If you happen to be friends with an indie Author, or love reading, your news feed has probably blown up as of late about the issue of pirating illegal copies of pirated e-books. There are videos, petitions to sign, pleas and shot outs. One author is going so far as to remove her e-books all together from the market and only sell paperbacks in protest!
That said, let me throw my 2 cents into the ocean of comments on the subject, since my books, too, are being pirated. My guess is that the majority who read this will have never pirated a book before. But on the off hand that you have, you may have thought, it’s only a couple bucks, surely the author can afford to loose that? Guess what? I can’t. I need that two bucks. For the most part, Indie Authors are NOT rich. They are struggling to pay their bills just like the rest of you. They poor their hearts and souls into their work in hopes that it will move someone. That two bucks helps to fund future books. Allows us Indie Authors the ability to pay those bills so we can keep writing the books people want to read.
So then, how can YOU, yes YOU stop pirating?
Buy the book from a legit source!
Not sure if the site is legit? Don’t buy from there. Heck, contact the author on facebook, ask them where to buy your book legally. You’d be sure to grab the authors respect and perhaps even a new friend.
For the record, my e-books are only available on Amazon and Nook. If you find them elsewhere and buy them, I don’t get the money. Some low-life jerk does. Don’t feed the jerks. Feed the Indie Authors.
Danielle Bannister
Danielle Bannister, Author 
Brave. Well said, my dear.
I must admit that I have pirated one or two books in the past. My bad. This is so emotional. I vow to never pirate again 😦
I’m proud of you for admitting that. Many wouldn’t, nor would they understand the impact it has on an author when books are pirated. Thank you for not going the pirate route anymore. You rock!