Stealing My Heart Anthology against Ebooks Piracy

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Recently I received a new policy from one of the ebook publishers who list me as official reviewer. Basically, after trying in many way to prosecute the users and the sites that illegally share ebook, they are now focusing on a much smaller group: people who obtain and upload the files. They have been made aware that some review sites may be lax with in-house file sharing policies. The pirate sites have a sort of ongoing contest to see who is the best at getting any new or requested book and posters work hard to maintain their status.

So now they will prosecute the reviewer who happens to be the first owner of the shared ebook. GOOD! Personally I have no problem at all with that, I'm the only reviewer on my LiveJournal and I don't share my ebooks if not, for example, with the Rainbow Awards, when I was authorized by the authors/publishers to send the ebook to the judges who had to read it. But I send ONLY the ebook they had to read not ALL the ebooks to ALL the judges.

I think that, if someone pays for the ebook, he will less likely share it. Sorry, but I don't believe in the absolute generosity of people, and yes, it can happen that someone sends an ebook to a friend, if he knows that his friend can't afford the price, or if maybe he thinks that his friend will like the ebook, but this is, in a way, a good thing (I hope, please don’t kill me): probably that friend will like the ebook, and he will buy the following ebooks from the same author, and he will spread the word on how good the ebooks are and so on. But we really believe that there are out there people really spending their money on ebooks only to be the first to upload them in an ebook pirate site? Mmm, I don't think so. I believe that people who do that are, for the majority of cases, people that, from the beginning, received that ebook for free.

At the beginning I was buying all the ebooks I read; then it was becoming impossible and I asked to some well-known publishers if they could list me as official reviewers. Many of them did, and I’m pretty open to that, I put a disclaimer on my sidebar stating it. But most of the ebooks from small or new publishers/authors and almost all the print books I read, I buy by myself. I’m associated with two referrals programs, and the resulting fees from both of those programs are spent in books. I’m quite “jealous” of both my ebooks than print books, I like when they are pretty, and I archive them like in a real library, with all the details to categorize them. If I notice that an ebook is lonely on its archiving “niche”, I browse the net to find similar ebooks to give it company… yes, I do that, like I also buy all the backlog booklist of an author I like or I try to complete the series I started. So see, for me it would be unconceivable to “give away” my ebooks!

So I’m totally supporting the new anthology against piracy that Total-e-Bound is releasing, and I interviewed D.J. Manly on the matter.

1) When I was attending Yaoi Con 2008 I went to a panel of an author who was speaking of how the publishing world changed with the introduction of ebooks. She saw the pirating of ebooks as a "necessary" evil, to be able to reach more readers. She was almost resigned. What is your goal in being part of this Anthology?

E-books are given away everyday for promotional purposes. Authors and publishers run contests and readers can win a free copy of a book. And if authors/publishers want to promote a writer by offering one of their books for a free download, that's a great idea, especially when the author is unknown. However, the key here is that the publisher and the writer willingly commit to give their book away. They know they will not receive any payment for this work, and that hopefully it will inspire readers to purchase this authors work in the future.

If this author you speak of believes that allowing thousands of people to help themselves to free copies of an author's work is a good promotional tool, forgive me, but she is in the wrong business.

When I started writing for the ebook market years ago, people told me "you're not really published." I had books published with other publishers in paperback, but I continued to write for the electronic market because I saw the future. Ebooks are capturing more and more of the publishing market everyday. The so called "big boys and girls" of the publishing world are now hopping on the band wagon and taking electronic books seriously. E-readers are making ebooks more and more attractive, and the price makes reading material more accessible to everyone, not to mention the benefits to the environment. People who poked fun at me years ago no longer laugh. Ebooks have arrived.

People argue that it's normal to share a book, pass it on to a friend but when you illegally upload a book you've read to a site where thousands of people can download that book for free, you are committing an illegal act. It is the same as photocopying an author's book a thousand times and passing it on. Normally you don't stand on a street corner and pass on copies of a person's book to total strangers. But it's easy to transfer a file on the net, but just because it's easy, doesn't make it right.

The internet is not free, as some people like to argue. It is a market place. We pay to connect to the net and we pay for products we wish to purchase. The production of ebooks may be less expensive than paperback, but the publisher still has to operate a website, pay for editing, cover art. These people involved in the process need to make a living somehow.

Some people write for fun, for the pure pleasure of it. They have no intention to making their living from writing. It's a hobby. You can go to many sites on the net to find free stories to read. There's nothing wrong with that.

However, some people write as a vocation, a career. That's what they do. It's their job. They buy groceries, pay their mortgage, and feed their children from the royalties they receive. So when someone illegally downloads a copyrighted book, they rob the author of his/her livelihood, perhaps force the writer to find another job, write less, or give up writing all together. Dreams are destroyed and potential is wasted.

The argument is often made that people who illegally download your work wouldn't actually buy it any way so it's not really taking money away from anyone.

I have two things to say to that. First, illegal downloading is grossly unfair to those people who do buy your books. I have readers who are horrified by the idea that someone would steal one of my books. They appreciate how hard I work, the effort and the passion that goes into my work. They spend their money to read me. It's not fair to them. And also, some readers may eventually ask themselves why am I paying for it when some of getting it for free? It's a legitimate question.

