E-Books and Pirates

[JeannieHolmes]

I know I don't have to worry about anyone here downloading a "free" (aka illegal) copy of my books, and for that I love ya all!

But, there are buttheads in the world who think "It's just a book! What harm can it do?" Well, here's the harm it can cause:

E-Piracy: The High Cost of Stolen Books

If you know someone who regularly downloads "free" e-books, please pass this article to them. It won't stop the worst offenders, but education is the first step to reducing the current impact.

Here's my response to the piracy issue: Harsh Truths About Your Favorite Books

[deathlynx]

Interesting...Baen has found that offerign chunks of their library free for download...they've discovered that it actually cuts down on the piracy...

[JeannieHolmes]

That's interesting. Are the free downloads for new books or authors' backlists?

[deathlynx]

Mostly backlists, but the occassional (and short-lived) new books...According to them, what they've discovered is that offering large chunks of the library actually promotes people buying the newer stuff since they read quite a bit of it already and don't want to wait for the next book to hit the free list...

www.baen.com/library/ That's not only a link to the library, but a commentary by Eric Flint, one of their most prolific authors, explaining their thoughts on why they decided to go into this...

[JeannieHolmes]

Thanks for the link, DL. It was....interesting. While I have to respect Baen and the authors who offer some of their titles in this "free library," I have to disagree.

Most of the authors I see listed are prolific, have been publishing for a number of years, and have extensive backlists. I, as an author with one book currently in the market, simply cannot afford (and not just from a monetary standpoint) to have that book pirated.

For me, the issue isn't so much about the individual sales and royalties--although I admit, I do want to be paid for my work--or even building an audience. My issue is that if I show low sale numbers--traditional mm sales and e-book combined as publishers look at them--then I don't get to write more books for my publisher. They will drop me. It's not personal. It's business. My chances of finding another publisher to pick up a series established in another house and showing low sales are slim. It's not personal. It's business. Low performance means no contract. No contract means no books.

(Saundra Mitchell posted a great blog on e-piracy's impact to an author's career. Read it here.)

Sales are vital to all authors, but especially debut authors. I hold no delusions of making the NY Times list or USA Today or any even a top 100 at B&N. I'm not a bestseller. I'm not midlist. I'm low-list. I have one book. The second will be released in a few months. That's it.

(Although, like Saundra, if some the torrent sites that have had illegal copies of BL listed in the past were actual sales--meaning people paid for that copy when they downloaded it--then, yeah, I could've potentially hit a list or two or at least made a slightly larger splash in the UF pool.)

I have no contract renewal for the Alex series. I certainly hope to get one. But the publisher is going to look at my sales record. They will look at how many copies where sold in stores. They will look at the number of e-copies downloaded. If it doesn't meet their criteria for renewal, I'm SOL. And I'll be honest here: That frakking terrifies me. Because I know if my publisher doesn't renew, I may not be able to find another house to take the series and years of research, planning, and work will be left unfinished. My chances of selling another series will be impacted. My chances of keeping my name on the cover will be impacted.

Maybe in 20 years when I (hopefully) have 60+ books to my name, I won't mind having "free" copies of my work floating around in cyberspace. But for today, yeah, I mind the hell out it because I would like to keep my current publisher. I like working for them. I love my editor. And I really don't want to have to change my name and start from scratch.

E-piracy is a hot-button issue with me (if you couldn't tell ) and I'm going to walk away now because thinking about it is giving me a wicked headache.

Thanks again for posting the link. As I said, it was...interesting.