Pirating is Theft - end of.

Dear Travis McCrea of Ebook Bike

It’s not often that I blog now as there never seem to be enough hours in the day when you earn an honest living but this particular post needs to get out my system before I self-combust.

Working as an Indie writer is an incredibly tough job and, in the past, was a worthwhile career.  The way that Amazon has changed how they pay us has made it increasingly difficult to earn a living and so I really don't need any spanners in the works.

So, with a constant battle on my hands to get my books seen, talked about, sold and reviewed, imagine my fury when it came to light that you are stealing my work and giving it away for free.  Your opening line on your FAQ page is:

Imagine a world where authors can make money by giving digital versions of their books away to their reader.

This makes NO SENSE TO ME!  HOW?!  How can the theft of my books be making me any money?  Do you have a stash of cash owing to me?  I don’t think so somehow.  I’ve asked you this many times on Twitter and you choose not to answer.  I wonder why.

The truth of the matter is, every book you give away is taking hard earned cash from my hands.  So all the years, months, weeks and hours of blood sweat and tears that I pour into my work are given away, without my permission, for nothing.

And how do you justify this?  Oh, it gets better and better!  You set yourself up as a Reverend of:

Missionary Church of Kopimism

The followers of the religion are called Kopimists from copy me. A "Kopimist" or "Kopimist intellectual" is a person who has the philosophical belief that all information should be freely distributed and unrestricted. This philosophy opposes the monopolization of knowledge in all its forms, such as copyright, and encourages file sharing of all types of media including music, movies, TV shows, and software.

So you are somehow trying to justify your act of theft.  Unbelievable!

It doesn’t end there though.  Your girlfriend @malkarii_ is a charity fundraiser for St Jude’s Hospital, Memphis.  No, no, no!  Sorry, but this doesn’t sit well with me.  You @travisvancouver boast about the plane that you’ve bought and the yacht trips that you’ve taken with MY money - because your ‘religion’ doesn’t believe in copyrighting and you’re under the misguided impression that it’s your right to share my work for your gain.  You can’t expect us to believe that your girlfriend doesn’t enjoy that illegal lifestyle to some extent.

I too raise funds for charity and I know that my reputation needs to be whiter than white.  I’ve watched her video on Twitch and I feel for her but she openly admits that what you are doing is ‘shady’ and has asked you to take the website down.  Any connection with you and your dodgy deals will not show @malkarii_ in a good light - she needs to be rethinking her life choices and who she keeps company with if you continue to ignore her requests and she wants to maintain her credibility and integrity.

And you need to own up to the fact that you are a thief and a liar.  On your interview with BBC Radio, you claimed that Ebook Bike was set up with and for writers.  I’d like just ONE writer to come forward and agree with this statement.  Who are these writers who helped to set it up and how do they gain financially from it?  The only writers I’ve heard voice an opinion, are those who are being ripped-off.

I thought long and hard before writing this.  There are two trains of thought.  Some authors are keeping quiet as they don’t want to give you oxygen to grow, others are livid and doing everything they can to bring you down.  Indies are the ones who are particularly disgruntled as we don’t get an advance to keep us going - but what the traditionally published authors need to realise is that, if their books continue to be given away without their permission, their publishers will see a fall in sales and may not re-sign them.  It affects us all.  I won’t be silenced, especially when I read that a sixth of ebooks that were downloaded in 2017 were pirated because of the likes of you.  Why should I keep quiet?  If you crept into my house while I was sleeping and stole all of my worldly goods I wouldn’t let you get away with it - this theft is no different.

I don’t have a plane or fancy yacht trips around the English Bay of Vancouver and you know why?  Because I’m helping to pay for you to enjoy those privileges.

Shame on you.  Enjoy the publicity while you can but I don’t think it will last for long.  Time to get your thinking cap on and come up with a new scam.

May you get your just desserts in heaven Reverend McCrea.

PS: To those authors and publishers who choose to keep quiet, I respect your opinion but I’m choosing to speak out for the underdog.  I don’t believe that by writing this I will encourage more people to pirate books - honest people don’t - but I do feel that it needs to be talked about.  This isn’t just affecting Indies.  It’s affecting traditionally published authors and will go on to affect the publishing world, just as it did with pirated music, unless people make a noise.  I don’t believe that this is a time for anyone to sit on their laurels, hope that it will go away and leave other people to do the dirty work and deal with it on their behalf.

A Day in the Life of a Lazy Cow

I haven’t worked for anyone else for many years and for many reasons.  Firstly there was the birth of my son and I chose to be a stay at home mum - I was also fortunate enough to be able to do this because my husband was in well paid full-time employment.

Once my son started school, and it became clear that the stork had no further deliveries for us, I knew I had to find more to do with my life.  I re-trained as an adult literacy tutor and spent five happy years meeting some inspirational people who, in many ways, taught me far more than I taught them.  The main reason I stopped was because of the crappy funding in our borough, which constantly closed down classes until I never knew if my course was actually running or not.

