Are You a Book Pirate?

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I don't mean like Captain Hook or Long John Silver. I mean the book pirate who makes copies of hard copy books and original ebooks, and either sells them or makes them available on the internet for free.

People are still confused as to why this is wrong.

The truth is not many writers are able to support themselves solely by writing, which means most writers have another job.

Why should you care?

Well, let's say you happen upon a terrific book and you're delighted that it's going to be a series. But, oh man—it ends with a cliffhanger and you'll have to WAIT for months or even the next year for the sequel.

Wouldn't it be great if your favorite author wrote faster?

I'm sure they would love that too. But when they don't make enough revenue from book sales to write full time they may only get to work on their novels on the weekend, which means the book you're waiting for will take even LONGER to get on the shelf.

So book pirating affects readers...everywhere.

Still confused? Have you ever said this...

#1. "It doesn't matter if I copy this published book on my blog/tumblr/facebook page for free because the author is super rich."

It's not only the author who is losing revenue. The publisher, the editor, the people who design book covers, and most importantly the local bookstore are all losing out too.

Pirated books don't count in sales figures.

Publishers like to use these numbers to forecast what kinds of books people are buying to help them mainstream which authors/genres they should spotlight. If you're reading pirated books, you're decreasing the chance of another author (probably someone who has written a story you'd love) from getting a book deal.

#2. "It's not illegal. I'm not making any money."

Actually it is illegal. And why should you make money from something you had no hand in creating?

#3. "It's posted for free on the author's website so it's not book pirating."

Sorry, wrong again. Anything that anyone writes is copyrighted by law. Unless you have written permission from the author to post their work on your site, then you're a book pirate.

#4. "Authors should be lucky anyone is reading their book."

If that's how you truly feel, you've missed the whole point of reading the book.

#5.  "I can't afford to buy the book and the waiting list at the library is too long."

Perhaps this would be a good time for you to join a book club. The thing about book clubs is that a lot of members OWN books. Chances are someone in your school has a copy of that very book you're dying to read.

And guess what? Maybe you'll meet someone who loves books as much as you, and then you'll start your own book review blog. And before you know it publishers are contacting you to do reviews and sending you ARCs...for FREE! Then you can have contests so that other people (just like you) can read books for free without pirating.

I know most people who pirate books won't be swayed by this post, but I'm hoping there's at least one person who gets this and will make the decision to stop pirating. I hope that person is you.

And who says you can't read an amazing book for FREE?

Check out Wattpad for oodles of genres and even previews and contests from famous authors. If you're not on there, you should go...like right now. While you're there, check out NIGHT SHIFT.

Congratulations! You made it to the end of this post. Please enjoy this memorable scene from one of my favorite pirates.