When Piracy Turns Personal: Plagiarism.

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I'm so mad, I don't even know where to start. I wasn't sure which was worse--Piracy or Plagiarism. I'm going with plagiarism. It's one thing to steal someone's work and profit from it, but it's another thing to steal someone's work for profit AND pass their hard work, sweat, aggravation, and joy off as your own.  Every author knows exactly how difficult it is to write, edit, publish and promote a novel. Why would you steal from a fellow author? Isn't it hard enough to be a writer without turning on each other? Why the hell would you WANT to put your name to something you can't be proud of, because you didn't do it? I can't wrap my head around it.

I've seen two articles about plagiarism this week alone. Here's a link to one of them: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/28/prolific-romantic-fiction-writer-exposed-as-a-plagiarist?CMP=share_btn_tw

Worse yet, this is not the only incident I've found recently. I'm currently supporting Rachel Nunes'  GoFundMe for taking her plagiarist to court. Standing Against Plagiarism I wish I could help Ms. Nunes more. Wish I could afford to max out my Visa for her. If this happened to me, I'd sue too.

Notice she still doesn't have all the funding she needs? Notice the harassing posts she got from her antagonist? Where's her backup? As many writers as there are in the world, and we're not rallying to her rescue?

People are looking away. Too busy, financially strapped, can't be bothered...What if it happens to you? We need to start doing something, or it's going to happen more.

Collins English Dictionary defines the word 'plagiarize' as--"to appropriate (ideas, passages, etc.) from (another work or author)" Even the dictionary takes a bland attitude toward this.

When I was in elementary school, a teacher spelled it out for us. It started as a warning against cheating, but ended as a threat against plagiarism. She told us if we were ever caught doing it as an adult, the consequences would follow us for life. If you did it in college or university, you would be thrown out, and no other institute would take you. And good luck getting a job. If you did it at work, you would most certainly be fired, and would probably need a lawyer. Again, good luck getting another job. I was horrified at the thought of how that kind of thing could ruin my future, but at the same time, I had to ask, "Why would anyone do that anyway? What's the point of just copying someone else?"

I'm finding, especially lately, that originality in writing is hard to come by. I struggle to find new things to say all the time, but NOTHING could make me pass off someone else's stuff as my own. I cherish my individuality, and feel the same way about my work. I need it to be mine. I'm sure most writer's feel the same way.

Don't these people know that this is the age of the internet? The things you say and do are here FOREVER, for the world to see. Wouldn't you want your legacy to be the very best things your mind could produce? But no...Their legacy will be that of a thief. They could have written the most poignant tome of love, peace and racial harmony but no one's going to remember, because they'll be known for stealing. Yet, somehow these people don't seem to care much. Nobody seems to care that much. What's wrong with this planet? Is it just me?

Free Advertising, My Ass

Photo by: Karen Bursey, Edmonton, Alberta

     You know what is a really bad thing to say to a writer who has been pirated? "Think of the free advertising." What a stupid comment. I'm so angry I just lit a cigarette.
   
I've been told that if one person downloads it, and likes it, he might tell his friends, and THEY will buy it. And so on. You know what I think will happen? I think they'll download it for free, and then they'll tell their friends where to download free books. And so on.

When I worked as a meat manager, I constantly had to deal with shoplifters. We could never catch them all. It was a full time job. The more shoplifting that happened, the more thieves came in...we developed a reputation for being an easy target. What did these people do with our expensive steaks and roasts, the ones clearly tagged with the 'Champions Family Foods' logo? They sold them on the street. Should I call that 'free advertising?'

We GIVE e-books out. We spend hundreds of dollars on 'swag'. We do our own advertising and marketing, thank you. We don't need any help from people who distribute our work illegally.

You've read my rants about piracy before, but I've been pirated AGAIN. Over 460 copies of Thoeba went out without payment. This was after I saw this post from an author I know from Facebook. If you think I'm pissed, wait until you read this. *language warning* With her expressed permission, I give you Gracen Miller...

One pirate site…

Rockin' the Heart downloaded 1,325 times (and it just released the end of Jan 2014).
Taboo Kisses downloaded 2,219 times.
The Road to Hell series (that's ALL 3 books) downloaded 2175times.

For you selfish bastards who think this doesn't amount to much in cash, let me break it down for you.

Rockin' the Heart pirated downloads would've netted $3,312.50 in sales.
Taboo Kisses pirated downloads would've netted $5,547.50 in sales.
The Road to Hell series pirated downloads would've netted $3,632.25 in sales.
That's a GRAND TOTAL of LOST sales in the amount of $12,492.25!!!

