Fair Pay Denied
When you read a book that you borrowed or bought used, the author receives $0.
Solution
6 Reasons to Tip
1. ~68%1 of paper books people read are borrowed, used or remainders.
This means authors are paid nothing or nearly nothing2 for most of the usage of their works!
2. Median Author Income Is Poverty Level
Authors' median income from their books in 2022 was ~$15,000.
3. Borrowing a Book Is Great, But It's Also Free Riding
When you borrow a book, especially from a friend, you're using the author's work for free. Is that 100% fair to the author who writes not for charity, but to be paid?
4. Used Book Sales Have Boomed
Because of Internet search and distribution technologies, used books are now ~37%-45% of paper books sold and their sales are growing faster than new book sales.
"More than half of consumers within the US & UK buy more second-hand than new books." Used Book Sales Statistics, Dean Talbot, December 20, 2022, WORDSRATED
5. Authors Get Nothing When You Buy Remainders
New books being liquidated by publishers (aka remainders) are sold at 50%-90% off list price. You can identify them by a mark. When you buy one the author gets $0.
6. When You Love a Book You've Been Provided With Hours of Enjoyment
Consider paying the author a tip commensurate with the value you received.
ENDNOTES
1Borrowed + Used + Remainder Books = ~68% of Paper Books People Read
There is no rigorous public study of where people get the books they read. The calculations below are thus back of the envelope. If you know more accurate figures, contact us.
These estimates don't include self-published paper books.
According to a Pew Research study, ~38% of the books that people read are borrowed, 24% from friends plus 14% from libraries.
So, of the paper books people read, ~62% are bought.
Used books are 15% to 18% of the market by revenue.
Now, assume used books sell for 40% of the price of new books, on average.
That means, for each 1% of market revenue, used books sell 2.5 units per new book sold.
15% (of market revenue) x 2.5 = 37.5%.
18% (of market revenue) x 2.5 = 45%.
So, used books are ~37.5%-45% of paper books people buy. For easy calculation, call it 40%.
As noted above, ~62% of the paper books that people read are bought.
So, used books are ~62% x 40% = ~25% of the paper books people read.
Subtotal: Borrowed (38%) + Used (25%) = ~63% of the paper books people read.
Then, remainders including gray market books are (pure guess) ~5% of the paper book market.
In Total: Borrowed + Used + Remainders = ~68% of the paper books people read.
2Authors Sometimes Receive Tiny Payments Per Library Loan
Public lending rights in some countries enable authors to be paid small amounts per book loan — around 10¢ in 2019 in the UK according to Wikipedia. Libraries support authors by buying books, of course, but in most countries, including the US, when you borrow a book, the author doesn't receive extra compensation.