Ebook Theft Hurts!
“There is no stopping piracy… The only uncrackable ebook format is from Amazon. They make it impossible to read your books in any other reader (and this includes free books that previously had no DRM, such as those out of copyright). It is called KFX —which nothing else can read or convert right now.”
eBook Piracy is on the rise in 2018
“A recent Good e-Reader poll asked 1,800 readers where they got their ebooks, and 20.94% responded they only pirate them, which is an increase of 12% from the study conducted last year. People who legitimately purchase their Books from Amazon represented 17.61% of the vote, followed by Kobo at 8.37% and B&N 9.4%.” by By Michael Kozlowski
True Story of an Indie Author & Book Piracy
Of course, I hang out with writers. Too often I hear from authors that even their faithful readers and fans download books from piracy sites. One author said she asked a book club fan where they bought copies of her book. The book club member said, “We buy a copy then copy it for everyone to read.”
REALLY? That author wrote a great deal to explain how hard she works to write her books; She went on to list time devoted to revision, editing, pay for an editor’s time, etc. Know how long a writer waits from the moment he or she turns in their manuscript until publication date? The estimated time for a traditional publishing house to complete all work on a document is three to five years. Not an easy thing to do to draft a novel and carry on through years of challenges to bring it to the reading public.
That seems shocking, yet most likely happens far more often than most writers would think it does. The quote above made me shake my head because I would never imagine that 20% of readers steal ebooks. Many believe that ripping off electronic materials hurts no one.
Ebook Theft Constitutes a Crime
Would you like to work between five and twenty years on an original project only to have it taken from you? Of course not. What of all the other professionals involved with book production? Book designers, developmental editors, book doctors, writing coaches, copyeditors, and book printers all need to receive pay. All need to earn a living from a writer’s work.
Pirates Become Heros Only in Movies
As an active member of Redwood Writers Club, an all-volunteer club, I facilitate the club’s Author Support Group. We meet at one o’clock on the second Sunday of each month before the general meeting and monthly speaker.
How Can We Protect Writers and Authors?
Indeed, we must speak out and speak up about piracy.
Writers and authors also need to educate their reading audience about our costs, our time, the support players in our industry. Producing a well-crafted product, either fiction or nonfiction book requires painstaking labor. Not by a single person. Notice the acknowledgments listed on a page of nearly every book you read? Not one person writes a book in total isolation. Even those who claim to have been the sole author of a work of writing still owe those who taught him or her to read. Also, they owe the authors who wrote books they read, etc. Let us give thanks where gratitude is due.
I don’t have all the answers, so leave a note on what you do or are thinking of doing to prevent ebook piracy.
We love our readers. Please chime in on this topic. If you are an author has ebook piracy hurt your book sales? If you are a member of a book club, where do you buy or borrow your books?
BTW: Red Sky at Night: Dog Leader Mystery is now available for purchase as an eBook on Amazon Kindle and all other ebook formats from all book retailers.
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