I
need to speak for a moment about piracy. Before I do, I want to clarify by
saying that sharing a book that you love with your friend so she can love it
too is NOT piracy. That’s sharing your love of reading, and hopefully opening
your friend up to a new reading experience. This is not what this post is
about.
All
artists who publish their work struggle daily with piracy. I hire a service,
Muso, that works every day to find files that have been shared without my
permission and sends those distributors what we call a DMCA notice, which
requires that distributor, by law, to abide by copyright law and remove the
material that they don’t have permission to distribute.
Usually
for free.
It’s
painful and time consuming and a pain in the ass.
But
today it’s gone a step farther.
I
noticed yesterday that my newest release, TIED WITH ME, was “on sale” on Amazon
for $3.03. The regular price is $3.99, and I did not put the book on sale.
Because it’s self published, I hold all control of the price of the book. When
I contacted my representative at Amazon, I was told that they were price
matching with Google Play.
I
was stunned. I don’t offer my books on Google Play. I’d never uploaded the file
for sale on Google Play.
After
emailing colleagues, my agent and publicist, I came to the realization that my
book had been illegally uploaded onto Google Play. Someone had posed as the
publisher and put my book up for sale
on Google Play.
WITHOUT
MY PERMISSION.
I
would like to say that upon receiving my phone calls and emails today, Google
Play has done everything in their power to make this situation right by taking
the steps to have it removed from the site.
However,
that doesn’t eclipse the big problem. A “publisher” by the name of Gesserit
Publishing, based in North Carolina, is the person who uploaded and sold my
book.
I’m
going to make sure that they don’t get away with it.
To
my colleagues, all self-published authors, if you have NOT uploaded your books
to Google Play, I suggest you look to see if they’re offered for sale there and
file a DMCA if they are without your permission. I’m quite sure I’m not this
despicable person’s only victim.
To
put this in perspective, imagine working 60+ hours a week and when payday rolls
around, your check is given to someone else. Someone who did nothing to earn
it.
I’m
an artist, yes, but I’m also a savvy businesswoman. I work hard. We all do. My
books are reasonably priced. There is no need to steal from me or anyone else.
I’m
looking into legal action regarding this matter. I’m devastated that someone
was able to upload and SELL my work on a major retailer, and am determined to
get to the bottom of it. Gesserit Publishing, which I’m sure is an alias, will not
get away with this.
To
the vast majority of you who read and love my books through legal and moral
means, thank you. It means the world to me and to other authors to know that
you invest your time and your hard-earned money into our work. I know that you’re
on a budget. We all are. I appreciate you, more than you know, for choosing to
spend even a small amount of your money on my work.
Kristen
Proby
