Piracy. I knew it was rampant in the music biz. I sympathize. So, I've always been careful to avoid the "burning a copy" moral dilemma. I believe strongly in the rights of creative artists to earn a living from the sale of their work, so I've always purchased my music, books, and software. Even when friends shook their heads at me for being so naive.I never honestly thought that there was much danger that my work would be pirated and sold , much less just given away. I mean, many of my books are long. . . 120,000 to 150,000 words! That's one big-assed file. Who would take the time and put in the effort to scan one of my tomes and then sit forever at the computer to upload it? And who would want it enough to tie up their computer for however long it would take to download. . . much less want to READ it at a computer monitor? It all sounded a little improbable to me. So I didn't take piracy too seriously.
Until yesterday. When I went to a web site and downloaded one of my early historicals --totally free and without signing my name or joining anything-- in all of 7 seconds! 130,000 words in 7 seconds! It's on my computer now! I'm flabbergasted.
I'm also furious. I chose the flag symbol shown here because it's truer to the real spirit of piracy than the traditional "Jolly Roger." There is nothing "jolly" about stealing another person's livelihood.
I was alerted to the site "ipmart" by other writers on a loop I've just joined. One of the writers in the group googled her books and found them on this site. . . uploaded in entirety and available gratis to any and everyone who wanted them. As an anonymous user I was able to find and download my book. But to make full use of the site, the viewer is required to register (free). The site makes available movies, songs, cd's, and books. . . the gamut of creative publishing. And they have forums and boards to discuss some of the works. . . where chat is limited but very ordinary. A bit surprising to find them so affable and even admiring of the works they're stealing. Evil sometimes does have a very respectable face.
And you may think that "evil" is a strong word to use in connection with just uploading a few favorite books or songs. But it's the proverbial slippery slope, folks. This is just one site out of who knows how many! How long will it be before all of our works are available through pirated sites on the web? With the proliferation of hand-held "readers," how long can it be before lots of people are downloading our books free and ignoring the trip to the bookstore. Yes, we still have a lot of readers who cherish the experience of the paper-and-ink book. . . but books sales are declining. . . as are print runs. . . and advances and pay-outs. If the situation isn't corrected and soon, how long will it be before making a living as a writer, film-maker, musician will be difficult, if not impossible?
One of the writers on the loop said that her February '08 release was posted on the "ipmart" site only days after it's release. Days, folks. This is not deep backlist, we're talking about. This is current, I-need-the-advance-to-pay-bills publishing.
Want to see if your books are there? The best way is to google "ipmart" and the title of your book. Or your name. See what comes up. I'm curious-- hurry and do it and report back. Apparently Harlequin has a special e-mail address that is used to report piracy:
mailto:Report_Piracy@Harlequin.ca (There's a shift/dash between report and piracy.)
I don't know if other publishers have such a reporting system, but it might pay us to all contact our publishers and ask. . . and point them to the "ipmart" site.
Meanwhile, have any of you had experience with pirating before? Clue us in! What do you think the future holds? Will copyright go the way of the dinosaurs? Will storytellers all be back to "strolling minstrel" status before long? Dependent on the good graces of the uber-rich?
