I received the shock of my life (hyperbole…sort of) today when I learned through one of the groups on Goodreads that my books have been pirated. I’m too chicken to check on all of the sites, but the one I looked at indicated my books have been downloaded thousands of times. Trust me, I haven’t seen any of the royalties.

Makes me sick to my stomach. I spent months crafting a story, losing sleep, skipping meals, and someone is taking advantage of my hard work.

Granted, I made a mistake when I published on Amazon not to activate DRM (Digital Rights Management)– all new to me, because I wanted my readers to be able to share with their friends. I didn’t expect them to upload my work on some random site so that strangers can access it for free.

I’m so angry and disappointed. Now I understand why new authors give up. The deck is stacked against us because there are too many scammers willing to cheat us.

Thank you for hearing me vent. I don’t have any recourse, but I’m asking readers everywhere to think twice before you download something for free that isn’t offered explicitly by the author. I’ve never pirated a movie or book– I’ve borrowed plenty from friends and the library– because I respect the people who put their blood and sweat into their work.

CC out… going to have some ice cream and think about what I need to do.