Dear humans,
The female has noticed some pirates have already started distributing copies of The Flame Game: a Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count.) We find this to be amusing because the female hasn’t even written the book yet.
Hint: it’s a scam, virus, and/or a method of stealing your personal information. Those free books? Typically aren’t free.
But, it brings up the age-old discussion of piracy. (Including a brief interlude directly from the female.)
One day, the Mag Rom Com series will end due to piracy.
Every release, the pirating gets worse, it gets harder to reach paying readers, because they can get the books for free, stolen from Amazon and other legitimate vendors. These people aren’t using legitimate libraries to rent the books, where I do get paid.
Some assholes are even charging money for the books I written, taking the food directly off my table.
That shit pisses me off.
One day, the Royal States series will end due to piracy.
One day, the Bernadette Franklin series will end due to piracy. (End interlude.)
The female will just start new things and write new series to keep writing because that’s what she does, but a lot of things the true fans love will die because of piracy.
We cannot afford to write books at a loss. We don’t have a ‘day job’ to cover the costs of living. This is her living.
At the end of the day, the Witch & Wolf series ended due to piracy, and that series has a long history of being pirated. It began with Karma and Shadowed Flame, both of which were heavily pirated before launch. That trend continues. Unlike the Mag Rom Com series, which has enough fans to pay the bills and the costs of writing, that’s not the case with the Witch & Wolf series.
Not enough people love it enough to pay for it. The pirates won.
We’re expecting to get through the final releases of that series either breaking even or at a slight loss on the books. (The preorders are doing eh, not great but eh. That’s fine. It’s ‘close enough’ to not cancel them, not that the female would. It’s a matter of pride more than money.)
She started it, she’ll finish it.
But money matters, and pirates make the money matters even more difficult and challenging.
Water Viper is commonly pirated.
Blood Bound, unfortunately, is seeing a lot of piracy right now. (The female has put in the order for Silent Stalker’s cover, but frankly, she is not really all that keen on working on it right now because of how widespread pirating has become on that title. It means that the second book will not sell well, and she will spend hundreds of hours trying to pay the bills for what will likely be a flop on release well.)
That’s hard on the female, because she really has to balance paying the bills and the passion projects. The new series launches are always hard, because she wants to work on them right away, but she ultimately needs to evaluate the situation based on a bunch of factors.
Piracy is one of those factors.
This is only one page of piracy for the past week. There are 7 pages of piracy results in this week’s check.
The Flame Game is one of them. (One blog in the below list I’m uncertain is actually a pirating site. The rest are.)
So, anyone who googles for my author names will see a lot of results just like this.
It’s impossible to keep up with the DCMA requests nobody honors anyway.
This is what the female contends with. Daily. And every person who clicks and grabs that easy, free copy takes food off the female’s table.
One pirating site alone had 100,000 downloads of Playing with Fire. In the novel’s entire lifetime, it’s only sold 35,000 copies. Including KU reads when it was in KU.
That is just one pirating site.
There are many pirating sites with copies of Playing with Fire.
Readers are already asking, on those sites, when they’ll get copies of the Flame Game.
There are pirates currently distributing viruses using the Flame Game, because that’s a profitable (for them) way of accessing idiots. And yes, when you download a book before it’s been written because you’re greedy and don’t want to pay for it… you’re definitely an idiot.
You probably deserve to have your financial information stolen while attempting an act of theft yourself.
And yes, stealing books is theft. If you want to read books for free, go to the fucking library and stop stealing shit.
Oh, and Burn, Baby, Burn? Has about as many pirated copies floating around as Playing with Fire.
Burn, Baby, Burn has sold fewer than 7,000 copies on Amazon.
It’s been pirated tens upon tens of thousands of times on one pirating site.
When you pirate books, you directly fuck over the creator. The creators stop creating. Some creators write books for their personal pleasure and stop sharing them with the world. Truth be told? That is what is going to ultimately happen to the Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count) series. They’ll be written for fun.
They won’t be published.
The money stops working after a point.
