A Letter to Book Pirates - Please Stop (For Your Own Sake)!

Dear Book Pirate, My point can be summed up in two words - Please Stop!

I don't know how you came to realize my book existed. It has been out for less than a month, and it is not even available in all retail outlets. I'm a first-time author. This book is a novella. It was published by a small-press ePublisher. Considering it is a post apocalyptic erotic zombie romance based on a fairy tale, I would say the genre is pretty darn niche.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered what you were doing.

I wrote Tower in the Woods while working close to 50 hours a week and adjusting to life in a rather dangerous place. For over three months, instead of turning on the TV or Xbox when I got home, I turned on my laptop. I wrote every weekend, after work every day, and I even snuck in writing spurts while sitting in an FAV to meet people at the airport. Once I was done, my publisher paid a number of people to make my manuscript better - readers, a copy editor, line editor, and cover artist. Then we spent a great deal of time trying to get the book reviewed so potential buyers can make an informed purchasing decision.

Do you want to read the sequel? Do you want to read my next books? Do you want quality works of fiction and non-fiction to exist at all? Please understand--authors, editors, publishers and cover artists need to make a living. The only way we can recoup the time and effort spent on this book is by selling it. Most ebooks (including mine) are priced less than a Frapuccino at Starbucks, and they give many more hours of enjoyment.

One day, I would like to be able to write full-time. Heck, I'll take part-time over sneaking in writing moments whenever I can. Maybe then, I will have the energy to write a full-length novel. I would also like to have multiple books out in a year instead of one or two. It will never be economically possible if you, book pirate, do not let me sell my book in peace.

You don't think my book is worth $3.99 (occasionally on sale for $2.99)? That's fine. Don't buy it. But please do not buy it once and post it online for other people to download for free. Please do not try to obtain it illegally for free. I'm not discussing morality or ethics here, just pure self-interest. Apply this rule - if everyone chooses to pirate books instead of buying them, then authors will not write books, editors won't be able to make a living, and publishers won't make the investment. In short, you won't have anything worth reading to pirate.

For your own sake, please stop!

Very Angrily Yours,

Tara