits about copyright anymore, instead of looking at where the REAL problems are — vast multinational corporations whose lobbyists have managed to turn a short-term monopoly intended “to advance the useful arts and sciences” into a guaranteed cashflow-machine for the great granchildren of CEOs.
The Big media corporations have basically signed their own death warrants: they can’t “sue” millions of people, and the more idiotic rhetoric their spokespeople spew — calling it “piracy” for example — the less sympathy when stuff like this happens.
Yeah, support it if you like it.
Yeah, creativity deserves respect.
But to cancel the book simply because a preliminary version was leaked? That’s just pathetic, and has “viral marketing” written all over it.
There is one particularly significant statement in Meyers’ rant:
“I have a good idea of how the leak happened as there were very few copies of Midnight Sun that left my possession and each was unique.”
Though she later states that “Due to little changes I made to the manuscript at different times, I can tell when each left my possession and to whom it was given”, she is nonetheless essentially employing a low-level form of what’s referred to as natural language watermarking, wherein each copy of the text is unique and thus the source of the leak is easily identifiable.
Those who facilitate these leaks should thus take the greatest care in making sure that they cannot be individually linked back to the leak in question.
See the following text for further suggestions on possible precautions to take:
http://www.dizzy.ws/security.protocol.for.ebook.production.txt
Destroy copyright, copyleft, or any other attempt at exercising authoritarian control over information, but do so safely.
This is the most stupid piracy paranoia case. If she doesn’t release the book who does she thinks loses?
Go ahead and cancel, or hang yourself or whatever else. I don’t see anyone losing any sleep over it.
Pretty lame if you ask me.
I can understand if it was some kind of copy sent out to say, a publisher that got leaked.
Otherwise it aint even the “trusted individuals” fault. Its her own.
I write music, and if I am (key word here) *stupid* enough to give a unfinished project to people and it ends up on the web, who’s fault is that?
Personally, I wouldn’t care, but hey… I’m not a selfish ignorant twat.
And yeah one less “vampire” novel is a good thing anyways. LOL
MD
Who gives a fuck? This whole leak is a marketing trick.. Who knows her? This shouldnt even be posted here..
only a woman that hot could be that much of a bitch.
I smell a publicity stunt…
lol what a biatch
@98: “Destroy copyright, copyleft, or any other attempt at exercising authoritarian control over information, but do so safely.”
I’m sorry, but in my opinion, this is a ludicrous argument. Copyright protects the artist, not the “authoritarian” media monoliths. If it weren’t for copyright, Time-Warner and all the rest of the gargantuas would happily be plundering artists’ work with no recompense to the artists. Consider the decades of musicians and songwriters who languished in poverty while the publishing companies made millions off their work. Is that really what you want to return to? Is that your idea of utopia?
Or do you really think it’s the end of the big media era? Okay, then I propose that the next logical progression would be a bunch of small pirate media outlets plundering and appropriating the artist’s work. Wow, some improvement.
The blind and poorly-reasoned desire to eradicate an imperfect form of artists’ rights (copyright) seems to me like nothing more than a confused rush to anarchy. Freedom comes with responsibility for your fellow man, or is that just not a narcissistic enough sentiment these days?
I’m happy to concede, by the way, that the media conglomerates have had consumers by the gonads for years — and, yeah, I’m THRILLED to see some of that control weaken. But what about the independent artist (who’s producing most of the interesting work these days? Does she have to give up all artistic control and any hope of getting paid for her work because of your antipathy and paranoia for big media?
Instead of just assuming that destroying everything is going to create a better world full of free stuff for you, how about coming up with structured solutions that acknowledge that we all have to give a little and take care of each other to get a little back?
Retard. She should be flattered. Anyone who’s read Twilight already knows what happens anyway…
There’s a reason she didn’t want this leaked. It’s because she knows that there is a large part of her fan base that want’s a book at least slightly written in the style of the first Twilight book.
