Is the unauthorised copying of media, more commonly referred to as 'piracy' really one of the biggest threats to authors and other creatives? Or are there far more important things to be concerned about?

In this final episode of season 1 of Letters & Numbers, we look at the actual financial impacts of piracy, the statistics which show how being overly worried about piracy can actually backfire, and explore who is actually ripping off artists - spoiler alert, it's not those who love to read.

Join author, linguist, and mathematician-in-the-making Sarah on an exploration of the world through the lens of letters and numbers! And don't forget to subscribe for season 2, where we'll take this focus on money to its logical conclusion and explore the role of finances not just in media, but our lives in general!

*The introduction of this episode has been replaced to fix an editing error*

Links from this episode: Amazon Noir 'I can get any novel I want in 30 seconds' Lithub on American book buying Read Sarah's latest novella, Blush & Bone on Smashwords or Amazon Subscribe to Sarah and Simon's new podcast, Blue Zones: Revisited

The previous two episodes shone a light on some of the subtle forms of #bookbigotry in publishing: writers may show prejudices for or against books depending on their format (physical vs. ebook), and their platform (Amazon vs. 'the rest').

In this episode, we turn to explore prejudices based on location (i.e. US vs. 'international').

Join author, linguist, and mathematician-in-the-making Sarah on an exploration of the world through the lens of letters and numbers!

Links from this episode:

The ⁠Indie Author⁠ and ⁠Indie Reader⁠ Manifesto

YouTube: ⁠'Mockolate' on Friends⁠ and ⁠debunking videos⁠

⁠Booko.com.au⁠

The previous episode shone a light on three subtle forms of #bookbigotry in publishing: writers may show prejudices for or against books depending on their format, platform, and location of origin - starting with a focus on format (physical vs. ebooks).

In this episode, we turn to explore prejudices based on platform (i.e. Amazon vs. 'the rest').

Join author, linguist, and mathematician-in-the-making Sarah on an exploration of the world through the lens of letters and numbers!

Links from this episode:

The ⁠Indie Author⁠ and ⁠Indie Reader⁠ Manifesto

YouTube: ⁠'Mockolate' on Friends⁠ and ⁠debunking videos⁠

⁠Booko.com.au⁠

Carolyn Howard-Johnson uses the term #bookbigotry to describe snap judgements about a book on the basis that it is independently published - without so much as looking at the description, the author's bio, or even glimpsing the cover.

Over three episodes, we'll examine how readers, reviewers, publishing professionals, and even writers may show prejudices for or against books depending on their format, platform, and location of origin - starting with a focus on format (physical vs. ebooks).

Join author, linguist, and mathematician-in-the-making Sarah on an exploration of the world through the lens of letters and numbers!

Links from this episode:

Kindle sales figures

eReader sales figures

Sarah's blog series on book bigotry

As much as I love books, I’ve never been a big fan of book-related merchandise, either as a reader or as a writer.

This is a rant about literacy, capitalism… and foul-tasting beans.

Join author, linguist, and mathematician-in-the-making Sarah on an exploration of the world through the lens of letters and numbers!

Links from this episode:

Harry Potter Wiki exchange rate, bean flavours

Dempster et al. (2016)

Sarah's novels critiquing immigration policy and capitalistic advertising

Don't worry, I don't mean how many books you should be allowed to buy, borrow or steal! Rather, in this episode we ask what is a reasonable limit when it comes to book hauls from conferences and giveaways.

Should YouTubers be obligated to review the books they take for free? Should bookstagram accounts actually read the books they promote?

Join author, linguist, and mathematician-in-the-making Sarah on an exploration of the world through the lens of letters and numbers!

Links from this episode:

Stacked Books

Publishers Weekly

Sarah's unboxing video

For anyone aiming to become an author, the statistics on what happens to books once they hit the shelves aren't all that rosy. Around a third of all traditionally-published books that make it to bookstore shelves are returned to the publishers - then remaindered, or shredded.

In this episode, we take a look at Carolyn Howard-Johnson's tips on how to avoid our own books landing in the warehouse - or worse, in the shredder.

Join author, linguist, and mathematician-in-the-making Sarah on an exploration of the world through the lens of letters and numbers!

Links from this episode:

⁠The Frugal Book Promoter⁠

⁠Heather Demetrios' article⁠

⁠Hannah Holt's survey⁠

In the last episode, we looked at how online traditionally-published authors are via an examination of 12 bestselling authors. A lack of a social media platform doesn't seem to hamper these authors - but what about indies who don't have the same marketing power?

This time, we examine a dozen indie indie authors to see how important social media is for them.

Join author, linguist, and mathematician-in-the-making Sarah on an exploration of the world through the lens of letters and numbers!

Links from this episode:

Would I Be Better Off Writing test

Sarah's books

Sarah's blog