Today I want to discuss pirates. No, not this type of pirate.
I rather enjoy this kind of a pirate. Arrrr! (Just look at that face … commanding yet wistful at the same time … but enough of Captain Jack. He always gets me off topic.)
I want to talk about book pirating! (Aaurgh!)
In the past few days, I’ve discovered no less than eight sites offering free downloads of Rafe Ryder and the Well of Wisdom. I find myself caught between congratulating myself that my work is now popular enough for pirates to want to steal and offering myself condolences for the theft.
Am I flattered?
Am I angry?
Well mostly … but there are other feelings too, but those feelings involve me wearing my rose colored glasses. (Hold on while I put them on.)
It feels totally awesome to have your book suddenly become popular! Let’s face it, who wants to be obscure? What author, doesn’t want hundreds, or even thousands of people reading their books? I know I do. I want readers to love the Rafe Ryder series.
(Now taking the rose colored glasses off.) From a business standpoint, it makes me very sad. I have devoted so much time to Rafe Ryder and the Well of Wisdom, and I’m currently working just as hard on the next book in the series. I’d really like to be paid for my work. Wouldn’t you?
There are websites offering free downloads of my book and still others are using mirror websites which redirect people to its main website, promising free downloads of my books for a certain amount of money, either for a month or for a lifetime. Most of these websites are scams that either steal your credit card info, put malware on your computer or both. It really bothers me that people are using my name and my book to scam others. (I can’t help it, I have a motherly heart, and I don’t want anyone’s credit or computer comprised. Both things have happened to the hubster and me, and it is not pleasant.)
My author friends liken it to playing the Whac-A-Mole game, and it definitely feels like it.
I report one and three more pop up. It is an exercise in frustration.
I realize I’m not going to be able to stop most of them, and I’d much rather spend my valuable time writing versus chasing crafty literary pirates!
I might just as well be banging myself in the head, but given my age, and the fact I’m in desperate need of every precious brain cell I still possess, I’ve decided against it.
Okay, I’ve said my piece. Now, I’m going to go meditate and try to find my happy place.
It may take some time, but I shall meditate until I can handle any situation thrown my way, such as the one seen below. I live with the hubster, who has way more energy than I do (most of the time), so this happens more frequently than you’d think.
The problem is that there really isn’t a lot one can do without serious censorship of the internet. Anyone can buy (or download) server software and put up a website or operate a server. Book DRM, like any other form of DRM or copy protection gets cracked over time. Once non-DRM or non copy protected versions of the pirated content get stored offline, it is easy to re-upload them on the same site, or a different site. To fully erase them would require physical access to each device they are stored on. Often they are also converted into common widely used formats like PDF. Once DRM is removed, there is no magic bullet to disable all copies of the unprotected version at once, nor can they be disabled at all remotely by the copyright owner . Such versions would even survive a lawsuit against or a bankruptcy of the creator that pirated them. Once the pirated versions are mass distributed, deleting every copy is an endless game of whack-a-mole unfortunately where there are more moles than there are mallets to whack them.
Hmmmm. I’m certainly not for serious censorship of the internet, but I do think there should be serious penalties for people stealing my work on the internet. My feeling: If someone steals my work, then they should be forced to reimburse me for my losses.
How awful. The world is full of deceit, scams and thiefs.. sorry.
Indeed.
This is a piracy (all new to me) that I was not mindful of. Copyrights? Don’t mean anything?
Yes, copyright does mean something, unfortunately, technology makes piracy too easy for thieves nowadays. There isn’t that much you can do unless you’re a determined author with lots of extra time laying around, or your books have made you rich enough to hire a company who can spend all day fighting this battle for you.
Personally, I don’t want to spend all my time fighting, I’d rather spend my time writing more books, not chasing book pirates blinded by anger and hatred. (Fighting seems like such a waste of my time on Earth.)
That being said, a relatively simple thing I did was file for some websites to be banned from Google and other Search Engines. I filed notice of infringement of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) with Google and I’m hoping to be able to get the numbers down a little.
I have a very similar reaction every time I see a site selling a pirated copy of my book. Thanks for this post!
*Breaks into song* Look’s like we made it …
What? Don’t tell me to shut up. Barry Manilow songs cure everything.
*Breaks back into song* I made it through the rain …
Arghh!! The clutches of cyberspace thieves–what an awful place for copies of your book to be. I wouldn’t be surprised if JK Rowling would be willing to give you counsel. (Not kidding.) She’s had her battles and I’ve heard she is very supportive of writers, especially when dealing with outrageous matters such as this.
With action on the part of family, friends, strangers, anyone who growls at foul play, your situation may prove a glittering opportunity for free wide-spread publicity. Get a few people to start an online scurry of social media activity! Wow, how many could benefit from such a phenomenon?
Thanks for drawing this to our attention, and keep us posted, please.
I’ve spoken to quite a few authors and there are things we can do, (and I wish there were more), but going after these people is so time consuming and expensive. It’s not fair and it is not right. It happens to many, many artists. Books, movies and music. I feel there should be more protection for people who work so hard, stricter laws and more people to enforce these laws.