She knows that those reading this leak are going to trash it like no tomorrow on the net, because her writing is simply TERRIBLE.
Her books involve a mary sue as a main character, there is never any character progression, and the stories are improbably at best. I’m a fantasy buff, I read Dresden, Anita Blake, I can put my disbelief on stand by. However when there is an “OMG I LOVE YOUZ FOR NO REASON LOL!!!” plot device, that literally drives the story, but makes no sense, WHY SHOULD I CARE? WHY SHOULD I SPEND MY MONEY ON YOUR DRIVEL?
Honestly, the author should be happy that thousands of 12 year old girls were willing to beg their moms to buy the book.
Oh and by the way, I don’t see what you people are talking about. She looks like she’s in her mid-40’s in that picture.
/Rant
Totally immature reaction. If she wants to benefit from her books having ANY publicity, she needs to learn to take the good with the bad. She’s not the first person this has happened to, and likely not the last.
“A person who does not share is not only selfish, but bitter and alone,” – Paulo Coelho
Any anti-piracy outfits listening?
I think the point here was the book was leaked by one person, and someone else is blamed for it…
i think artists should earn some money, as it’s not often they are able to make a good new product. You probably get some money every month, but they don’t. They get a lot of money once in a while, IF their art/work was liked.
Still, I would rather have real books than read it on a screen.
Music on the other hand, I don’t really want these plastic bricks. Stop making them, and sell me music files with quality and no limitation in an easy and fair way.
I understand what Stephanie Meyers is saying. I back her up fully. I once had a book, completly finished, put on the internet the week before I was going to get it printed. I only had 3 copies out and they were given to my mom, and my two best friends. If you read this Stephanie, know that someone is on your side.
I for one am a HUGE Edwars fan and even had the freaking date on my calender for the release. I understand thet she would be mad but to stop writing the book all together is not fair!!!
I didn’t even hear about it until my bff was researching it. I can’t even bring myself to read the copy she posted on her website. THIS FREAKING SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WTF!?!?! U people, back off. i know I DEFFINETLY didnt read the first 12 chapters cuz i WAS waiting for Midnight Sun, And Stephanie Meyer, dont listen to other people, publish your book. If sum1 was stupid enuf to leak the first 12 chapters, then let them and let stupid, and impatient ppl read it. Now that ur not making it b/c of them, They’ll never get to finish it.
Interesting- its available on her site now
http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/pdf/midnightsun_partialdraft.pdf
One thing about vampire books…..they always suck! get it?? hehe
@115 (Sep 07, 2008 at 02:19)
And that copy is riddled with DRM.
@106, Mickey B
No one can control cultural data flows. Not any ‘author’ or ‘creator’, nor any corporation or council.
All licensing (copyright, copyleft, or what have you) is an attempt to congeal information, an exercise in the attempted exercsion of control. The licensors place themselves into an authoritarian role that then lets them think that they can dictate the terms of use of the particular information in question (be it a story, or a song, or what have you). And why? Why do some feel they have a right to assert control over these data streams, to impose their ‘license’ onto others?
Responsibility for your fellow man requires an egalitarian positioning that does not privilege one over the other. As soon as someone attempts to impose a license, there is no longer any fellow men, but only slaves and masters.
Surely you can dream up other ’structured solutions’ that would support your ‘fellow man’ that don’t involve the shackles of intellectual property?
wow, i cant believe some of these comments here…ppl seem to be soo insensitive concerning Meyer. the leaking of an unfinished book is the same as the violation of privacy! like, only once the author is comfortable with his/her work are they inclined to let it be viewed and scrutinzed by the public! having this leak didnt even giive her the chance to be satisfied beyond any doubt with her work!
Who?
