Regarding E-Book Piracy

Thou shalt not steal.

It’s the eighth commandment in the bestselling book of all time. Stealing is wrong. No reasonable person needs an explanation beyond the simplicity of statement. Stealing is wrong.

For all the wonderful gifts the Internet has given us, it has likewise made the theft of intellectual property a common trade. Thirty years ago, a writer couldn’t have envisioned their work being made available with a few clicks on a computer, much less the threat that a novel over which they labored being exchanged at pirate or illegal download sites. However, with all the advantages the twenty-first century has given us, it has likewise opened a backroom market that makes victims of the new generation of writers.

Receiving a publishing contract for the first time is an indescribable feeling. The outlining, the planning, the self-doubt, the writing and rewriting, the feedback you’ve sought from friends and family has amounted to something, and you’re about to enter a brave new world about which you’ve only previously dreamed. Flash forward a few months. Your novel has been released to the public, and you quickly discover that while many people have the integrity to purchase your work the honest way, there are those who have such little respect for you and common decency as a whole that they buy one copy of your book, then rip your work and upload it to pirate sites. If that isn’t enough, many Internet pirates become belligerent when confronted, insisting theirs is a victimless crime or that it is their First
Amendment rights in a free society.

They couldn’t be more wrong. The First Amendment doesn't mean the freedom to steal someone else’s intellectual property. A free society doesn't mean it's OK to steal someone else's intellectual property. Stealing is stealing, whether it’s slipping an unpaid book into your bag in a bookstore or downloading an unpaid copy over the Internet. A writer’s work is copyrighted intellectual property that belongs to the writer. Many authors who are victimized by Internet theft aren’t wealthy; many writers have a day job, one that actually pays the bills and puts food on the table. Many authors struggle in a harsh economy and turn to writing as a much needed escape. After investing so much into a story, after pouring so much of oneself into an expression of creativity, the least authors expect is for readers to be
respectful of the process.

I apologize to my honest readers who have to read through this letter. Thank you sincerely to all the wonderful readers who honor authors by purchasing our work. We appreciate you.

With deep gratitude,
Rosalie Stanton