I’m not Rowling. I’m not King. I’m not Martin. I’m not a whole lot of authors who have the support of a big publisher trying to contain the piracy issue. There’s one of me, and I can’t realistically afford to pay a PA hours upon hours upon hours of attempting to slow the tide of piracy.
It doesn’t work.
The pirates continue to pirate.
(And then they get mad at us because we stop producing the books they want. Well, maybe if they’d just gone to the fucking library instead of stealing the books, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.)
P.S.: The library systems are really, really easily accessible in digital format, and you can even read on your kindle. If money is an issue, and you live in the US, check your public library. You can get a lot of great books and pay the authors at the same time.
Yes, the public libraries pay us when people read our books.
But really, don’t stab your creators, artists, writers, and so on in the back, and that’s what you’re doing when you steal their stuff.
At some point, the artists, writers, and creators have to say no.
Then the creations stop.
Maybe they keep it to themselves.
Maybe they just stop creating.
But the creations stop.
Pirates are a huge part of why the creations stop.
We’re sorry for those of you who liked the Witch & Wolf world, but the pirates won. The female is no longer able or really all that willing to deal with the problems of piracy and that series. (In the screenshot, you can get an idea of how common the Witch & Wolf piracy issue is, as it has two new entries just on the first random page that was mostly piracy results.)
That’s just from the past week.
The female may adjust the final releases of the W&W series because of the rampant surge of piracy on it in the past few weeks, truth be told. She’ll still release License to Kill and Wolf Hunt on schedule (with the exception if she has to push one back a month because of her CRAZY ASS schedule.)
But it might be 2-3 years before Dual Nature and The Edge of Midnight. The piracy issue is just that severe on the series.
You know how pools get closed if kids shit or piss in them?
This is the equivalent of that in the book world.
Pirates like to say it’s exposure.
Exposure doesn’t pay the bills.
Exposure doesn’t pay the staff.
Exposure does nothing except justify to cheap thieves why they should get something for free.
And that’s the story of how the female wishes to light Witch & Wolf and the Flame Game on fire this week.
She stopped counting after five instances of considerate pirates offering up copies of the book.
P.S.: The book hasn’t been written, and you’re downloading viruses. And if you’re dumb enough to pirate a book, you probably deserve the virus.
And no, we will not help you should you have illegally acquired a book and don’t understand why it’s not working or your computer is acting weird.
So don’t ask. We’re nice here at the Furred & Frond Management, but we’re not anywhere near that nice.
We’ll probably tell you that the computer was insulted you used it to commit an act of theft and then delete your email.
So, onto the nicer things:
Bath bombs. We love this store. Quick ship, and they have their own website, but they are also on Amazon for those who like the zon. The store’s name is Relaxcation.
More bath bombs. These ones are witchy cauldrons with little tumbled gemstones in them. They are fun. The female loves them.
She got six of those, and she got two citrine, one amethyst, one stripey rock that’s a nice purply gray, and two clear quartz. (One is an ice quartz, the other is opaque.) She likes playing with them because playing with them is relaxing.
You can pick your scents on that. They’re lovely. Female really enjoys them.
These are some of her favorite cards. She just ordered four more packs for her adventures in card giving.
These are also some of her favorite cards, as they’re completely blank and the paper pattern is super pretty. She is using these for most of the cards for her card giving adventures. Unfortunately, these ones are no longer in stock, and she does not nearly have enough of them to finish her sending. This is a problem.
Fortunately or unfortunately, she is slow at sending out cards, but it’s getting done. There are 500 to do. She’s done… maybe 15 plus a few packages.
She’ll get there. Slow and steady wins the race, right?
We are going to go now. Today has been exhausting.
The Author: 0, Pirates: 1.
I found your books on Amazon about a year ago, and am a faithful purchaser there, ever since. I love to read, and escape into books, and your stories really work for me. Thank you, thank you… Will follow you with whatever comes next. What boggles me is people who would never shoplift a candy bar, because THAT is stealing, have no compunctions against downloading a pirated book. Theft is theft. I am sorry to learn how damaging piracy is both for your bottom line, and for your creativity.