@#54(common man)
LOL. ROFL. LMAO. BLAH BLAH. I can’t think of anymore ways to emphasize how ridiculous your comment is:
i thought books were written to inspire people……what if the lord of the rings were copyrighted,there could not have been any orcs
ARE YOU SERIOUS? Of course LOTR is copyrighted! Very few widely published books aren’t copyrighted. In fact, there was a huge issue with his book being published in America by someone who wanted to circumvent the copyright (theorizing it was only British) and Tolkein’s American fans were the ones who pressured that publisher to cease.
And as unfortunate as your “idealism” suggests, authors do have to eat – at some point I hear. Then again, you’re a total idiot if you think LOTR was published like a damn Wikipedia article intended only to inspire and free for all use.
Boo-hoo! This woman is just a publicity seeking bitch, who doesn’t want to realize that authors today are taking WAAAAAAAY too long with writing their new books. Personally, I have written 3 novel length books in LESS than 3 months. It just isn’t that hard unless your ‘muse’ dies or goes on hiatus.
I also have to agree with the people who say “Now she will make NO money!” That is the fact of life: anything is available on the internet… you just accept that, put your thing out anyway (without DRM, without limitations, etc) and TRY TO MAKE SOME MONEY!
wow ok everyone stop freakin bashing on her. if i were her and someone posted twelve chapters of a book everyone demanded for i’d be pretty damn mad too. it’s like knowing what your presents are before christmas. it’s the person who posted them, that’s who’s fault it is. Sure, people may get the book but if they read the first 12 chapters online and then get the book and automatically read chapter 13, what if it’s different. she could change the first twelve chapters a little if she wanted to. then what? i know for sure im not reading the first twelve chapters, because i feel fucking bad for her. and because you put so much pressure on her, that’s why she’s not finishing the book. BECAUSE YOU PUSHED AND PUSHED AND PUSHED. thanks a lot for stressing her out, now you’ll never know what happens. you just have bellas side and you’ll never get into the sexy edward cullen’s head. you’re all so smart.
So its a leak. Some people still havent read it. And still want to.
Like the fact that i’m devistated now thats its all over. So i still think you should do the book.
It is interesting to see what the great online social experiment has wrought.
I find it fascinating that the “social” web has created (or perhaps empowered) a culture of looters who feel a sense of “moral” entitlement to the intellectual property of others. If anyone among this group of commenter’s can write a better book, then do so. If you feel that you have been tricked by the clever marketing of sub-standard literature in the past, then learn to use reason and you won’t be so easily duped. If you don’t like an author, don’t read their books. But don’t mistake someone else’s work as being yours or “public” by entitlement. Being able to appreciate a work or being a “fan” doesn’t make it yours. Being able to see the flaws of a work or being a “critic” doesn’t make it yours. In either of those scenarios the only thing that is yours is your own opinion.
File sharing without the file creators consent is stealing. This is known and understood clearly by the commenters who attacked the character of the author directly. They know that there is no rational argument that can be made to support their position, therefore character attacks are the only recourse left to them.
With the advent of file sharing there have been great stride forward in online collaboration by those who can create and produce. There has also been a greater demand from those who contribute nothing for the works of those that create and produce. If you are quick demand that all intellectual property that you did not produce be made public, try producing a work of your own. You will see how quickly the “public” becomes anyone who is not you.
There are those who generously share the works of their minds and we are all made better for it. But no one has the right to demand the willing (or unwilling) surrender of intellectual property from those who do not wish to share their works, or who wish to charge for the time and effort that was taken at the creator’s expense.
I challenge any of the “critics” and “fans” here to write a book (even if it is on an “unoriginal” topic such as vampires), find someone who will publish and edit it, and then give it away for free in the name of being “social.” Then, look back at your time and efforts and ask yourself honestly if your time has no value, your work has no worth, and the product of your ideas has no price.
I read a peice of the draft and I was very bored the opening was stagnent nothing to keep me hooked,
I like to be thrown straight into to the thick of action wheather that be tension, action, conflict whatever.
The opening was just words and explanation, tension, action, conflict can still be rising even though it is laid on a plate.