Secondly, when I go to these pirate sites and I see download requests for my books, with comments like, "I have to read this," "and I can't wait," "and I love this author," well, this indicates to me that if these sites didn't exist, they would buy my work. If they love my work so much, I assume they'd fork over the few dollars my books costs to read them. My job is to make my books so good that people will buy them. If you really want to see a movie at the theatre, you don't think twice about paying for it. You pay to be entertained. A good book serves the same function. It takes you away, gives you pleasure.

Promotion is one thing, theft is another. The ticket agent is not going to let you into the show for free. Because people can steal something does that mean they shouldn't think about the consequences of what they are doing?



2) I worriedly read that some authors are claiming they will no more publish in ebooks to avoid the pirating issue. I live abroad, and the shipping costs are too high to allow me to buy all the books I'd like to read. I have even bought ebooks at a higher price of a same second-hand print version to avoid shipping cost. Is this anthology a sign that the authors involved are not considering to shut down ebooks as solution?

If you mean, would I ever stop writing for the ebook market, my answer would depend heavily on whether I stop making money from it or not. There are a lot of myths out there. One is that ebook authors don't make very much money, so, it's not a big deal. Some ebook authors live off their royalties. It is their main job. If there came a time when the illegal downloading of my work grew to such an extent that publishing ebooks wasn't worth the effort, I would stop. And that's why we need to raise awareness because that way illegal downloading will decrease, and the chances that authors can continue to write will increase.

Just to tell you, I run a business five days a week. I write every weekend and during any time I have off in the summers. I have no free time. And I must produce and produce in order to make enough money to even convince myself it's worth it. I see my work being illegally downloaded everyday. That hurts. It does "steal my heart". Writing is a big sacrifice. Unless you have ever written a book, you can't know what it takes. Carpal tunnel syndrome, bloodshot eyes, cramped muscles, and lack of sleep to name a few of the 'rewards' writing brings.

Then there is the editing process and the contracts, and the cover art approval, and dealing with readers and promotion. We wouldn't do it if we didn't love it but to see our income dwindling while people are downloading one after another copy of our books is enough to make us think twice about doing this job. I might as well write for free and do away with deadlines and all the rest of it. But I can't write for free. I don't have that luxury.

If you really love an author, then keep him/her in their chairs and support their work. There have been times when I've asked myself why I bother? If I am that disrespected by the people who claim to "love me", that truly makes me question why I set myself up for the pain. I guess I do it for those who love and support me. And I never take these readers for granted.



3) Would you like to tell us what you can do, as an author, when you stumble upon a site that is pirating your work?

Well, I can email these sites and ask them to take down my work. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. But you'd have to do this all the time, and I don't have the time to constantly check to see if my work is being stolen. People write me and tell me and sometimes I just don't have the energy. My book comes down one day, and is back up the next. For these people, it is almost a religion to see how many books they can steal in a day.

We are at the stage now that the music companies were at a few years back. It is a frustrating stage to be in.

That's why we hope this anthology will be supported by everyone. One purchase is a great contribution to the cause. We want to make people aware, that's all. And I have no idea why it's such a touchy subject. It's common sense to me, as an author. I produce, I work, and so I deserve compensation for that, just like any one who works and collects a salary. I have to pay my bills, I have to live, so if I can't do that writing, I must take time away from writing and do something that does pay.

It's a mystery to me why anyone would oppose payment for labour. I've had all kinds of negative reactions from people, and it boggles the mind. How dare I as an author complain because people are reading my work for free? So if some people think what we are doing is wrong because they want access to my work for free, so be it. But I don't write for free. I wish I could. I wish I was independently wealthy and could share my work with the world, but the bottom line is, if I don't get paid, I won't be able to write. And people who pay for my work deserve to know that no one is reading me for free. It's just not fair to anyone.

Finally, I'd like to thank you Elisa for this interview and also to thank various people for their contribution. First of all, my great thanks goes to Claire Siemaszkiewicz, the publisher over at Total-E-Bound. She has been a great support since this project was proposed. Currently, Total-E-Bound is working on a solution that supports authors in tracking copyrighted material.

I'd also like to personally thank Adam Killian, who donated the beautiful image which graces the cover of the anthology "Stealing My Heart."

Finally, I would like to thank the authors who participated in this anthology. Stephani Hecht, Jambrea Jo Jones, A.J. Llewellyn, Carol Lynne, Jamie Samms, and Serena Yates. All proceeds from the anthology will go towards increasing awareness of eBook piracy.

Thanks

DJ Manly

Stealing My Heart with stories by Carol Lynne, D.J. Manly, A.J. Llewellyn, Jaime Samms, Jambrea Jo Jones, Stephani Hecht, Serena Yates

Be it in another time, another dimension, or another world, the authors of the Stealing My Heart Anthology will take you away to a world where male/male love and passion reign.

Stephani Hecht, Jambrea Jo Jones, A.J. Llewellyn and D.J. Manly, Carol Lynne, Jaime Samms, and Serena Yates, have all contributed their talents and their time to make this exciting contribution to male/male erotic romance.

All proceeds will go to help fight illegal e-Book downloading. Thank you, and enjoy!

http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=719