I’ve been up since 7 am this morning, worked all day and then went to my night job and worked all night. I am just getting home at midnight. I’m exhausted and I’m furious. It was brought to my attention via one of my author groups that What You See has been placed, without my permission of course, on a pirate download site.
I wasn’t expecting this of course but then again what writer does? I knew it was a possibility as many things are in this business. I’m sort of annoyed with myself for not addressing this topic until now and it needs to be addressed. I’m still awake and it’s into the wee hours of the morning as I work to take measures to discover other incidents of infringement that I’ll have to deal with.
People, do I really need to tell you how wrong piracy is in any shape or form? Not to mention being monumentally insulting. It’s like saying, “I don’t give a rat’s ass that you poured your blood, sweat and tears into this story/book in the hopes of entertaining me. I’m going to steal it anyway.” No, I don’t believe I need to tell you. Others have already made the case succinctly and I feel there isn’t much more I can add. And no it’s not “free advertising” in this case. Are you really going to buy an original story if you can get it for free?
I’m also researching various sites and blogs with information on how to handle and combat piracy. If I have a few links I’ll post them later. I am trying to remain professional about this. It isn’t easy when my first thought is to completely go off on people. I’m doing this post so I can get some of the anger and frustration out of my system. For me, writing what I feel has always worked when I’m totally pissed about something and need to get my thoughts in order so I can handle the situation in a calm and logical manner.
So now I’ll try and get some sleep and work on this further in the morning or in this case, later on today. And please remember to support all the writers who work so hard to entertain you by legally purchasing their stories and books. And you know what else? If you see an instance of piracy, drop the author a line and let them know. Seriously, we’ll really appreciate it.
Peace.
CJ Black