You want the character to be defined by there very own character not explained like a user guide.
Tell her to stop bitchin’ about everything so that she can move on with her life.
ok. listen up. this is really rediculous. im in the us navy and i deal with more bullshit than this. this is petty in my oppion. all of you bitching about the book. i love the series and i can see her reasoning. for all you know she could have a diffrent idea on how to handel the situation and the only way is to put it on hold until everyone will forget it. the first movie is coming out. she needs the people to concentrate on that before the last damn book. i have high respect for her and if you all have respect for her too then you would all just grow up and get over it. im just as upset as you are but it doesnt mean that im going to be a real royal bitch about it. life is too short to worry about these things. we are at WAR PEOPLE!!!!! consentrate on that then we can talk about the silly stuff. also i agree with number 24. you have my respects. and thats rare where i come from. goddess bless you. anyway the rest of you please let this blow over. there is nothing to fret about. the book will come when the book will come. and i hope the sons-of-a-bitches who posted the damn half of the book in the first place has their karma back three fold or more. you all have a good day. goddess bless you. blessed be.
Really who gives a flying fuck … It sounds like a stupid book anyway “a counterview to twilight?” – Is that author speak for copy or stolen or another unoriginal though … I could go on and on …
What i hate is. Theyre definition of distribution. In theory a Library is illegal. Because it is lending and distributing copyrighted material. Like her book. Why cant websites be an online library?
Also lending a book to a friend is illegal according to the too much money people
stephanie meyer,
i dont think that you should make such a big fuss about this, you should be thrilled that your the author of these books and how popular and loved they are. Now yes what these people did was a terrible thing, and they should be punished but it isn’t the rest of your fans fault too. Just think about all the people your crushing by not writing this.
This is a victory for anyone who can’t stand little 16 year old teenie boppers and fat-goths. YAY~!
@106
Wow, you’re an idiot. I didn’t have to read through the whole thing to know that you are simply a retard. “Plundering”? It’s the rights holders that are plundering everything. It’s not plundering unless you make money from it.
A simple solution is a government subsidy to the original creator.
I agree with the author. You guys are stupid and playing the victim. Sharing a finished copy of a book I am all for, and if this was a finished version of the book I would just say typical author 1.0.
But it is an incomplete work. This could damage her sales because people could read the first few chapters, like Paulo Coelho hoped as a marketing guise, and they have a decision to go buy the book. With her unfinished book people will not get the finished product, and thus not get the finished product to judge.
I am ashamed of this community I belong to for this.
This ‘author’ needs a lesson in basic Internet. The fact is, I publish ALL my stories on the internet at http://www.thailandstories.com because I want people to read them. Publishers know that if there is already a market out there for an author’s works any book they print will sell that much faster.
As for the moronic statement by “typical pirate”, please stop making such an idiot of yourself. It takes time, hard work, and TALENT to write a book, or even a short story. You don’t think artists should make money out of their work because we enjoy our work? What a sorry piece of work you are, and if you are typical of other ‘pirates’ out there it’s no wonder you don’t understand or appreciate artistic endeavor. Perhaps when you grow up….?
Stupid, stupid, STUPID woman!
Prostitution?..you whiny bitch?
ok. i say this again. Grow The Fuck Up. you guys are rediculous. i could swear that alot of you are probably guys just by the way you all talk. just get over it! Hello!!!! WE ARE IN FUCKING WAR HERE!!! concentrate on that instead of your pitiful lives and your stupid insignificant woes of your stupid lives. god civilians are stressful.
It’s sad to say, but she’s probably a Christian who believes that it’s a good thing to share if she wants to.
Sam:
Uhh, Filesharing == Rape?
I knew you were borderline illiterate, but I didn’t realize you were also psychotic as well.