But, as John Lennon so poignantly said, ‘Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans’.

I stopped teaching at just about the time my family commitments went up a notch.  No, not another baby but ‘stuff’ that meant I needed to be around just a little bit more - I won’t go into detail but between my mum and my son they kept me busy with ‘issues’ for quite a while and, in many ways, continue to do so.

As most of you will already know, my son’s problem was school phobia.  Had I been employed at the time, I wouldn’t have been able to carry on working.  I needed to be there to sort out this massive problem that had come from nowhere.  He now looks back and (thankfully) laughs.  He can’t understand, or put into words, the feelings that he had - but it resulted in me spending three years AT SCHOOL WITH HIM.

I look back over the years from 2006 until 2009 and often wonder how I got through them.  I guess the answer is, I had no choice - you deal with what life throws at you and I firmly believe that I turned (and continue to turn) a negative into a positive.  Because I didn’t sit in my car at the school and mope my days away - I read, read and read and then I wrote, wrote and wrote until ‘Diary of a Mummy Misfit’ was born.  Not one minute of my time was wasted - I was honing my craft.  In many ways, it was heaven - no distractions, no excuses, just writing and peace.

So from that rather odd start on my career path, and with some on-going commitments (my mum), I now find myself a full-time writer.

I’m not dabbling at this.  Not just sticking a toe in the water.  I live, breathe, eat and sleep writing.  When I’m not writing or promoting or tweeting or blogging or doing interviews, I may look like a ‘normal’ woman going through life but inside I’m writing that next scene, constructing that next dialogue.

So probably best not to say to me, ‘You choose not to work.’

Not really the wisest move, eh?

Because, trust me, I’ve had people say that and it doesn’t sit well with me.

There are many reasons why I can’t take on a ‘paid job’ right now - a job where I have to be there from 9-5 regardless - and the people who say I ‘choose not to work’ should be well aware of those reasons.  Sadly, they’re not.

So, as someone who ‘doesn’t work’, let me take you through a typical day and see if you fancy ‘dossing’ as much as I do to earn approximately a quid a book.

GET UP:  Do all the usual checks.  Book sales (not a best seller yet), reviews (phew, no crap ones yet), email (no TV deals yet), Blog (great night for hits, no weirdos leaving comments), Twitter (lovely friends leaving positive comments and willing me to carry on) and DM’s (thoughts and ideas from Twitter friends).

COFFEE - work my way through any interviews or guest blogs I need to get done.

MORE COFFEE - Look through yesterday’s chapter, make changes and re-acquaint myself with my path.

CONTEMPLATE MORE COFFEE BUT HAVE WATER - to write or to promote?  My new novel is calling me but I need to be looking at ways of marketing my other three babies.  Search the web for review sites and other marketing ideas.

DRINK MORE COFFEE and sulk for a while.

BACK ON TO WATER NOW TO STOP THE JITTERS - need to concentrate.  My target for each day is 3,000 words but there are many days this doesn’t happen.  Fingers hover over the keyboard and … I’m away.

CHECK SALES.  STARE OUT OF WINDOW.

RING FELLOW INDIE FOR A MOAN - Michelle Betham and I started on this journey at the same time and act as lifelines for one another.  I truly do not know what I’d do without her.

CHECK TWITTER - another lovely reader has left a comment.  The vote of confidence gives me a boost and I hit my 3,000 word target.

This process continues for most of the day and into the night.  I’ve sold more books (and made more friends) during my night-time Twittering than through any other means.  Don’t tell me Twitter is crap!

Then, when the work in progress is complete, everything goes up another notch.  Reading, re-reading, editing, formatting, cover design, getting the word out there.  As an Indie, that month leading up to a book’s release is a killer.

Fancy giving it a go?  Would you still tell someone they ‘choose not to work’?  I can honestly tell you, I have never worked harder.

I’m not complaining - I love every minute of it - although sometimes I’d just like to be left to write the books and leave the rest to someone else.

But - not working? - I don’t think so!

Leave comments, if you dare!

The A-Z of Things That Bug Me

Last week we had the A-Z of me.  This week I tackle the A-Z of things that bug me - a kind of extended version of my ‘Room 101’ (see HERE).  Some of my bug-bears will have featured in other posts, which only goes to show how much they really annoy me!

 A - Agents.  Bitter?  Me?  Yes!  I’ve been pushed from pillar to post by literary agents and had my hopes raised and dashed - sometimes over a period of months, sometimes overnight.  If I’d been a celebrity who’d written a shopping list they’d have bashed my door down but I was just a nobody - although I’ve written (so my readers tell me) two cracking books and am currently working on a third.  I’m now at the stage where I would never approach an agent again.

