I meant it more that professional writers don't get royalties from second-hand buyers like me. I have indulged in new buys for books that never appear in the previously loved department but most everything eventually ends up on someone's donation pile.
I figured that's what you meant, but I'm not ego-ridden enough to think readers exist to enrich me.
Once upon a time I met a writer who hated libraries because people could check out her books without paying her for the privilege. She was a wee bit cracked on the subject. She regarded library patrons as literary hobos and thought libraries should have to pay royalties every time someone checked a book out.
She wanted a pay per view.
Libraries pay a subscription for digital materials. Like Libby and Hoopla for example. The rate is higher for big publishers and big ticket authors. Thats why, if you are a libby user and all the digital books for a certain title or author is checked out, its possibly because the price is higher for those (i was once 164 in line for a book that hd 5 copies). The author gets paid by the number of checkouts and renews the book gets. [EDIT TO ADD: ive had patrons complain "why doni have to wait in line" and "how is this ebook checked out?? Its an ebook!"... its because we can only afford a certain amoint of digital copies because the price is hefty!]
