E-book Piracy.

I recently found that all my books had been loaded onto a website that offered free downloads.   I was surprised that a new author like myself would find all three books on this site (I was alerted by a Facebook friend).  

I was also offended.  I felt strangely violated: as a new author, I have made very little money from sales … but this isn’t just about money, afterall, I currently have Book One (Emotes) free to download on Smashwords.  It’s the idea of someone taking something that belongs to me and distributing it without my permission.  It would be like me going into their home, taking a possession of theirs without asking and then sharing it out amongst my friends.

Whether or not you enjoy a particular author’s work, they have usually put a lot of time, energy and sacrifice into producing that book.  Books don't write themselves: authors often sacrifice a great deal, spending more hours than you could imagine writing that book ... forming the ideas, finding the right words, ensuring that the story gels without inconsistencies ... and then there is the hard slog of formatting, editing and proof-reading. 

That e-book isn't a creation that magically appears.  It takes hard graft and precious time.  Please don't begrudge paying for that author's services any more than you would any other service-provider in your life ... especially when so many e-books are priced cheaper than a newspaper or magazine! You would not expect to go to work and not be paid a salary ... so please don't expect an author to do just that.

I reported the copyright violation to the site in question and they have removed my books but I wonder how long it will be before "Google Alerts" notify me of another infringement.  I honestly think that some readers do not realise that when they download books for free, they are sometimes doing so illegally.  I think that most people are intrinsically honest.  I just hope that something can be instigated to police the increasing number of sites that are springing up, whose actions rob the very people whose work they admire.