Chark Blog - Silence is golden

Friday, September 01, 2006

Yesterday's entry about Google digitising out of copyright works has generated quite a few supportive emails in my in-box. Today in The Times Ben Macintyre has written a great piece in support of copyright, the need to protect authors' rights and the continued requirement for would-be users of intellectual property to seek permission to offer digital versions rather than Google's posited offer to take down material if the rights holder complains. Ben describes what I think more eloquently than I ever could:

'For centuries, artists have fought to protect their work from being copied and disseminated without payment: in 1623 the composer Salomone Rossi wrote a setting of the Psalms that included a curse on anyone who copied the contents. These days authors can rely on more than a curse.

The tutting librarian should be replaced by another authority figure policing the stacks: the copyright lawyer, ensuring that every new addition to the online collection comes with the express permission of the writer, and a royalty.

Silence is golden in a library; but the law of copyright is beyond price.'

As this is the first of September I have been totting up the numbers of visitors in August. I was expecting a fairly quiet month given the holiday season etc. We had 42944 visits, up 38% on July. Here's a graph attempting to show progress through the year:

9/1/2006 4:14:29 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Appropriate title for your entry today.

Why are all your visitors so quiet?

(Apart from indy booksellers obviously!)

Matthew Crockatt

9/1/2006 4:30:45 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

I didn't load the entry until a little while ago. So nothing to comment on. Also last Friday afternoon in August...

richard charkin

9/1/2006 4:57:25 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Richard these are phenomenal and enviable stats but I still remain intrigued about the relatively small numbers of people brave enough to comment here.You seem to have a voiceless audience.
I love to drop in and get the low down on the publishing world and I would have hoped that this blog would provide an excellent forum for debate about some of these issues that you raise from people who know how the industry works.I can't really comment about that knowledgeably but plenty of others can. Not points scoring or put downs or caustic remarks but just some good honest debate that informs those of us who haven't a clue about what makes this particular world tick.It happens occasionally but not as often as I would have expected.
Is it about rivalry between publishers? Is it about people worried about their jobs? Are you so senior they are scared to comment?
I'm pond life in the NHS but if the Minister for Health had a blog and offered a forum like this I'd be on there like a shot having my say and I just don't understand why it doesn't happen here. Perhaps I'm being stupid and someone will explain.

dovegreyreader

9/1/2006 8:51:09 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

They never do. I get far fewer visitors than Richard but still about 700 a day - and look how many comments - 2,3.. 15 when I offered free books ! But that was a record and it's all from the same group of friends.. and Richard has never commented on my blog and I`m always commenting on his it`s not faaaair.
But people just do not comment much and I have no idea why.

SUSAN HILL

9/1/2006 9:31:33 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

I suspect that because blogs are a fairly personal means of communication people feel a bit reluctant to 'intrude' by offering comments.

Plus the nature of the Internet seems to encourage lots of lurkers but very few people who are actually willing to contribute to a debate. When I worked for a print magazine that ran an online forum you could guarantee that only the same handful of readers ever posted messages.

Having said that, there's only a small proportion who bother to write letters to the editor or enter competitions too. Maybe it's just human nature?

IanB

9/1/2006 9:55:48 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Well there I think we have the answer Richard, free books and we await your comments on ALL our blogs now,fair's fair and I think Susan has a little whine in her voice there.
I agree lots of lurkers but I see blogs that allow comments as asking to have two way conversations, at least those are the sort that I prefer so it might just be me but I leave commments hither and thither and if Tony Blair had a blog tonight I'd be wittering to him about baby ASBO's (Yes please but give us the resources)so it's a good job he hasn't.

dovegreyreader

9/1/2006 10:01:43 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Comments vs reads - I get it too, but nowhere near your extent!

I think many are afraid of the fact that you are a CEO of a publishing company.

They want to hear and learn, but they are too afraid to make comment.

Take comfort in the fact that so many want to read and learn. Your thoughts and messages are not in vain. They are seeds to grow and see the light of day...

crimeficreader

9/2/2006 2:02:07 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

It's pretty standard that the majority of people read and don't comment.

Some don't want to intrude, some don't want to voice an opinion publicly, some are just plain shy (obviously not the lot of us!), some don't know what to add or to say and some are nervous they'll be "yelled at" or disagreed with (not by you, Richard, you're always quite hospitable - but on other blogs out there it can get dicey)

But they're there - and that's what's important. You are reaching an admirable audience and you are impacting or influencing them in some way.

Personally, I can't imagine someone being intimidated by your position - you don't present yourself as intimidating in any way. You're out here to learn - aren't we all!!! That's very leveling!

ann michael

9/2/2006 7:50:34 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Speaking personally I never respond on blogs where the comments are moderated so that only camp followers and arse kissers have their views shown.

It is to Richard's credit that he has chosen to offer "free" comment : traditionally indie bookdealers hate censors !

Clive Keeble

9/2/2006 5:11:21 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

All my efforts to intimidate meet with failure. But it would be good to get more comments - from the world at large and from the world of Macmillan. Perhaps I'm not controversial enough.

richard charkin

9/2/2006 6:36:06 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Richard

It would be a rather brave or foolhardy Macmillan employee who posted controversial comments on this blog ; rather like pissing inside the tent, probably not the best way to advance within the firm.

Clive Keeble

9/2/2006 9:07:31 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Interestingly that's exactly the best way to advance in other industries, have the courage to say something having first thoroughly checked the ground, stand by it and see it through. I'm beginning to feel that perhaps the NHS has moved on and does have something going for it after all!

dovegreyreader

9/2/2006 9:55:50 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Clive, You really are paranoid. Do you honestly think that I rule Macmillan such that people are scared to give their opinions, fearing for their future? Ask anyone who works for us. Richard

richard charkin

9/3/2006 4:30:19 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Offering freebies wouldn't work for me. For one thing, everything I've published is free already. For another, they're not the sort of thing most of my readers are interested in anyway.

Since I do get a fair number of visitors from the U. K. for some reason, maybe offering a free PDF version of one of MacMillans' backlist titles would do the trick. Getting said file for free myself (disability pays lousy) being another trick.

Alan Kellogg

9/4/2006 12:44:04 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)

Googling and Worldcatting--

Have you clicked over to www.worldcat.org? (World Catalog -- think libraries.) You type in the name of the book and your ZIP code (US--sorry, not sure how it works in other countries) and the library nearest you that has the book pops up, even if that library is 1000 miles away. Google has hitched a ride on the worldcat network.

I just blogged about worldcat.org and the recent death of Frederick Kilgour, librarian, who made the global library network possible. I think the world cat network is stunning.

Lynne AKA The Wicked Witch of Publishing

Lynne W. Scanlon

Welcome

This is it. I am officially entering the blogosphere. This is not a Macmillan blog, but Macmillan will certainly feature heavily. The idea is that when we need to share anything from company strategy through news, to talk about new ideas or to help us learn from our successes and our mistakes, we can all blog about it here. This means no more email newsletters from me. Instead, you can read (and blog) all about it here. And don't forget to bookmark this page and to let colleagues know all about it.

The broader the audience the more effective this blog becomes.

And it becomes a lot more interesting if you join the conversation... so don't be shy.

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