Prior to becoming a published author, I like so many others didn't think much about things like Napster. Or even worse things like bootlegs or pirated works. I never joined napster or any similar program. I only just recently, with the gift of an iPOD from a friend, began to use iTunes. I never worried about pirated copies of anything because I'm odd in that I like to have all of my DVDs lined up nicely with cover art, same thing with music and books. And, before you ask...yes, they're alphabetical. I don't like to see heads that don't belong to the actors in my movie or hear laughter/music that is not part of the soundtrack.
Love's Chance was released in February, and yesterday, it was brought to my attention that it's listed on torrent sites (pirated copies). I would list them, but I hate to give them any more publicity, but on one site, Love's Chance had been downloaded 1371 times. Wow. At $3.99 per book, that could pay my mortgage.
I know that the people downloading the items believe that it causes no harm, but it does. As an author, you take a lot of time to create something you hope people will enjoy. And, if they enjoy it you hope they will share it, but not in the way these sites work.
I fully support sharing a love for any creative art with someone else, but pirating is not fair to artists, authors, publishers or sellers. The next time you wonder why the neighborhood bookstore or music store or video stoe closes, think about these sites. If you truly are a lover of the arts, I ask that if you come across any of these sites, you ask that they remove the products they have loaded instead of contributing to or downloading the items that are available.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Angela, this is such a problem with ebooks. And there seems to be no rules or laws to protect authors at all. what a shame. I am just like you and never gave it much thought. But this is a terrible problem. It's such a little cost to buy a ebook. It is so sad that this is allowed to continue. But other than telling those sites to stop, I don't know what we as authors can actually do right now. And truly, we are all at risk.
ReplyDeleteKaye, when Napster became popular for doing the same thing in the music industry changes were made. Within the music industry artists jumped on board, and huge campaigns were launched. So, I agree as authors and readers we all just have to pull together to tell them to stop.
ReplyDelete