Some thoughts on book piracy

Two weeks before its release, ZERO-G popped up on a pirate site.

I actually tried to download it. I was, I admit, pretty curious about what I’d actually have to do to get my own book illegally. The second I clicked, there were about ten pop-ups and a survey that I had to fill out and a “Join now to increase download speed” box and all sorts of weird and wonderful things that anyone even half-familiar with pirate links has come to expect.

I wasn’t, I should point out, pissed at any of this. I forwarded the link to my publisher at their request, because book piracy costs them and me money, but it was kind of funny and I’d be lying if I said it bothered me that much. The day is coming when I’ll be a world-famous author and can order a helicopter with a snap of my fingers to escape my adoring public, but I’m not there yet, and so having ZERO-G get  leaked was a bit strange.

Stranger still, people actually went for it. There were, if you can believe it, comments below the link. Yeah, I was a bit stunned, too.

Can I be the first to say, thank you STROMAIN. And BETTY, you’re very welcome!?

It’s tempting to go full major-label-rapper circa 1995 and go on a rant about the leak. My overactive imagination is already picturing someone at Orbit, late at night, hunched over a badly-lit desk and whispering into their mobile, “Yeah, I got the goods. This gon’ be the hottest shit out. Streets gon’ go wild for this.” In reality, I don’t have the faintest idea how the digital version of ZERO-G got leaked. I’m just amused someone made the effort.

The good news for both my bank balance and Orbit’s is that book piracy isn’t a thing. Not really. Here’s my favourite quote from a Guardian article of 2015:

Just 1% of UK internet users aged 12 and over read “at least some” ebooks illegally between March and May 2015, according to the Intellectual Property Office’s study into the extent of online copyright infringement in the UK. This compares favourably to other forms of entertainment, with 9% accessing some of their music illegally, 7% television programmes, 6% films, and 2% computer software and video games.

1%? That is dick-all. That is nothing. That is barely worth thinking about. And it’s pretty obvious why it’s so low. ZERO-G can be had from Amazon in a single click. It is available in bookstores worldwide. It is easier to find and buy than it is to get up from your chair and make a cup of coffee, and costs about as much. It is far, far easier to get legally than it is to pirate, which is why piracy in all forms of media has largely become a thing of the past. Download all the episodes of Making a Murderer? For what? Seven bucks a month gets you Netflix, and frankly, that’s the best value for money anywhere.

I’m more interested in the people who actually do pirate books. Who are STROMAIN and BETTY? What do they do for a living? What drove them to endure the insanity of the pop-up ad, the survey, the endless demands to sign up for faster download services?

I like to imagine STROMAIN as a guy who doesn’t quite understand how money works. He probably has a decent amount of it – I’m picturing a vaguely boring job in a cube farm somewhere, doing something like customer service for a battery pack manufacturer – but he’s kind of a penny pincher. He thinks he’ll get around to downloading Netflix at some point, but he’s convinced himself that he doesn’t have the money right now. And besides, all the series are like, online anyway? So why bother, right? He likes his scifi too, does old STROMAIN, and he’s worked out how to put pirated books on his first-generation Kindle, which he’s kind of proud of. They sit proudly next to his one legit book buy, How To Win Friends and Influence People.

Why does he do it? The links are right there, dude! Just a Google search away! I’m getting a better picture of STROMAIN now. He probably has a ponytail, and probably has more than the usual amount of Limp Bizkit on his iPod (Spotify? Hell no, bro-dog! I have like a ten-thousand-terabyte hard drive of stuff I haven’t even listened to yet!). He probably also has an unusually large amount of hentai (pirated of course) on his laptop…

 

FRED DURST SPEAKS TO ME, MAN

Sorry. Got carried away there.

You know what? If STROMAIN really and truly doesn’t have enough money to buy my book, then I say he should go for it. More power to him. I would love it if everyone bought my book legit, but there will always be a very tiny minority who don’t, and it’s such a tiny minority that it’s just not worth caring about.

(Unless it rocked their world. Then they’re my bro for life. Isn’t that right, STROMAIN?)

Anyway, ZERO-G is out tomorrow. Legally. Go buy it. You’ll like it. Links below.

Also, wanna know something that really creeped me out? Here’s the image used to illustrate that Guardian article:

I am not kidding when I say that I thought it was a photo of me. Aside from the fact that it’s clearly a random stock photo, and I’d never read a book in such a hideously uncomfortable position, it’s basically me. Same glasses. Same terrible hair. Same ridiculous ears. If my wife was looking for me in the park, that bench would be the first place she’d head to.

I’m telling you, finding a photo of my doppelgänger in an article I’m using to illustrate a blog post I just wrote is…freaky.

ZERO-G – available right now!

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Amazon DE / B&N / iBooks / Google Play / Waterstones / Booktopia

Riley Hale may be the newest member of Outer Earth’s law enforcement team, but she feels less in control than ever. A twisted doctor bent on revenge is blackmail ing her with a deadly threat. If Riley’s to survive, she must follow his orders, and break a dangerous prisoner out of jail.

But this isn’t just any prisoner – it’s the psychotic former council member who nearly brought the space station to its knees. T o save her own skin, Riley must go against all her beliefs, and break every law that she’s just sworn to protect. 

Riley’s mission will get even tougher when all sectors are thrown into lock-down. A lethal virus has begun to spread through Outer Earth, and it seems little can stop it. If Riley doesn’t live long enough to help to find a cure, then the last members of the human race will perish along with her.