So, there I am minding my own business when approached by a stranger (who obviously knew me). She told me she’d read and loved all my books, loving them even more as they were free.
‘Free?’ I enquired. ‘I don’t think my books are ever free.’
‘Let me show you where I get all my favourite author books,’ she said and proceeded to search on her iPhone.
And there they were – FREE to download in PDF format.
My first mistake was to let her know (politely) that she was using a pirate site. Her expression was…Well, she was mortified.
My second mistake was trying to make her feel better by acknowledging that some pirate sites can be very clever with the wording to make it appear they are ‘doing the right thing’ by the copyright holder.
Foolishly, I went on the say the pirates are the only ones who make money from such sites. (The lady was older, so my rabbiting on about online affiliate advertising that some sites use to make their money was lost on her. Not so when I added (breathless by now) that her personal details, used to log on and acquire books, including her computer details, will have been sold on to unlimited third parties by now, again providing the pirate people with money.
My third mistake was asking a rather simple question, ‘Why would anyone run a website of free books if not to make money?’
Three strikes and I was definitely out of favour.
That was when she swore at me (yes, she was older but she knew some words) and threatened to go home and give me one-star reviews. (I’m not sure pirate sites have review opportunities so I gather it will be Amazon or Goodreads, or some other official site.)
So I came home and searched, and yes my books are listed on several pirate sites. People are downloading my books every day and I’m not getting a cent. In Ms Mad Pants’ defence, the clever wording the site did look realistic (if you ignore their grammar and punctuation).
Sample of PIRATE SITE wording (with their poor spelling and grammar):
We do not intend to support illegal activity. (But they do) We uses Search API to find the overview of books over the internet, but we dont [sic] host any files. (But they do keep your personal and IP address details on a database to sell on to more cyber criminals). All document files is the property of their respective owners, please respect the publisher and the author for their copyrighted creations. (They are putting the legal onus on you.) If you find documents that should not be here please report them. (And, of course, there is no link for reporting on their site.)
So, please, if you want a free book, borrow from a friend, or better still consider your local library (yes, authors are paid each time a book is borrowed). And if you know someone who downloads free books, be a friend and let them know it’s wrong and it’s risky. They may not even realise.
On second thoughts, maybe don’t. Instead, take a moment to go to your favourite author’s book (a.k.a mine!) online and give it a genuine star rating or a review. Every one helps.
Rate My books on Amazon
Rate my books on Kobo
Rate my books on iTunes
or
I’m a library lover. Are you?