Recently, I did a Google search for my name to see where my books are turning up or being mentioned. Along with the expected sources, I also discovered my titles listed on a number of torrent sites. You know, piracy sites. It was like finding my book titles on the bathroom walls of cyberspace. These sites exist for all sorts of media, including music, movies, and books. Some authors I know are astounded to find on the sites even books they're giving away for free.My books are not free. They sell for the reasonable price of $2.99 and $3.99--not much when you think of the cost of even a paperback these days. And big print publishers are charging the same amount or nearly the same for e-books as they do physical books. Someone pays the price for these downloads, even so. First in line is the author. Yes we write because we want to--if money were no object would we still keep writing and perhaps do it for free? I wouldn't but I'm sure there are authors who might. Money is part of the object though. This how we earn our living. For every book, song, or movie that gets pirated, someone is out the money.
Here's something else to consider: I've also heard of people downloading more than just the object of their desire. A nasty little something can come along with that good-time download--a case of CV. Computer virus. If you're on a home network, you could end up giving that cyber-pox to your whole family or all your roommates. Don't let this happen to you, mateys! Do the right thing, pay the modest sum for a nice, clean, legitimate copy of a book. Stay out of those dark alleys on the internet and don't be tempted by those sullied, unofficial downloads.
Your computer will thank you and so will I.
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