There is this myth going around the pirate sites that they think published writers are rich, so if they steal files from them, it’s not hurting them, it’s only hurting “fat cat publishers.”
Well, here’s another myth about to go up in flames on the sacred cow barbecue.
The majority of writers, even writers whose books make “bestseller” lists, make less than poverty wages from their writing. If the first link doesn’t depress the hell out of you, keep reading.
http://brendahiatt.com/id2.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070310135839AAbSlno
http://kimberlypauley.com/2009/04/20/so-how-much-money-do-writers-make-anyway/
http://www.genreality.net/the-reality-of-a-times-bestseller
http://www.genreality.net/more-on-the-reality-of-a-times-bestseller
http://booksquare.com/just-how-much-do-those-romance-writers-make/
Okay, get your ass back in here off that ledge. I hate heights, and I’m not about to climb out there to pull you in. Take your freaking meds, sit down, shut up, and listen.
There’s a reason I’m telling you all of this. Very few fiction writers, I’m guessing MAYBE one out of every one thousand, IF that, make over $100k a year. I’m basing this on the glut of traditional publishing mid-list books, indie/e-houses, and self-publishing.
Of those very few, even fewer of them make Stephen King or Dan Brown money.
So all these file pirates who are stealing and downloading files from authors from little houses, guess what? Most of the people they’re stealing from are small authors who make less than ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS A YEAR per book on their writing. They don’t get advances usually, either.
Are you understanding me?
Three of my books made LESS than one hundred dollars each in sales at one of my publishers. The sales at third party sites bumped that number up to slightly over a hundred dollars.
Are you saying losing a few HUNDRED (or more, usually more) copies to file pirates doesn’t hurt my sales when it's downloaded MORE than it's LEGALLY PURCHASED?
I’m one of the lucky ones that can make a living at writing, but I'm still far under the $100k a year number, and as you saw in my last post, I write my ass off. I have a few books that sell enough to make up for those numbers (except I lose sales to pirates there, too). But most writers DO NOT.
So before you think downloading a file from a free site doesn’t hurt anyone, think long and hard about who you’re stealing from, and if you’d like someone stealing from you.
I found your list of what different pubs pay very interesting. I need to get into print! But on another note, it is so true that piracy hurts little authors a lot more than big publishers. There were over 4,000 illegal downloads of my books at one site alone. That's a lot of grocery money and mortgage payments I am never going to see because some people are too selfish to buy a book they want instead of stealing it.