While casually scrolling through Threads, I noticed a recurring theme. A pirating site was taken down, and there were equal amounts of venting on each side. One side wanted the free book sites to continue. The authors were angry that their works were being given away for free.
So I took a look. And yes, all three of my novels were on that site. Then I continued to look. And found more sites that contained all of my novels. Stolen. Given away for free without my permission.
First There’s The Anger…
How do I reconcile the emotional need—or whatever this is that lives inside me—with the stark reality that all of my words are stolen on a regular basis? AND I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT AI HERE, so purists please don’t get your knickers in a twist. I have three books published to date, three more in process, and a very long list of other topics that have been brainstormed and are ready to be fleshed out. Given how often thieves steal my work, I question whether I should continue publishing.
A large following on Threads attributes the stolen work on the sites to someone inside Amazon, since authors upload their books specifically (and only) to the behemoth’s site and discover their books on pirate sites within hours. Something similar happened to one of the artists on Substack.
“Well, all art is stolen,” you say. And that might be. But it doesn’t make the emotional impact of seeing my YEARS of hard work sitting there on pirated sites across the world. There are twenty sites I’ve identified so far, and I bet there are dozens, even hundreds or thousands, more. I was so nauseous that I couldn’t continue searching.
Everyone Does It
“Well, everyone does it.” That doesn’t make it right. How angry I was to discover that Mel Robbins swiped the idea of The Let Them Theory,1 never acknowledging that it came from another person, let alone giving that person credit.2 Or part of the money made from the book. Theft is everywhere in all forms. And now it’s happened to me.
What is the solution?
I don’t believe there is one singularly effective solution right now. So far, it isn’t "take down" letters and apps, such as MUSO, charging to have the books removed.3 My wallet is a testament to that inefficiency. Reporting to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center? I doubt that will work either, but I’ll try. Someone suggested other apps: Pirat.io, and BookDefender.
Will it work? Who knows. I’ve dutifully copyrighted each book, but unless I want to hire a lawyer to get them taken down, the certificates aren’t worth much at this point. And they are U.S. certificates, not applicable in other countries, even with the Berne Convention’s proof of authorship. If any lawyer out there wants to correct me, feel free.
Posting to the site's host and registrar is a solution, since many are based in the U.S. Pulling a site’s hosting would be a faster (and affect more than me) solution than pulling my info from the site. Yet I’m quite sure many of them aren't hosted in the U.S. I didn’t get far enough down this rabbit hole.
Is There a Technical Solution?
DRM rights are useless. They can be stripped as soon as the book is downloaded. What else can be done? Watermarks with the purchaser's info invisibly included in the file are a good idea for tracking. Posting a plea at the beginning or the end of a book begging folks to stop pirating books? Seriously?
Why Write if You Don’t Want People to Read?
I’ve been asked this several times. Of course I want people to read my books. Even though I initially wrote them for myself, it's been uplifting to see people read something I wrote. Is it a serious book? Of course not. They are all thrillers. But they are fun, fast-paced reads, and I should be compensated for creating them. It takes a lot of effort to get the pacing right, develop the characters, and build the setting as part of the story.
A book has a lot of moving parts. It’s not as easy as you think. You don’t believe me? Try it yourself.
Why keep writing if people download my book and then immediately publish it on pirated sites? What is the reasoning? I have large giveaways every other month. It isn’t necessary to STEAL one of my books. If you want it, just ask. If you can’t afford to buy it, I’ll give it to you.
Then why am I so upset about this? It isn’t the money. It is because they stole them without asking.
Shouldn’t All Art Be Free?
Nope. I grew up in a capitalist society. And guess what? It’s still a capitalist society. If you are going to pay someone for work performed, then ALL WORK should be compensated. If our society decides to completely change the way we view work and payment, then we can discuss this further. But right now? Pay people when they work.
Other Artists’ Solutions
Several artists have stopped selling digital products. That means no ebooks or audiobooks. Only print. Given the high cost of creating an audiobook with reputable narrators, that might be an option. While print books can be pirated too, it is a bit harder. Has a solution been developed by other artists, such as painters or musicians? Is there a way to create a specific product (such as a sprayed edge special print edition) similar to a musician creating vinyl, signed merchandise, or other VIP perks? I’m still investigating.
I Think I Just Need A Hacker
My latest book, The Expedient Wife, has a hacker named Arzu. She didn’t start out as a hacker, but became one out of necessity. If only I could bring her to life and help me with this little problem. Would it be worth the additional cost? Only if the hacker could stop the pirating sites from copying their data and immediately start over in a new digital location.
If only Arzu could embed code into my digital ebook and digital audiobook so that, if the book is transferred from the initial purchaser, it is immediately deleted. The next step would be to trigger something in their electronic reader, computer, or tablet that is more elegant than wiping their hard drive. That would be too easy.
While I am inept at these types of things, I’m sure Arzu could figure out what would work best. Maybe she can develop a system that changes pirate readers’ lives in subtle ways? Slowly take pennies from their bank account until the book has been paid for? Or shall I hijack all the accounts until they voluntarily pay for the book they stole? Or maybe the agent thinks of a better way, some unique retribution for each person who stole, a torture or heartbreak that matches the feeling of the writer whose work they stole. A digital curse, if you will, initiated by the agent that grows organically until the person’s life has changed significantly—and sufficiently enough—for them to have “learned their lesson.”
Hackers do this every day to public utilities, hospitals, and other businesses, holding them hostage until they pay. Why can’t we simply make the pirated reader pay? And I think using AI to solve the problem would be an interesting method.
Ok — copying all this into Scrivener before my thriller brain goes into overdrive…
Or Do I Just Turn This Back Into A Hobby?
This is my fourth career and my third business. I’ve had issues before, so this is nothing new. But do I want to tackle this issue like all the other before? I’m not so sure. Maybe I need to follow indie writer Joanna Penn’s advice from this post in 2025. Except that I already have. I do every step suggested except the final takedown. Do I just consider piracy a way of life and move on?
I’m not sure I can.
If you have an opinion, writers, tell me. If there are other ways of thinking about this problem or other solutions, I’d like to hear them. Was the emotional impact the same for you? Or how did you compartmentalize that emotion and move forward?
Thanks for your help.
No, I’m not giving her the decency of a link. Find it on your own. Still angry about this.
If you are unfamiliar with Mel Robbins or this discussion, you can search for Cassie Phillipsas well as the general tenets of Stoicism’s Dichotomy of Control. You can also go down the rabbit hole further here on The Haven.
I used MUSO.com unsuccessfully.
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