Sunday, August 9, 2009

Piracy Stabs Me in the Pocketbook


You may remember my blog earlier this summer about ebook pirates. This week, the proverbial crapola hit the fan. I received my royalty statement for the second quarter of 2009. My third book, the one appearing on all those pirate sites, had many fewer sales than the first two books in the series.

The first two books, The Greater Good and The Lesser Evil, held steady with downloads and had a minor upswing in print sales. But that third book, A Ruthless Good, had not near the download sales as the first two books did in the same time period.

I'll blame a little bit of the drop in sales on my cover. The cover misleads one into thinking A Ruthless Good is an erotic romance when it's actually only a sensual level of heat like the first two books and the forthcoming fourth book, One Good Woman. But I truly believe it was the durn pirates that blasted my sales to the bottom of the financial sea.

What should I do? I'm going to ramp up my promotion and try to find those honest readers who believe in paying for merchandize instead of stealing it. I'm working on a plan right now so stay tuned.

5 comments:

Hart Johnson said...

Urgh! Totally stinks and I'm really sorry to hear about it! I would love a world where literature was free, but I also feel authors should be fairly compensated... the library is the system through which 'free' ought to work... (if you can't wait your turn, you need to PAY for it)

Kathye Quick said...

I know, it's very frustrating.

And I like your cover, very sensual

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Thanks for the sympathy, Watery and Kathye. I know I'm not the only one hurt by these criminals.

Cate Masters said...

So sorry to hear that, Susan! I'm hoping publishers find a way to put an end to piracy. It's hurting everyone - even readers, since some authors may give up if profits sink too low.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

It does hurt and I'm shocked at how bold pirates are. There is no fear of reprisals. I try not to dwell on it but everytime I get a royalty statement I wonder. Of course, maybe those people wouldn't spend money to buy anyway.