As a blogger, this whole situation made my heart hurt. And honestly? It made me angry. Even though I'm still new to the blogging world, I take my blog and what I do here very seriously. I love this blog and everything about it. I'm so pissed off that two criminals (and yes, that's what they are) could make honest bloggers who have worked so hard on their blogs look bad. My relationships with a lot of authors that I've met through blogging mean the world to me. I respect them all immensely. I hate that this situation could affect those relationships.
What confuses me the most is how they got away with this for so long. The way that they got the books is very simple. There's the ever present torrent and file sharing websites. But I suspect that a lot of the books they got were through blog tours. Whenever I sign up for a blog tour and receive an eARC, I download the file, send it to my Kindle, and delete it immediately after. This is definitely going to make authors more weary of participating in blog tours. I've discovered so many great books through tours I've hosted and tours on other blogs. I truly hope I'm wrong about that part.
I've only been asked once by a publisher to forward an eARC copy to a winner and it made me extremely uncomfortable. So, I do think it's worth noting that sometimes publishers or authors sometimes ask bloggers to distribute prizes. I'd still be weary, though. That being said, I'm going to refuse to do this any more. How do you handle giveaways on your blog? What are your thoughts on the situation?
Ugh, I hadn't heard about this, but it makes me extremely upset. It's always one or two that ruin it. And it is terrible for the authors who have books that are being pirated like this. They work (along with publishers, editors, designers, publicists, and EVERYONE on a book team) so hard on a project, and this is how some people repay them.
ReplyDeleteIt's just so sad. I hope they know there are good people out there who will continually BUY them the correct way (or borrow a paperback from a friend). :( Sad day
I was so shocked (and angry) as soon as I heard about this. It hurts the blogger community so much. And I know what you mean. It hurts the ENTIRE industry when books are pirated. It just isn't right. I cannot imagine how the authors feel.
DeleteI hope you're right. It's so frustrating for everyone involved.
I had no idea that was happening! When you sign up for ARC websites or tours, you have to agree to not do that. Those stupid people are going to ruin it for the rest of us!
ReplyDeleteMissie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
I know! I cannot believe someone is actually doing that with the eARCs. It makes me so upset. I cannot imagine how the authors feel. More are figuring out now that, that blog was doing the same with their books!
DeleteI briefly heard something about this earlier, but I was not able to look into it too much up to this point. What decent human being could do something like this, though? We are book bloggers, we are here because we LOVE books AND the people who write them! Ultimately, doing something like that hurts the author, and that just is not right. I have gotten to do so many great blog tours for some awesome authors; they all seem like such great people, and I cannot imagine doing something like that to one of them! Wow, it's just disgusting. I have yet to really do giveaways since I'm pretty new to blogging still, but I know that I would just purchase a book if I chose to do one. Wow...I just can't believe this..
ReplyDeleteTiffany
Beneath the Jacket Reviews
Exactly! We're supposed to be here to SUPPORT our favorite authors and books. Not pirate them illegally for our own gain. :/ It's so upsetting.
DeleteThis is the second post I've read about this topic (and I plan on writing one too) - as responsible bloggers I think it's important that we make sure our followers understand our morals and ethics pertaining to this topic.
ReplyDeleteAll giveaways on my blog have been managed through the tour host. I've only ever held my own giveaway once and the publisher mailed me physical copies of the book to mail to the winners.
Thanks for sharing!
Emily @ Follow the Yellow Book Road
I'm so glad to see more bloggers speaking out about it and their disgust with the situation. It never hurts to reiterate our stance on issues like this to our readers and authors that we host. Thanks for stopping by, Emily!
DeleteI saw some buzz about pirating on Twitter, but I wasn't aware what was going on. I'm going to look on Teresa Mummerts blog for the article.
ReplyDeleteThis is just.. I can't understand how book loving people can do such a thing. It also gives us all a very bad name and I'm afraid for the future. Who knows what ultimately is going to happen if people keep pirating like this :(
I know exactly what you mean, Mel. It's really disheartening. Hopefully this was the wake-up call everyone needed about pirating!
DeleteWhat a frustrating situation. I know I sent e-copies of my book to many bloggers when requesting a review. Most were clear in their review request instructions that they would not share the copy I sent, which I appreciated.
ReplyDeleteAs a mom of two teens I can say that there is a cavalier attitude that I keep hearing about stealing electronic music, movies, books. Often the excuse is that they (kids) are too broke to afford to buy the item. (Although broke is relative. They have champagne taste on a discount beer budget). I always point out that it is the same as me walking into a shoe store and taking a pair of Laboutin heels because I can't afford to buy them.
While I am disgusted that the bloggers would steal (and probably not see it as such), I am heartened that the winner of the prize was not only honest, but took the time to contact the author.
I do think the winner was the hero in this! Honestly, whenever I first got introduced to the online bookish world I wouldn't even have recognized how suspicious that was. Now I'm glad that I know. I hate what these bloggers have done. I just hope it doesn't affect author and blogger relationships from here on out.
DeleteWow. Well, I can see how it happens. The one time I received an eARC it was in PDF form, which meant I could print and distribute it (if I was that kinda gal, which I'm not). I think there's a big disconnect within our culture (blogging, bookish, etc) on *how* an author makes money.
ReplyDeleteI think that disconnect stretches even farther than the bookish community. A lot of my friends are non-readers or casual readers and nearly all of them view writing and being an author as a hobby. My eye always twitches a bit whenever I hear something like that from them. Most authors, especially Indies, rely on the income from their books. It's a job just like any other. It's frustrating to no end.
DeleteHow disappointing. I'd seen some posts referencing some negativity in the book blogging community lately, but I didn't know what was going on until now. It's a shame that just a few bloggers can ruin things for everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI know, right? My fingers are crossed that lessons were learned.
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