I think one of the best points Diana made, moral and legal implications aside, is that by stealing our work, they're putting us out of work because we only continue to get published if our sales are good enough. I'm struggling to be a self-supporting writer. as it stands now, I'm a self-supplementing writer. I still have to have my income from my other job.

Digital has certainly dichotomized online ethics. Those who wouldn't think of taking even a stick of gum in real life without permission download without a hint of conscience. Diana's message--and you, Barbara, bringing it to a wider audience's attention--humanize the dilemma by putting a real face to it. Dave Diotalevi author of MIRACLE MYX www.myspace.com/davediotalevi wheresmyx.blogspot.com/

"I couldn't find it" is always such a flimsy excuse. Well, how hard did you look? Bookstores in India can't special-order books? There's not a single copy on Amazon, ebay, or any other site for sale? (Yes, I know ebay isn't ideal as the author won't get the sale, but it beats 200 illegal downloads.) Heck, did she try emailing the author? I get this kind of excuse from my students all the time. It usually means "It wasn't right where I could get it without any effort on my part, so I just downloaded it off the internet." Sheesh.

I read this with interest. As a writer who is trying to get started, this educated me to one more thing that might make a difference in my level of success. Besides having these sites shut down, what other recourse do copyright holders have? Can the IP addresses of people who steal the work be tracked?

I can't believe people would do something like that...okay...nevermind...i can...there's idiots all over the place. I love books and some of the only way i can get them is through e-publishers...I don't want that to go away just because someone else decides to steal them...Heck my laptop crashed with all my fave e-books on it (i know...stupid me for not backing those up) and I had to re-purchase all of them...needless to say...i won't make the same mistake again. But sheesh! i'm a religious Barnes and Noble online shopper! Come on folks...there's no reason you CAN"T find a book....you just have to LOOK!!!!

I can't believe people would do something like that...okay...nevermind...i can...there's idiots all over the place. I love books and some of the only way i can get them is through e-publishers...I don't want that to go away just because someone else decides to steal them...Heck my laptop crashed with all my fave e-books on it (i know...stupid me for not backing those up) and I had to re-purchase all of them...needless to say...i won't make the same mistake again. But sheesh! i'm a religious Barnes and Noble online shopper! Come on folks...there's no reason you CAN"T find a book....you just have to LOOK!!!!

I just had to laugh at the "I can't find it" excuse and the surprise at such an answer. I see it on a daily basis. If I'm too busy to take someone by the hand and show them EXACTLY where something is in our store I will give them very specific directions and they will still just stand there with a vacant look. I actually had a man say "So you expect me to go LOOK for this?" when I wasn't able to just pull the book he requested out of my ear. It doesn't bother me with an obscure title or a gray-area genre, but it does on something as simple as, say, "To Kill A Mockingbird". And it happens all too frequently. And they don't just steal on the internet, they steal right off the shelf, too.

Nothing is sacred anymore.

Nothing is sacred anymore.

Writers, most of whom are juggling day jobs and taking care of their families on top of finding writing time, are now in the position of also notifying their publishers when they discover their books are being downloaded for free. If they don't, the free downloads will affect their sales numbers, which if too low will affect whether or not they get another book contract. Thank you for posting this blog because it's a step toward educating readers what the real story is behind the ones they're downloading for free.

But then, Paulo Coelho isn't complaining. He credits "sharinging" with boosting his sales magnificently in Russia, for instance. I'm not justifying people downloading copies against the author's wishes. I don't think they should. It should be up to Diana Holquist to decide, but I can't help thinking that instead of striking up a conversation with this woman and finding out what the barriers are to the reader getting her books in India, she's alienating a woman who loves her work and who could have been spreading word of mouth to all her friends. Why isn't Diana telling this customer where she can get a legal, reasonably priced download if she wants an ebook? Most consumers don't even want to read the ebook. Really. When was the last time you heard anyone say "Oh, I just love reading novels on my computer." Realistically, I'm thrilled to see so many publishers and big name authors moving in the right direction: giving books away. HarperCollins is offering their full-access program now, Tor is offering free downloads via email, and Baen has been offering free ebooks from some of their authors for years. I'm so glad that the book industry seems to be embracing technology and using it to find a way to connect to readers rather than treating them like a commodity to squeeze every last penny out of like the music and movie industry, suing dead grandmothers and the like. Just thought I'd throw in a little bit of alternate viewpoint for you. :)