Thank you! I’m glad you’re having a good time with the books.
I do wish people grok’d theft is theft, but so many just don’t. It’s books, who cares… or so they think.
I have an entire huge binder of Witch & Wolf standalone novels that just won’t be getting written because of the piracy issue. They’re such fun stories, but I can’t justify the expenses on them.
Can we buy them from you for our Kindles?? I am so hooked on the Witch and Wolf series!! I don’t have to have the book book, just the words!! I feel I’m playing Let’s Make A Deal, I have money to buy them!!! Pleaseeee
I completely understand but that makes me so sad ? With & Wolf is my favorite series. Stupid people ruin it for the rest of us.
I’m so sorry that people are stealing from you and angry too ?? xxx
I got into a huge discussion with my high school kids about this issue– they were flabbergasted that authors quit writing because of piracy (this was last year before this chaos). I had to break down my explanation and I definitely saw the lightbulbs go off over some heads. Let’s hope that helps.
I have to say, I am curious as to the demographics of the downloaders of this theft. I know that some are the same ones who say libraries are obsolete.
Jerks. Stupid, stealing jerks who are ruining it for everyone else.
Often Americans, unfortunately, though it’s global. People from other countries tend to pirate things they can read, and if they’re not native in English, they’ll generally avoid the English books. So, it’s entitled Americans who are the biggest problem, unfortunately…
I am truly sorry you are being pirated. Sorry for all of us die hard paying fans that do the happy dance when you release your books. I buy from Barnes and Noble and Amazon. Who in their right mind downloads free books from a freaking dentist office? They had to have known they were stealing. A pox(virus) on them!
Would you consider doing Patreon or something similar with some of the witch and wolf stories? But possibly with larger posts because your books are generally pretty long (THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT A COMPLAINT) and we would need to subscribe for years if you posted 1-2 chapters at a time. Also, I’ve seen apps that do not allow the user to copy text or take screenshots. They were banking or credit card apps, but the same technology could be applied here. It seems like we should be handling people’s intellectual property which is essentially their money like money. Would you use an app with these features if one was available?
I found you a couple of years ago (July 30th, 2018) when I purchased Playing with Fire. I have thoroughly enjoyed your books and reread them many times. Thank you for the hours of entertainment and I appreciate you efforts (both with emotion and with always money). I am appalled and astounded at the scale of the piracy. I’m still attempting to digest the numbers you listed. I’ll miss the Witch and Wolf series, but you gotta eat.
I would absolutely be willing to pay for read as you go posts through Patreon or a donation site. I have read other works before where the authors have a donation button on the site and state quite clearly that the next portion of the book will be posted once donations reach a specific level. That made a lot of sense to me, because an author knows how much they need to pay the bills and they should absolutely receive that – and those of us who dearly want that book are willing to pay it.
Writing is work, and it’s maddening that some people think that you should work for free when they would never go to their own job and work for nothing.
If you wind up having to stop creating books for Amazon, etc. Let me know. I’m quite happy to pay you directly and get an ebook that way*. Your writing is THAT good.
*Unfortunately, taxes will be your problem no matter which way you publish. 😉
Thanks for making it clear to people the consequences of piracy. A lot of people assume the artist is rich and wouldn’t miss one sale so it’s a “victimless” crime.
I always and only purchase your books. I don’t understand people who try to get things for free. If I had no money I would use the library. If you ever decide to do direct to consumers for a price let us know through your blog with amazon. I loved the Witch and Wolf series. I get all your books, and will do so as long as I am alive. Sorry you are having so much trouble with thieves. ( pirates are thieves)
Well doesn’t that piss me off. What a bunch of fuckwitted twats. Forgive me for not knowing, but would Digital Rights Management help at all?
The last time I hacked a DRM’d file out of curiosity, it took me less than five minutes when I had zero idea what I was doing. So, no. What DRM does do is make it harder for legitimate buyers to access the files, and the thieves just google for how to deactivate / strip the DRM out of the file. It’s unfortunately simple.
