By Terri Marie
You won't hear too many people who
pirate books call themselves thieves, but they are. It's a horrible feeling to work
your butt off on a book just to have it stolen, distributed for money you'll
never see, or resold under a different name with a new cover. The list is
endless what they can do with your
work. I often wondered why someone would steel a book priced at .99 cents. It's
true that not everyone has an extra buck to spend on reading material, but I
can't imagine that the device they used to pirate on was cheap or free.
After a lengthy conversation with a young
guy I met while shopping in Barnes & Noble, I realized that he was actually shopping for his next book
to pirate. His list was long. Here's just some of what I learned: He pirates
because he can and it's lucrative. He and his buddies make a few extra bucks
stealing books, and most of his customers are other college students. Sales are
pretty fast. When I mentioned the time, money, and brain power the author puts
into their book, his comment didn't shock me. "It's no different than
checking out a book at the library. I haven't purchased a book in three years,"
he laughed. This is a common response, but I never heard the following before: "I
am friends with lots of authors on Facebook. They let me know when their new
release is coming out. I grab it quickly and get it out to my customers. That's
when I make the most money."
Most book thieves don't disclose what
they do in the title of their site which allows them to sell pirated books in
the open. Before you know it, you've 'liked' an illegal site on Facebook, or
joined an illegal website. Once people see your name associated with the site,
they'll join too. Always look carefully at the page before you join anything or
accept a friendship.
Buying or obtaining illegal copies of books makes you a thief. Also, if
you're dumb enough to give these criminals your information to buy their stolen
books, then you deserve to have your bank account hacked into and your identity
stolen. Those are just a couple of things that can happen when you do business
with criminals.
Should you do nothing? It's an uphill
battle and book pirates, for now, are a little ahead of us. But both readers
and authors should always take the time to report a pirating site whether your
book is there or it isn't. If you find a book at a major retailer that doesn't
quite look right, report it. Digital Rights Management (old version and new)
might slow thieves down until they strip it, but it isn't going to stop them. Until
pirates stop making money, they'll continue to steal.
My parting words for this guy, I can't
repeat.
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Terri Marie is the Author of the popular
A Billionaire in Disguise series."I love to write stories in different
genres that paint you a picture, take you places you wouldn't ordinarily be
able to go, and make you carry the characters in your heart and mind for years
to come, just as I experienced when I created them. If a smile shines upon your
face and you wanted to sit down again and turn another page, then I am happy.
If you recommend it to someone...I'm ecstatic! If I'm not writing a book I'm
busy being a mom, which is indeed my favorite part of life. More books are to
come! I reside in Michigan with my family." Where you can find me: http://www.authorterrimarie.com/ @ AuthrTerriMarie on twitter
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