WOW.
I guess I should feel honored.
My story, "The Last of the Fey" has been pirated and is being offered for free on no less than two sites (including google).
The pirated copy is the version that is offered for sale on Amazon, so whoever did it had access to my story through the KIndle or KDP select offerings.
I didn't think my poor little story would have been popular enough to cause someone to do that to me. I wondered why sales have dropped so rapidly since the end of January. They were low, but steady. Now they have dropped off to almost nothing. Maybe they thought I was dead or something.
Anyway, I guess it isn't always the really popular authors who have their works pirated.
My advice to everyone here... run the name of your stories through your internet search engine every so often. You may be surprised at what you discover.
God Bless to you all,
Anesidora
Comments
Good observation, Anesidora!
Also, search for a few sentences, selected throughout the story, which you think will be unique. (Been there, done that, found a few!)
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may be able to sue for lost income, even if the story was not run through the formal copyright process.
Hugs,
Sara
Between the wrinkles, the orthopedic shoes, and nine decades of gravity, it is really hard to be alluring. My icon, you ask? It is the last picture I allowed to escape the camera ... back before most BC authors were born.
Too astonishing.
So, having read your blog, I searched for "Lt Katia in Afghanistan". Amazingly there is an entry in Wiki about a Battle of Katia in Afghanistan in 1919.
When I was writing my story, the name Katia was completely made up and I had no knowledge of this Wiki entry. Amazing, truly amazing.
stolen Last of the Fey
Wow again.
I have now found three "free" sites which are offering my pay to read story (but for free. I don't get one cent from these places)
The total number of reads from the three sites is over five thousand just since January. That is ten times the number of reads I had in all of last year. At $2.12 per book that means I have been defrauded more than ten thousand dollars in just five months. Not only that, but Amazon wants me to pay back the money they have paid to me during the time that my story was on the free sites. "Defrauding the reading public" or some such thing. like I had any knowledge someone stole my story?
A.
Tell them the story was
Tell them the story was stolen and ask if their legal department would help to shut them down since it appears it is the Amazon version that is being printed. :)
At least I can assure you
At least I can assure you that I did not read it from any of those sites.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Bought it
from Amazon a little while ago - so that's another one on your side, at least.
Teri Ann
"Reach for the sun."
Alerts to Piracy
Set up Google Alerts; their bots will constantly scan the net for any usage of your name or book titles and send you an email with the link to each result. Here's their info page:
Creating a Google Alert
Once you get an email Alert, the next step is laborious and questionably effective, but ya gotta do it -- send them a Cease and Desist ("I am the sole legal owner of the copyright; your site is in violation of international copyright laws" etc.). The text keeps evolving and you can do a search for the most recent and fitting boilerplate for your needs. The problem is that it's layer upon layer of pirate sites, but keep plugging. Sometimes you'll find that the web hosting service is the most effective, and may host several pirate sites.
The piracies also come in waves; I'll spend a day shutting down half a dozen sites and it's good for three months or so, and then they spring up like weeds again. I can't begin to compute the dollars lost in revenue -- money that could ease things here at home so I could spend even more time writing more books!
Good luck against the evildoers!
Karin
Why doesn't Amazon take an
Why doesn't Amazon take an active role in fighting these thefts?
I read Last of the Fey When it was posted here. Later, I bought it on Amazon and read it again. If you ever write a follow on to it, I will be in line to read it as well.
I am not surprised
I love your story. I reread it often. I consider the small price you asked to purchased your story to be a wise investment.
theft
Playster seems to offer it as part of their "unlimited books" monthly subscription of $9.95.
As many know a business is easier to go after. Another subscription business offers this like playster but it's from NL.
I am sorry to hear you got robbed like this.
I see you have left Amazon
I see that "The Last of the Fey" is no longer for sale on Amazon. I am sorry you have been having these massive problems with the theft of your book. I am glad I found it before it disappeared. It is an awesome story. I hope you do eventually publish the sequel. I am so wanting to know what happens next.