Does anyone know of an actual real person that you cat like with your finger (or slap on the face) with your real hands who has clicked on one of these links and downloaded ALL of a real book? Are they selling it? If not, what do they gain from stealing books and then giving them away for nothing?
Initially after reading the inital post I was caught up in the value that I place on Me. Blaine’s books that to me is way beyond their monetary cost. Then my training (or partial training – see my rediculously long post below) made me analyze the evidence from Ms. Blaine’s initial post about Flame Game (see my rediculously long post below). If a person’s goal is to get people to download stuff, they see value in making another person believe that they can download your book not in actually stealing and “sharing” books with people they could care less about.
*correction*Does anyone know of an actual real person that you can poke with your finger (or slap on the face) with your real hands who has clicked on one of these links and downloaded ALL of a real book?
🙁 🙁 🙁 DRM that actually works to prevent theft without buggering up paid readership should be higher on the industry’s list of priorities.
I started reading your books last year. Since then I have bought all your books from Amazon. I also preorder every book you put out. It is pitiful that pieces of crap are out there to profit off your talent. I pray you keep up you’re excellent writing and I’ll continue to pay for the pleasure of reading what you put out. Thank you so much for all the hours I’ve spent in your imaginative worlds. Stay strong.
I started your books with a random purchase from Amazon of Hoofin It. As I loved it I immediately hunted down all your other books to read. I usually purchase your books through Amazon but that is mostly because I have most of my books on my e-reader and tend to use that platform so I don’t have to jump around. I would never think to pirate a book, even when I was on limited funds and still funding my excessive book habit. I have devoured everything I can find that you put out, RJ Blain, Susan Copperfield, Bernadette Franklin and the not as advertised Trillian Anderson.
First let me state that I have never attempted to steal a book because it seemed foolish to me when I could just go to the library both before and after e-books became prevalent.
Having established that I am not a book thief and do not support book theft, it appears that many (possibly not all) “pirated” books are people attempting to get foolish, greedy people to download something. Not necessarily an attempt to “share” the product of an author’s hard work. So, they post something labeled as an author’s book. There is no reason for someone to steal a book to “share” when all they can post anything (e.x. something free) and label it as an author’s real book (e.g. Flame Game) because there is very little benefit to actually putting in then work to steal something or even doing something as quick as making sure the book is published (e.g Flame Game) when their whole goal is to get someone to download something and spend only a few seconds to minutes not paying attention to their computer. When it comes to software, time is generally measured in seconds and mostly in milliseconds (1/1000 the of a second) or smaller units.
Also, the number of downloads may very likely be more like the number of reviews for several Amazon products. Their purpose is to establish legitimacy and appeal to our tendency to go with the majority. Fakespot exists because unscrupulous people want to make their product stand out in order to convince people to purchase their product. These people will create thousands of fake reviews and remove bad reviews. There are companies that get payed to do make products look good. People are more likely to review and share their dislike of something they hate than something they love.
The valuable item to people who attempt to put malicious software on other peoples computer is their information, data, and resources. Ransomware and spyware just a few of the many terms coined for this. I’m studying for a certification that costs over $300 and requires additional training every few years to retain in order to prove that I understand network security. So believe me when I say that there are a lot of ways that people attempt to steal information. If you don’t want to believe me look up Security+ certification (Professor Messer’s videos are free. Heck just look at the “Threats, Attacks, and Vulnerabilities” section. Each video describes many “flavors” of a threat and his training is not comprehensive instead it focuses on the exam requirements).
People’s information is bought and sold legitimately every day. This means that information is a valuable commodity. Your more benign information that is sold is your search history. If search for a product (using Google or something similar) or visit a product page, you might see it in ads on every site you visit. Because then information about stuff you like/want can be used to get you to buy stuff.
So, to summarize the only real way to determine if a download is real is unfortunately to download it. Which should NEVER be done by someone who has experience in network security. I’m not referring to myself because even after certification I still will not have experience.
