A Victimless Crime, Right?

So, I Googled myself – who hasn’t? – thinking I’d see if anybody had read any of my books and maybe written a nice review (or not) and was surprised to see how many file-sharing sites appeared to be offering downloads of my books. I understand why people do it – I mean, why pay when you can get it for free, right? And, after all, it’s a victimless crime. No one gets hurt. You’re not actually taking something from someone. No one loses out. It’s not like you’re walking out of a shop without paying for that item tucked under your arm. And, y’know, it’s great that people are just reading my books, because that’s all any author wants, isn’t it? We just want people to read our books.

Well, actually . . . yes, I do want people to read my books, but writing is not my hobby. I enjoy writing, but I don’t write ‘for fun’. It is my job. It is how I make my living, and I am not rich – not by any stretch of the imagination. And knowing that people out there might be downloading my books for nothing makes me feel . . . blyeuch. Every time someone downloads one of my books for free, it isn’t some faceless grey corporation that loses out, it’s ME who loses out. And my family, of course.

All of my books are available as ebooks on Amazon, and they re all less than £5.00. That’s not so much is it?