Am I the only one who's uncomfortable sending PDF's and ePubs?

1573 Views 16 Replies 16 Participants Last post by Mathew Reuther, Mar 12, 2013

CharlieVenkman

Discussion Starter · Mar 12, 2013

Whenever I post on Goodreads etc that I'm willing to supply ebooks for reviews, I often get people responding saying they would like it as a PDF or ePub. Am I crazy for being paranoid about this?

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1 - 17 of 17 Posts

Quiss

· #2 · Mar 12, 2013

Why?
A .mobi is no more secure than an ePub or PDF, if you're worried about piracy or copyright issues.

Both of those formats can be read on more hardware and application than the proprietary .mobi

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Becca Mills

· #3 · Mar 12, 2013

What Quiss said.

Now, if they demand Amazon gifting, think twice. (There was a scammer on LibraryThing doing that.)

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Do a bit of research on anyone that asks you for a review copy. Checking out their profile and seeing how many reviews they've done, and if they're active on goodreads, would be a good indicator if they're serious or just trying to get a free book (to either read or pirate).

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Speaker-To-Animals

· #5 · Mar 12, 2013

I'm not sure why you would be. Amazon's about half our sales, which means half my readers are using epubs.

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Wansit

· #6 · Mar 12, 2013

PDFs are easy to post on filesharing sites like LimeWire/PirateBay - not that ePubs/Mobi aren't it's just PDF is more common. I've seen some writers put watermarks in their PDFs - though I'm not sure how it helps. I have no problem sending readers/reviewers MOBI and EPUB files though.

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Andrea Harding

· #7 · Mar 12, 2013

As a reader that sometimes gets free review copies, I quite like it 50/50.

PDF I can 'sneak read' at work (the day job - sigh) and people think I'm doing productive things. If you only give me .mobi, I can put it on my kindle, but it's going to get read and reviewed a damn sight slower (because it's not really an option to whip that out in the office on a boring Tuesday morning...)

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Carradee

· #8 · Mar 12, 2013

I actually prefer PDFs for things I'll be reading or referencing on my computer (and the lack of one is why I don't use The Emotion Thesaurus as often as I'd like). EPUBs for things I'll be reading on my Nook. Every so often I'll pick up something for my Amazon Cloud Reader, but…that's almost as annoying to use as the computer-side EPUB readers.

So in short, no, I don't get nervous sending EPUBs or PDFs. In fact, when I'm prepping ARCs or special copies, I'll make an EPUB, PDF, and MOBI file, compress them into a ZIP file. Unless I'm told to just send a specific format, I'll send the ZIP file or the download link.

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ruecole

· #9 · Mar 12, 2013

Becca Mills said:
What Quiss said.

Now, if they demand Amazon gifting, think twice. (There was a scammer on LibraryThing doing that.)

Yup, what Quiss said.

I also got the email about gifting from the guy on LibraryThing. I figured he was a scammer and ignored him. He had some line about not being able to side load his reader. Um, sure.

Hope that helps!

Rue

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Natasha Holme

· #10 · Mar 12, 2013

The 'Calibre' software can convert mobi files into PDFs and epubs anyway.

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Ignis_Designs

· #11 · Mar 12, 2013

I am new to this so I amy be way off...

Would it be bad form to send out a review pdf with a header or footer on each page that says REVIEW COPY... Won't stop anyone from uploading or sharing but would at least make it clear where the upload came from...

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H. S. St. Ours

· #12 · Mar 12, 2013

I just finished a giveaway for 5 copies of Young Moon on Goodreads and gave PDFs, ePUBs and MOBIs. If you're giving it away, and you don't use DRM, I don't see the difference. Scammers on LibraryThing are a different story.

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Amanda Brice

· #13 · Mar 12, 2013

Ignis_Designs said:
I am new to this so I amy be way off...

Would it be bad form to send out a review pdf with a header or footer on each page that says REVIEW COPY... Won't stop anyone from uploading or sharing but would at least make it clear where the upload came from...

This is what I do.

I've sent some pre-proofed review copies (clearly marked as such and only when the reader knows this is advance and has agreed) and they're always stamped "REVIEW COPY." I also create a "REVIEW COPY" from the final proofed version that I use whenever the reviewer request a PDF.

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KristenDaRay

· #14 · Mar 12, 2013

This may sound silly, but where do you advertise on GR that you will give away copies for reviews? Just curious.

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Carol (was Dara)

· #15 · Mar 12, 2013

I don't mind giving out PDFs or epubs. Piracy makes me angry as all get out but I'm not willing to punish or inconvenience honest readers to lessen the risk.

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CharlieVenkman

Discussion Starter · #16 · Mar 12, 2013

Thanks for the feedback everyone, it was really helpful! I tend to get paranoid about most things and immediately head to the worst possible scenario, so I'm always glad to be given some perspective!

I guess the best thing to do is just really take a good look at whoever I'm sending the copy to...

KristenDaRay, there are a few different places on the Goodreads message boards where you can post that you have review copies available. One of them is here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_folder/107099

It can be really useful when looking for reviews for a new book...though I will say I have given out quite a few and not heard back. Whether that's because they didn't like the book or what, I don't know

But I also have gotten some really great reviews that way, so it balances out.

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Mathew Reuther

· #17 · Mar 12, 2013

A lot of people send out watermarked PDFs as review copies exclusively. They also say who the review copy was given to.

So the bottom of the page says "Review copy for Happy Slappy Book Blog, March 2013" . . .

People concerned with ARC piracy do this a lot, actually.