I don't usually like to blog about serious or downer subjects, but this one is getting me down. Lately my writers' loops have been filled with links to sites that upload copyrighted material and allow you to download books for free. This is stealing. Ok, maybe you don't have sympathy for the "big" publishing houses, but it's also stealing from the author, and as an author I can tell you that my writing "income" hasn't been "income" in any year--not when I was published by a big NY house, nor when I was published by a small press.
What's the difference between reading a book on line from someone's free upload or going to the library to take out a book. Well, the library had to buy a copy or several copies of a book and has a limited area of access. A book uploaded reaches the entire world...at least where you can get internet. If every library in the US bought my books to have on their shelves I would be thrilled. My book available as a free download off the internet... not so much. I spend six months working on a manuscript (sometimes longer, sometimes less). It IS work, and while I write because I love to write, you're stealing from me if you're downloading it for free. You wouldn't dream of taking somebody's painting and hanging it on your wall without paying for it. You wouldn't dream of asking a chef to cook for you for free. Why do you think it is your right to steal my books without compensation?
Of course, I'm not a big enough author to worry about free downloads, but that's not the point. The point is doing the right thing. What has happened to integrity? Is it no longer considered a virtue? Is cheating OK now? A study recently came out that showed that 64% of students have cheated on tests, 36% have plagiarized, yet 94% were satisfied with their ethics (David Crary Associated Press, December 1, 2008). Look at the fat cats CEO's bankrupting their own companies while walking away with their golden parachutes of millions of dollars. Look at the mud slinging in the latest election.
Maybe that's why I like fiction, especially genre fiction, so much. In my books, good guys win, and bad guys get their just deserts. Ahh, the Polyanna in me.
--Gabi
Books I'm reading now:
Flashback by Nevada Barr
Agnes and the Hitman by Jennfier Crusie and Bob Mayer
Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling (yes, again)
About Me
- Gabi Stevens
- A mild-mannered (hah!) romance writer with a taste for adventure and humor. And a wicked addiction to books.
2 comments:
I worry that the internet has killed publishing, with the exception of serious non-fiction. There is just too much free writing out there, and I'm contributing to it myself! I've become so used to writing in public that it's hard to imagine writing something and not putting it out there right away.
Good to catch up with you, btw. I was in election lala land for the last year or so and am finally coming back to the real world.
Actually books are doing OK, despite the lay offs at the big houses.
I'm all for the free writing if that's its intention. But a blog is different from a book. I'm against the stealing of authors' livelihoods, just as I never buy pirated movies or allowed my kids download from Napster.
Ahh, the election. Hope will out.
--Gabi
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