When to Hire an Anti-Piracy Service (and When You’re Wasting Your Money)
The moment you publish a book, a new question enters your mind: How do I protect it from piracy?
As an author, you’ve likely spent time searching the web, stumbling upon forums, and trying to understand the confusing world of DMCA takedown notices. It can feel like a game of Whack-a-Mole—you get one pirated link taken down, and two more pop up in its place.
So, when is the right time to delegate this tedious, time-consuming, and often frustrating task to a professional service? The answer depends on your goals, your time, and your business.
When It’s Probably NOT Time to Hire a Service
If you fall into one of these categories, a professional anti-piracy service might be overkill right now:
- You’re a Hobbyist Author: If writing is a side passion and you’re not concerned about a significant income stream, the cost of a professional service might not make sense for your current needs.
- Your Books Aren’t Being Pirated (Yet): If you’ve conducted thorough searches and found no unauthorized copies of your work, you might be in a very early stage of your career. Keep a close eye on things, but a full-service plan might not be necessary just yet.
- You Have an Abundant Amount of Free Time and Legal Expertise: If you have the time, patience, and understanding of copyright law to manually monitor the web and send out dozens of DMCA notices, you could, in theory, handle it yourself. But be warned: this is a full-time job in itself and a massive drain on your creative energy.
When It’s Time to Hire a Service (and Invest in Your Business)
For most professional authors, there comes a tipping point where handling piracy on your own is not just difficult—it’s actively costing you more than you’re saving. This is when a professional anti-piracy service becomes a smart business decision.
- When You Can’t Keep Up: You’ve found a dozen or more pirated links, and they keep appearing faster than you can send takedown notices. The Whack-a-Mole game has become overwhelming, and you’re spending more time fighting pirates than writing your next book.
- When Your Income Is on the Line: Your author business is a significant source of your income. Every pirated copy is a direct hit to your livelihood. Investing in a service is a way to protect your revenue stream and ensure your business remains profitable.
- When You Value Your Time and Mental Health: Your time is your most valuable asset. The time you spend manually searching for pirated links and crafting DMCA notices is time you could be writing, marketing, or enjoying your life. A service frees you from this emotional and mental burden.
- When Your Reputation is at Risk: You’ve discovered low-quality, pirated copies of your books are being shared. This is a direct threat to your brand and reader trust. A professional service will work to remove these damaging links swiftly and effectively, protecting your reputation.
- When You Need to Scale: You plan to publish multiple books and build a large backlist. As your catalog grows, the scale of the piracy problem grows exponentially. A service that charges per title, like BookDefender.com, is a predictable, scalable solution that protects your entire body of work without a financial penalty for your success.
Why Our Model Works for You
We built BookDefender.com specifically for professional authors who have reached this tipping point. Unlike services that nickel-and-dime you for every takedown, we charge a flat, predictable rate for your entire catalog. This model is designed for a business, not a hobby. It ensures that as your books become more successful and more widely pirated, your costs don’t spiral out of control.
If you are serious about your writing career and are ready to stop playing Whack-a-Mole with pirates, it’s time to consider a professional partner.