OK. So on the practical side perhaps we can brainstorm some ways that can add to RJ Blain actually getting paid for her work! I bought mine on Amazon, so I know she got paid. Many or perhaps most of the readers illegally downloading the work wouldn’t pay for it even if DRM were perfect and there was no other option, so on a getting paid basis we don’t care about them. We care about the people who are reachable. My thoughts on who is reachable –
1. The people buying your books from the pirates. The pirates probably are claiming that the reason their books cost 1/2 as much as Amazon is that since they are a smaller organization, their overhead is lower etc etc. So the readers may not realize that the book was stolen.
2. The young and clueless – those that weren’t lucky enough to have a teacher like HopeT.
3. Those that think that Amazon is the only loser. Amazon is a big corporation which is not always the nicest corporate actor around and so this group has a 1000 reasons why their actions are justified in their own minds, which aren’t really relevant to getting RJ Blain paid. The useful point is that these individuals don’t realize that RJ Blain is harmed.
None of these 3 groups is likely to be readers of this blog, so how to let them know that 1. the book is stolen and 2. stolen books hurt the author not Amazon.
My idea (other people may have better ones) is that RJ may consider crafting a nice statement with the humor she is so talented at using, letting readers know that unless they purchased this book at Amazon or B&N or checked it out from a real library, that you may not have realized it but this book is stolen. Generally you catch more flies with honey than vinegar and people are more likely to respond to a positive message, so I’d suggest the tone be positive since that is most likely the tone that will get the result we want i.e. RJ Blain getting paid! My other thought is that the disclaimer should be in the middle of the book. The pirates may check the beginning and end of the book for disclaimers of this type and then delete them, but they aren’t probably going to read all the way through! That would cut into their book stealing time.
Anyway just a couple of thoughts – others may have better ideas.
That has got to be very disheartening. I buy through Amazon and tell others about your work but man, that has to feel like a kick in the gut.
I am so sorry this is happening to you, and all your hard work
That is all.
I would gladly pay thru a private email to get the 3rd book saints of sins book and im sure your faithful readers would also there has to be a way lets get past this and keep writeing and reading and most important paying
Saints of sins isn’t one of my series, so I’m not sure which author you’re thinking of instead of mine! (or if autocorrect has struck again.) There are a lot of reasons why I don’t use patron or generally do private funding, most of which involving me ultimately being under even more pressure to write what others want me to write rather than being able to enjoy my job. (And I do know and recognize that this will upset some, as they feel they should get the books they want rather than the books I want to write. That’s a discussion for a different day.)
I just wish people wouldn’t steal is all.
blood bound lets find a way to get the next book out and paid for please!!!!!!
Libraries are my friends. I spend much money on Amazon on both ebooks and printed ones. I am sorry that pirates cost you money. I only recently found the Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count) series and am working my way through it. (I have bought 5 in the last 48 hours since finishing the first one…and finished 3 of them already. They are hilarious and I thank you for writing them. I hope you get at least as far as Serial Killer Princess 2 for publication, since I really want that ‘to be continued…’
I shouldn’t post late at night when I should be in bed. LOL Just noticed I forgot an ending parentheses.
The curious person in me wonders how about the quality of the security on these sites?
For those of us, your true fans, self publish in paperback only. Then you can’t be pirated. And we get the stories we crave! With sites like Lulu, you set your own price.
Just a thought.
I really love your books. I’m extremely sorry that you’re getting hit so hard by pirates 🙁 I’ve been buying your books on Kindle & Audible as soon as they’re available. I know how frustrating it can be for people to expect / demand artists (yes, good authors are artists in my mind) only do it for “the exposure” *snort* which is a crock. I sincerely hope the pirates start loosing or karma bites them hard. Please continue writing, it so hard to find writers that blend humor and real life situations with fantasy in such a engaging manner. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Can we Kickstarter or prepay for witch and wolf?! I love the series!!!
I’m going to be finishing all the books on the current agenda. at this point, I just need a loooottt of space away from the series. I may revisit after a while. 🙂
But in the mean time, I’ll be doing Fox Witch World, and I think the W&W readers will really like it.