Hi and welcome back to Anna’s World. I haven’t written a post for a few weeks because I’ve been busy finishing up a new project and starting another one…or two…
But tonight I’m back and I’m going to talk about a very serious subject that most authors will encounter at least once in their career. Pirating. What is it? Pirating is when some unknown person downloads the file to your book or books to a site not approved by the author or their publisher and offers the book free or at a very reduced price. The author nor the publisher sees any of the monies and if the book is offered free…then all the hard work that has been done to bring that book or books to publication is pretty much down the drain. At least with the missed sales for the ones that were downloaded from that site.
Many authors depend on the royalties from their book sales to pay their bills. When someone takes it upon themselves to offer a copyrighted book free, it’s not only illegal but unethical. What can be done about it? Sadly not a whole lot. A cease and desist letter can be sent demanding the book be taken down from the site and sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t.
The first time it happened to me, a best-selling author friend told me she knew I was upset but it was my first time. She shared that her books had been pirated numerous times. I was appalled!
What prompted this post? A few weeks ago, one of the authors who writes for one of the pubs I write for happened to find almost all of our authors’ books on a couple of sites. We were all just sickened by the news and immediately sent letters to the owner of the sites. We also asked friends to do the same.
I decided to address this issue to bring attention to it to unsuspecting readers who may not even realize they are downloading books illegally. The rule of thumb…if it’s not one of the major retailers…it’s probably not legit.
Occasionally an author or a publisher will offer a book at a reduced price for a short period of time or sometimes even free, but it will be offered on one of the major sites, most often Amazon or the publisher’s website.
How do these ‘pirates’ gain access to the files? Sadly there are any number of ways.
Just remember, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.
On a brighter note, one project submitted a few weeks ago, another one just about ready to send in, and another one in the works. Anna and Isabella have both been busy…LOL.
Have a great week, read lots of books, write reviews, and meet me back here soon for more news in Anna’s World!!!!!
Love,
Anna
Anna Kristell Romance 