Once Upon a Time
Authors were paid for their work!
Today I want to address something that isn't much fun for us Indie authors. Pirate sites.
I used to think those sites were set up for authors that make a lot of money and have popular books but last night I found some of my novels on a "Free for the Download" pirate site. Of course, I wrote and told them to cease and desist and I'm hoping they will because I did get a letter from them saying they'll get back to me. They also have a disclaimer saying it's not their issue if there is a copyright infringement.
But hey! If you're directing people to any place that is offering free books other than libraries, you are also part of the problem.
I know free is coveted by the world today. Money is getting harder and harder to come by. But think about this.
It takes a lot of effort to write a novel. Months, sometimes years are put into just writing the draft. There's research, there are long hours of planning, and there's studying how to put a story together so it makes sense. Conferences, workshops, and conventions all cost money. These are hours that could be spent at a day job getting hourly work, but an author sacrifices some of those hours to get a story on paper for your enjoyment.
After the draft is done there is money spent on editing...lots of money spent on an editor, a cover designer, someone to format into digital form. And if the author does the formating themselves, there's money spent on the software to do it, which isn't cheap anymore and most software requires a subscription these days. Then there's cover design that an author has to pay for, and if they don't hire someone to do that, they have to pay for software to do it.
Then there is marketing and it's impossible to relate to you what an author spends on ads, newsletters, websites, blog tours, and more depending on how they choose to market.
What I'm trying to say is...No one gives an author a free ride. There is no legitimate reason in the world to get your books from a pirated site. How people hack an author's files and sell them for a subscription without paying the author a penny is beyond me.
But PLEASE do not download them. If you can't afford to purchase a digital book much less a paperback, go to the LIBRARY. Libraries pay authors for their books, they don't steal them. If there's a book you want that the library doesn't have, then request it. Don't leave the author paying the bill.
Like any skilled laborer, authors work hard studying, applying their skills, and trying to get them to you for a reasonable price.
And if you do buy a book from a reliable source, don't return it "just because you can". Returns cost authors money too.
If you work for a living, you expect people to pay you. Well, authors work for a living. I'm sitting here scratching my head wondering why my books aren't selling and then I find some easy-to-find site giving them away. And giving my friends' books away too.
Please don't support that practice. Thank you.
From a frustrated author.