That should be "sharing" in my previous post. My fingers must have stuttered. :)

I've brought this up more than once on my own blog. I've shared your link Barbara. It's bad enough I don't make enough to fill a tank of gas, but to know that people are more willing to steal then to pay for honest, hard, sweat and tears work.... It just infuriates me. I pay for my books. What makes me different from any other reader? Maybe it's effort as was mentioned. I don't mind doing the legitmate roads to find what I want. I guess easy overrides legitimate in today's world.

I have no sympathy at all for the author. After all, she wrote a book about me without my permission! :-)

Make sure you publishers has the proper security measures in place so this doesn't happen. I hate when old people can't figure out technology and feel like all the young folks are ripping them off. Makes me laugh.

e-books, aren't books, they are text files. and once you have put one ANYWHERE on the net you take your chances about what happens to it. suck it up. the large portion of people are honest, the few who aren't don't add up to much. if you think that copyright piracy is taking money out of your wallet....DON'T MAKE YOUR WORK AVAILABLE ON INTERNET.

I agree and understand all said, but this situation with the publisher and numbers isn't necessarily an e-book/stealing problem. It has some effect, but mostly it is the archiac method that publishers continue to practice in printing tens of thousands of books, consigning them to a book store, then allowing a book store to rip the cover off, trash the rest of the book and recieve a refund. If there wasn't so much waste when we have so many more modern methods of dealing with printing and meeting the demands of readers that number crunch that puts so many authors out of the business wouldn't be so do or die. The threshold of making back money expended wouldn't be as high either. Just food for thought. There's many things that need to change in the publishing industry and e-pub is a problem, but it is a very small problem when looking at the big picture. And believe me, I am small potato enough that EVERY single book that I sell makes a HUGE difference for me and my future and I am totally sympathetic over the e-book situation. But its like trying to plug a pencil whole when an iceberg has ripped the hull off.

Since the book was available as an e-book, after all, that was what was posted and copied, then that person didn't even try to find it. She could have paid for and downloaded the just like anyone else.

Stealing is stealing people. Don't try to justify it. No gray areas here.

Ha! You're too funny, Jeff. Seriously, this is something the music and movie industries are struggling with too, and probably why we are seeing more proprietary products.

Thanks, Barbara for spreading the word. A couple of responses: 1) Copies of books that aren't made available on-line by publishers or authors are being scanned and posted anyway. On most of these sites, there is a "donate" button you can hit to "donate" to the folks who are scanning and posting the books. Lucky them! This is big business--just not for the folks who wrote or produced the books. 2)Giving away endless free copies of my book as promo may or may not make people pay for my work next time. But if I got a free copy the first time around, why would I pay for the next copy? I don't buy it. Good luck to Paulo C. 3) I don't think I alienated a "fan." We had a very civil, calm discussion. I did point out where she could download my book legally. But I can't have a conversation with each of the other 200 people who downloaded the book off that one site in one week before my publisher got it taken down. This is a tricky business and believe me, I think that the present publishing model is over and done as a lot of you have suggested. I'm not THAT old. The question we all should be asking is what to do next? What's the new model? How can we get the best books to the most people? Taking them free won't do it--because if authors don't get paid, they won't be able to produce books. I don't get the part where people who expect a free book will then buy the next book. Why? True, today, e-book readers aren't so good. But they'll get better and better. And then what? Is there a future for print books? I don't know the answers, but I'm glad we're at least having the discussion. --Diana

This doesn't surprise me. Just a few months ago I had a friend try and tell me that copyright didn't exist on the internet, and that with "regular" book publishing it was only a maximum of three years. People just don't realize what copyright is, how it works and exactly what it means when they violate it.