It has finally happened. I knew it would. It destroyed the
music industry why wouldn’t the publishing industry be next? What am I talking
about? Piracy!
My wonderful online writers group has just informed me that
almost all of my books are being pirated by “legal” websites. This means that
with enough research nearly anyone can download my books for free. This being a
relatively new menace, I doubt most people know of these sites but it is only a
matter of time before all published books will be able to be read for free with
a click of the mouse much like a song can be heard instantly through Utube with
no royalties going to the artist. This sucks.
Back in the mid-1990’s the band Pearl Jam lost millions trying
to fight the same powers eventually shutting down the most popular music
sharing site at the time, Napster for copyright infringement. The result was
hundreds of new music sharing sites popping up without abandon. This is now
happening with ebooks and it is a tide no artist can stop.
Writing books is in my blood and cannot be quelled much like
a musician has to make music and a painter must paint. So what can I as a
writer do and how do I accept this unalterable change in the industry? I’ve
already watched my sales slowly dwindle through the months and my royalties
getting less even though I am publishing more books and my audience, blog hits,
and followers continues to grow. Should I get angry and rant and rave that none
of this is fair? That I spent twenty-five years writing furiously to reach this
point in my career only to have it sideswiped by the never ending throes of
technology? Or should I be flattered that I am popular enough in the world to
even have my books pirated on these sites? Do I just give up? These are
questions I cannot answer right now.
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