OPINIONISTA: Bin Before Reading By Ben Williams
This is currently one of the dirtiest phrases in the English language. It’s practically a thought crime, but it’s commonly typed into WhatsApp or Messenger with blithe indifference. It’s something you’ve probably typed – admit it – and probably something you’ve done, snuck a pirated book off social media or a torrent, taken a peek inside, possibly even read a chapter or two, then consigned the stolen goods to the general detritus of your anarchic desktop.
The last big pirated book in South Africa was, of course, Jacques Pauw’s The President’s Keepers. You got a copy, I got a copy, the voters of Nkandla all got copies. It was also – let me see – oh yes, a record-breaking bestseller, the likes of which is witnessed once, perhaps twice in a career. Four days after that, the 4th of November, Pauw posted a note on Facebook that should be in every author’s playbook: “If you have a PDF copy and can afford to buy a book,” he wrote, “please do it.” He continued, “If you can’t find a book now, read the PDF, but you should still order a book. If you cannot afford a book, go for it and read it. You have my blessing.” He extended an olive branch to the buccaneering, baying public, and earned goodwill from them that was as good as retail gold.
Also in week two, nearly everyone with WhatsApp in South Africa had received a pirated copy of the book. Still, more than 8,000 print copies went through the tills. Now, I won’t speak the heresy that piracy is good for book sales, for fear of being rounded on by some of the people I hold dearest, and because correlation isn’t causation . But it’s worth noting that publishers figured out some time ago that ebooks are effective marketing tools for print books – and a pirated book is, after all, just a DRM-free ebook.
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