Is Piracy Just “Lost Sales” or an Attack on Your Livelihood?
There’s a persistent myth in the creative world: that piracy is a victimless crime. You’ve probably heard it before: “If they downloaded it for free, they wouldn’t have bought it anyway.” Or, “It’s just free advertising.”
For a professional author who has spent months—or even years—crafting a book, this isn’t just a frustrating platitude. It’s a direct attack on your business. Piracy isn’t a “lost sale” in some abstract way; it’s a very real threat to your career, your income, and your ability to keep creating.
Think of it this way: a pirated book isn’t just a missed 99-cent royalty. It’s a domino effect that can collapse your entire business.
The True Financial Impact: Beyond the Royalty
The financial damage from piracy goes far beyond the price of a single book.
- Lost Royalties: This is the most obvious one. Every time someone downloads your book for free, you lose the royalty you would have earned. According to the Authors Guild, the publishing industry loses hundreds of millions of dollars each year to ebook piracy. That money directly affects authors’ incomes, which have seen a significant decline in recent years.
- Devaluation of Your Work: When your book is widely available for free, it sends a message to readers that your work has no value. This can make it harder to sell future books, secure higher advances, or command premium prices. You’re not just losing one sale; you’re losing the respect and perceived value of your entire body of work. This can also hurt you if you’re in Kindle Unlimited, as it breaks the TOS.
Piracy Isn’t Just About Money. It’s About Control.
Beyond the numbers, piracy robs you of control over your intellectual property.
- Damage to Your Brand: Pirated copies are often low-quality, full of typos, and may even be associated with illegal sites that host malware or scams. Readers who encounter your book this way may blame you for the poor experience, unknowingly damaging your reputation.
- The “Why Bother?” Factor: When an author sees their hard work being given away for free, it’s demoralizing. Many creators have been told to be “grateful” that their work is being read at all. But when you’re spending all your time creating and not getting paid, it becomes a simple question of sustainability. Why continue to pour your heart and soul into a profession that is no longer a viable way to make a living?
A New Approach to Protection
Some services charge based on the number of infringing links they find and take down. This seems fair on the surface, but it quickly punishes authors who are most in need of help. If your book is a hit and gets pirated on a hundred different sites in a month, you could be hit with a massive bill.
We believe that protecting your work shouldn’t come with a per-infringement fee. You should pay for the protection of your intellectual property, not for the number of pirates you’re fighting. This is why we created BookDefender.com, a service that prices based on the number of book titles you want to protect, not the number of pirated links we find. Whether your book is on one pirate site or a thousand, your cost stays the same.
We’re here to help you get back to what you do best: writing. In the coming weeks, we’ll dive deeper into how we’re changing the anti-piracy game, from our human-AI hybrid technology to our unparalleled success rate. We’ll also share stories from authors just like you who are fighting back and winning.
Don’t let piracy turn your passion into a part-time job. It’s time to take control of your career and treat your writing like the business it is.