You didn’t reply to any of my points over on p2pnet, but at least over there you managed to string a few sentences into a halfway coherent recycling of the RIAA “Party line”. Here, you didn’t even manage that. You compare p2p to rape, on the assumption that every form of “lawbreaking” is equivalent, when it’s clearly not.
Copyright law is already riddled with exceptions (The “fair use” upon which you so blithely depend for your “Handle”, among others.)
To put it bluntly, copyright was only intended for a REALLY SHORT TIME — 11 years in the United States. The publishers and record companies managed to bloat that into more than 100 years. Nowadays, people are recognizing THAT for the bullshit that it was and is, and — right or wrong — vast numbers of them can no longer take copyright seriously to any extent.
Y’know what? It’s genuinely hard to blame them, especially when intellectual giants like yourself trot out comparisons to rape.
You don’t post to places like this to “debate” — you just chatter off the same specious, poorly-reasoned drivel over and over and over, and expect to be taken seriously as a result.
So go away now, and get back to creating the stuff that got you that great big award for that “big museum”.
artimis pheonixflame:
We know were “AT WAR HERE, PEOPLE!” Our illustrious leader George “Shrubya” Bush made sure of that. What I don’t get is how you can think that fact means that discussion on any other topic should cease. Lemme guess, if everybody isn’t neurotically-obsessed with the continuous no-exit-strategy-whatsoever war-of-the-moment, “Then The terrorists win”.
I can see it now: “Classified ads about free kittens? But, WE’RE AT WAR, PEOPLE!”
Sad, sad, sad.
Free filesharing will cause only the best to survive. Writing about vampires is such a waste of time and resources. I am glad that the book was cancelled and many trees were saved.
I was planning on reading it when it came out, but now that it’s possibly cancelled, I’m more likely to download the draft that’s available.
I gotta ask: what’s up with all the “vampire” stuff, anyway? I used to read a lot of Anne Rice (and Steven King’s book “Salem’s Lot” was awesome back in the day). I bought my copies for 10 cents a piece (thus “hiding behind” the first-sale doctrine to “deprive hard-working artists of a sale at full price!”) — HI SAM!!!!! :)
But really: once you’ve read a few “vampire” novels, they all start to seem really similar. I wonder why THAT could be? Couldn’t be that vampire novels (like Zombie movies and huge amounts of other artistic creation) is, to a large extent, “derivative?”
We need some SERIOUS copyright reform nowadays — it’s the only way the lawyers/industry bigshots will be able to save ANY kind of “copyright” at all.
They either reform it seriously, or the — rightful — disdain for it continues. It’s a fact.
Personally, I’d think she might have gained some new fans from this (who would probably have bought the finished book), but maybe not.
OH yeah, and remember everybody: p2p == rape!
I can understand that Stephanie may feel upset, however, people who would be downloading the first 12 chapters of her book, are big fans. Anyone who would want to stare at a computer for hours at a time reading part of a new release truly appreciates Meyer’s work. While I can understand she is upset, I would expect that she would get over her rage and continue her book. I enjoyed the first 4 books so much, that I actually considered writing another one myself. I am addicted to it. I have become endeared to the characters, and Stephanie’s writing style. When I heard about the book, I thought it was the whole thing that had leaked. Of course I wanted to download it. I am addicted!
I know that I am just babbling, but I am sincerely hoping that she will not continue to deprive her fans of getting their joneses fed.
Besides, It is true that she would simply be shooting herself in the foot.
You know what? I will admit that I downloaded all of her books illegally. After reading them I went out and bought all 4 in hardcover because I loved them so much. Take from that what you will.
I love the actual pic… omg.
really??? you all sound like unintelligent petulant children….It doesnt matter how much money she has. and her financial status really has nothing to do with anyone..I can promise you every penny was hard earned….try looking at it from someone elses perspective for a change…If someone had leaked any of your work …rendering it useless for sale….I would be curious to see how pissed off you would be then? Artists should make money….everyone needs money…what planet do you live on? or are you under the impression that art is edible too ?
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