An Open Letter to those who d/l pirated ebooks

[lagilman]

People who have publicly thanked the person who uploaded my story collection - which means they're in possession of stolen property, willfully and knowingly:

scottanderson13
sherany9512

That's of the 14 (so far) who have downloaded a pirated copy from the torrent feed -- just one feed. I know there are more.

I kept the price of this collection under $5 intentionally. I didn't think anyone should have to pay more than that. From the comments on all the e-book formats, it seemed like a more-than-fair price.

3.99 x 14 = $55.86. In less than a week. Straight out of my pocket. Not a publishers' -- mine.

I don't expect any of these people to send me the $3.99 they owe me. That, after all, would require them to acknowledge that someone actually put work the stories they're so enjoying [both the writing and the production thereof]. If you know them, tho, you might suggest that they take a fiver and send it to their local food bank. That way, they can still feel the thrill of getting something for free, but actually do something good to even out their karma.

Pirates will upload. That's how they get their thrills. We make a decision to download... or not.

[I'm not going to suggest the person who uploaded it do anything, because clearly they don't give a fuck about anything other than doing something they're not supposed to. And if you don't outgrow that by the time you're ten, you're never going to actually get a clue.]


If you are interested in buying a copy legally, it's available via Smashwords. If you can't manage it, or like hardcopy, some of the stories are available in anthologies you can find via your local library, no additional cost to you.

Comments

[ex-fashioni.livejournal.com]

Douchenozzles.

[lagilman]

You're so articulate. You otta be a writer. '-)

[ex-fashioni.livejournal.com]

*snerk*

I like to think of it as an economy of words. As in, they're not worth more than one compound word.

I'm not even sure a donation to a food bank evens out their karma, y'know?

[lagilman]

I'm not even sure a donation to a food bank evens out their karma, y'know?

I'm actually good with it, on this project. It was as much an experiment as anything else (sadly, one that seems to be proving my misgivings more than my hopes, but I'm giving it 6 months for a valid trial).

[blitheringpooks.livejournal.com]

Does it say who uploaded it to begin with? I'm thinking of linking this to facebook with

scottanderson13
sherany9512

named before the link. I'd had to leave out somebody deserving.

[lagilman]

I'd rather you didn't link it, thanks anyway.

[blitheringpooks.livejournal.com]

Okay, no prob.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

There's another side of it, too, that you didn't mention.

This behavior makes it highly likely that there will be no more work from this author to download, free or otherwise--either because the author so objects to the theft that she declines to repeat the experiment, or because she has lost so much money that she can no longer afford to write fiction--she's having to find other ways of making a living, and those leave no time for "hobbies."

[lagilman]

oh, I've gone on about that before... and I've gotten the "well, someone else will come along" response.

[eldestmuse.livejournal.com]

So something good can come of this, I did purchase the collection and look forward to reading it the next time I'm somewhere reading my Kindle :)

[lagilman]

:-)

I just wish I could just appreciate the folk who've let me know they've bought/enjoyed it, and forget about the folk who flunked social behavior 101...

[eeknight.livejournal.com]

I love the internet, but Lord, it is the greatest boon to jackassery in the history of civilization, isn't it?

[lagilman]

any time I doubt that, I go read the comments section of any major online newspaper...

[it is, of course, the whole "on the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog an ass" syndrome.)

[lagilman]

There are a lot of people out there who really see nothing wrong with ripping off a publisher (see: dancinghorse's explanation of why that is Bad, if anyone reading this is still confused about that). What mordantly amuses me is when there is no Big Bad Publisher in the way, it's direct from the author to the reader, and they still fall back on a variant of that excuse...

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

People will be idiots!