Piracy

A reader berated me for ‘allowing’ internet sites that advertise unlicensed downloads of my work. I don’t allow it. When I notice it happening, my publishers and I will go through the procedures to have the links taken down and perhaps the whole site prosecuted.

Downloading unauthorised editions is piracy, a blatant form of theft. Sites that offer unlicensed material are stealing from authors and artists; the site owners don’t do it for altruistic reasons – they are in fact making billions through advertising revenue. Anyone who does download unlicensed files is a receiver of stolen goods. When unwitting teenagers did this with music, they and their parents were astonished to receive visits from the police. There is no reason why the same should not happen with pirated audiobooks and e-books. You have been warned.

It sounds wonderful for books etc to be made available for free. But since I write to earn my living, if I am not paid for my work, why should I write any more books?