My Experience: Some On-line Sites Steal Author's Books and Offer them Free

It takes a long time to write a book. Recently I learned that a website had somehow illegally downloaded one of my books, "Pets and the Afterlife" and has been allowing people to read it for FREE, without my permission.   That's a problem, because I didn't give anyone permission to do that, and it's not in the public domain.  My books, like most author's books, state that my permission is needed for any kind of distribution. So, I was  shocked when I learned about it. In today's blog, you'll learn WHY that matters, and what the website is, so you can check for your books. Fortunately- I DID get them to remove it.

  Books over 75 years old usually become public domain.  So for websites to illegally download and offer an author's content without permission is stealing.

LOTS OF THINGS GO INTO A WRITING  BOOK - What's involved in writing a book after writing is to edit it, proof it over and over, format it, pay a cover designer, assemble a marketing package, and promote it, arrange my own interviews, schedule my own appearances and pay to travel to fundraisers out of any income). 

HOW DID I DISCOVER IT?  Fortunately, I have Google Alerts set up on the titles of my books, and I recommend ALL Authors do the same. The daily Google alert picked up that a website called  Lecarre Mulhouse  offered my book to the world for free. I was upset to say the least. 

HOW DID IT HAPPEN? I honestly don't know how they got a PDF copy of it. .. . I never, ever have sent PDFs to people as promotions.

WHY THIS MATTERS - I'm a self-published author, and that means I don't make much money on my books, despite my heavy self-promotions, interviews, etc.  As an author, if someone buys a paperback for $10, I receive less than $1.00 (actually less). With Ebooks on Kindle,   I receive  a percentage of the $2.99 cost. I use that money to do fundraisers for animal rescues, so I can help them raise money for shelter pets, and bring comfort and healing to people that attend the lectures I give.

WHAT DOES COPYRIGHT MEAN? - Getting something copyrighted means the exclusive legal right belongs to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same. Distributions and sales or giving the product free of charge is prohibited.

NOTE: The text about copyright should always be found on one of the first pages of your book. 

HOW I FIXED IT- On their website there is a contact page, but their "About" page doesn't tell me who they are, where they are, or how they  can offer people's works for free. I followed their guidance  and emailed the webmaster.  The next day, the webmaster emailed me confirming they had removed my book from their site. 

BOTTOM LINE: If you're downloading a book from a website that isn't Amazon (in the case of my book), and one that offers it free, then you may be stealing it. As a self-published author, I am able to price my books at the lowest allowable price so people can afford them and get the comfort and relief they need. If you can't afford it, please go to a Library and check it out.