FUCK YOU VERY MUCH YOU PIRATE THIEVES! Yes…every single one of you who downloaded a free ebook off of a pirate site—mobilism, torrent, etc. NOT Amazon, Nook, etc.—YOU ARE THIEVES!! Why don't you take a $12,492.25 pay cut…and that's just ONE pirate site. I'm so angry ATM. I'm honestly at that point where I'm about ready to say fuck it and quit writing. I didn't even make $600 off of the entire Road to Hell series in 2013, but the pirates happily stole $3Grand from me off one site for the series!

I'm livid for her, and all of us. There's been talk about putting a halt to giving out free ebooks for contests. It feels like we can't trust anyone. Some of us want to give up, myself included.  What's the point of spending all the time and money to promote our work if we get nothing out of it but grief and anguish? Would you?

Pirate Ho!

Image by: James Barker/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 I must be getting better known. Or maybe somebody considered 'Thoeba' worthy of this dubious honor. I've been pirated. Please don't tell me to feel flattered. I hate pirates and everything they stand for.

It's on a site that allows people to download HUNDREDS of books for free. And no, I'm not giving out the link. One never knows who they can trust these days.

I know a writer who recently held a contest to give away ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) on her Facebook page. I won one of them.  Before I even had a chance to find mine in my e-mail, she discovered her novel on a pirate site. It isn't even officially published yet! Now she knows that someone she gifted with a free copy of her book betrayed her kindness and generosity...

What pisses me off the most  about my situation is that 'Thoeba' is only 99 cents! Really? Are people that cheap that they aren't willing to fork out a dollar to support a writer and her independent publisher? Do they know who they're stealing from?

They are stealing from Staccato Publishing. It is a small independent publishing company owned by Heather Savage. She spends a huge amount of time and money to promote and distribute her writers. She's got a skeleton staff to help with marketing, editing, and other things like book covers. No one there can afford to do it full time. They all have other jobs, and nobody is getting rich.

And they're stealing from me. I love writing. And I'd like to make enough money doing it so my husband can quit the job that makes him miserable and maybe go to school to do something he'd love.

I believe only myself or Staccato should have the right to give out free copies for promotion. And NO ONE ELSE should profit from all our hard work.

Because you know what? When the pirates take from an author, that author wonders why they're working so hard. Why they put so many hours into their passion only to have someone else use them. And when those writers stop publishing, and the small time publishers disappear, you can all go back to buying the pricier books from bigger publishers. They can afford better lawyers.

Arrrrr! Pirates Blow.

Image by: James Barker /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Even if you hermit from social media and internet, chances are you know all about piracy.

Whether it be movies, music, photography or books we're all aware of it. When I was younger, and not a published author, it didn't bother me.

Ever buy an album because there were one or two songs you LOVED only to find that the rest of the cassette sucked? That happened to me frequently, and when Napster came out, I remember thinking it was a good idea. These big rock bands are rolling in money, right? (For the record, I never actually used Napster or sites like it. I was behind the times, and barely knew how to use the internet.)

But it wasn't just big named bands that were targeted. New bands were also victimized. Bands that invested a tremendous amount of time, money and heart into their music, only to have people just click a mouse and take it. Ouch.

Now I'm older and wiser, and worried about my own work and that of others.

I'm just using myself as an example...It takes me a YEAR to write a novel. That's just the first couple of drafts. I stress out over every word. From there, it's edits, marketing, purchasing swag, networking and making contacts, after one finds a publisher and/or an agent (a feat in itself) there's contracts and more edits.

After all this, very few of us make a living at it. And NOW we have to spend time trolling the internet looking for self-entitled jerks who sell or give away our work! I have a brand new sympathy for those short-changed by sites like Napster. And for photographers who spend thousands of dollars on equipment only to not even be credited for their work by people who aren't even aware they've stolen anything. I especially feel for us authors, because I know how much we make for our efforts.

The way I see it now, I'm glad I can buy a single song from iTunes for a mere  $1.29. Beats shelling out for a CD I don't like. Hopefully the artist will make enough money to keep making hit singles instead of getting disgusted   with the business and getting an office job.

I can download, with permission, certain images for free if I'm not using them for personal profit. Like my favorite site FreeDigitalPhotos.net (They have reasonable terms and conditions.) But if I think someone's image will sell me tons of books, then yes, I should pay the artist. If I get rich, they should too.

Hard work and talent SHOULD be rewarded. If someone makes millions, maybe it's because they deserve it.

I don't shoplift books from a bookstore, so why would I do it on-line? It would make me a hypocrite. Besides, what's five bucks compared to that of say 10 or 15 dollars for a paperback?

The internet has made it easier for all of us to get paid and to buy creativity for less. Why wouldn't we SUPPORT the work we love instead of starving the artists? Not to mention the behind the scenes people. We're talking JOBS here.

Rant over...I'd like to introduce the author who inspired this post. I love what she did here. Go Nely!

http://nelycab.blogspot.ca/2013/04/i-bill-e-book-pirates.html?spref=fb