Piracy on the High E's

One of the greatest concerns to e-published authors today is the issue of piracy of their work.  While a print book can also be shared with a few friends, an e-book can be uploaded to a pirate site and "shared" with hundreds, or even thousands, of readers.  This costs the authors in terms of earnings, and possibly even their careers if legitimate sales don't warrant further contracts. 

Many readers don't understand the implications of piracy or the serious impact to the author.  They simply see it as getting a free read of one or more of their favorite author's novels--how fun.  Not!  These fans may not be aware they are helping to damage the career of someone whose work they admire and follow.

Though a few publishers and authors have been successful at having their work removed from piracy sites, it's a small and temporary fix, at best.  How do we, as authors and potential authors, help fight piracy?

In An Open Letter to John Scalzi, Scott Turow, Allison Kelley, Rowena Cherry of Alien Romances blog suggests one step that might be undertaken to help fight piracy.  Consider supporting the cause by chiming in with your thoughts, sharing the link on your blogs and web sites, and opening up this topic for further discussion.