B - Bicycles in London.  Sorry Boris, but this is not the place for bikes.  They are everywhere!  I spend the whole of my driving life absolutely paranoid as I negotiate the streets surrounded by them.  Half of them don’t bother looking out for me and the majority of them take no notice of traffic lights.  Get them off my roads.

C - Clingfilm.  It comes from the tube like a flirty little minx, doing everything my husband tells it.  But the minute I touch it, it shrivels into a ball and becomes totally uncontrollable.  A line that can often be heard in our house is from hubbie to me, “You’ve been at the clingfilm again, haven’t you?” 

D - Dust.  Come on!  The minute I’ve got rid of you, you’re back again.  It’s not a game!  Or if it is, let’s make it Hide & Seek - you hide and I won’t seek.

E - Eggs.  Now I love eggs but the boiled variety that really don’t want to take their clothes off just make me so mad.  I want to eat you when you’re a hot, full sized egg, not when you’re stone cold and looking like you’ve been put through a mincer.  Get ‘em off!

F - Flying.  I know it’s a necessary evil to get to where you need to go but … well, it’s just not natural is it?  As a writer, I like my head to be in the clouds - never my feet.

G - Grey underwear.  You buy pristine white or cream knickers or bras and within weeks they’re only fit for the bin.  I now know why most of the underwear I buy is black.

H - Hanger-uppers!  Not a real word, I know, but I’m sure you get my drift.  Usually call centres who have you in a queue.  When I’m hit by ten in a day I start to see red.

I - Inconsistency.  People who say one thing and then do another.  Stories that get changed along the way.  I’m not stupid, don’t insult me.

J - Jordan, Katie Price whatever you want to call her.  Grrrr!  She looks smelly and irritates the poo out of me.  Oh and she’s published books - say no more!

K - Know-alls.  You know the type?  They know everything about everything, tell you how to live your life and also what everyone else is doing wrong with theirs. 

L - Liars.  Lie to me once and lose my trust forever.  Yes, that’s black and white but that’s my choice.  Live your life openly and honestly and you’ll never need to cover your back.

M - Men who talk to your bosoms and not your face.  Shall I talk to your willy?  Enough said.

N - No smoking policy.  I’ve written about this before but I firmly believe there should have been an option for smoking clubs, pubs and restaurants.  Give us stupid people a choice!

O - Open House.  Our country is full to the brim.  We’re struggling and yet we still let immigrants in, often to claim benefits.  I’m not racist, as I’ve said time and again in my blogs, I’m merely practical.  We have no space, no money and no jobs.  It makes perfect sense to me.

P - Periods.  I’m 48, do I really need them any more?  And don’t get me started on the ad telling us to “Have a happy period.”  Just don’t go there!  Do you know any woman who thinks that’s a great strap-line?  Talk to your audience guys!  (see my letter to Mother Nature HERE)

Q - Queuing.  What a waste of time, eh?  But we have to do it.  Unless of course you are a queue jumper and they bug me even more.  What makes you think that your time is more precious than mine?

R - Rome.  A bit of a cheat here (and I’ve blogged about it in the past) but “When in Rome …”  If you choose to live in our country, live by our rules - simple.  And don’t try to inflict your views, religious beliefs or laws on us.

S - Size zero women.  If you’re size zero through ill-health, you have my full sympathy.  But size zero out of choice?  What is a size zero?  Do you not want to exist?  Come on ladies, get a bit of meat on you and live a little.

T - Technology.  I fully accept that technology is wonderful and has changed all of our lives but when it doesn’t work, or I’m stuck on something that I can’t do, I want to kick it out of the window.

U - Ugg boots.  Sorry Ugg lovers but they are just so UGGLY!  Along with Crocs, they are 100% sexless and make my stomach churn.  Why would anyone want to walk around looking like Bigfoot?

V - Vaccinations.  Or more importantly, the way parents are made to feel if they make an educated decision not to vaccinate.  Our babies should not be treated as social lepers, we are merely doing what we think is right and not lining the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies by pumping our offspring full of unnecessary drugs.

W - Wasps.  I shudder just writing the word.  The sound, the evil look, the sting.  I wish they’d all die and make my summers happier.  OK, I know they have a purpose and all that claptrap, but I want them gone.

X - X axis!  OK, it’s a little tenuous but I HATE maths and it hates me.

Y - Yummy Mummies.  Now there’s nothing wrong with being a mummy and looking yummy - I’ve been known to do it myself on occasions - but it’s the loud, designer-clad brigade who spend their lives trying to outdo one another.  Read my books, you’ll meet them all.

Z - Zippy from Rainbow.  Even as a child I knew he was a big headed know-it-all and I wanted to permanently shut his annoying zip-gob.

So there you have it, another side to Mummy Misfit.  Do you agree with any of my points?  Do you vehemently disagree?  Let me know here or on Twitter.

In the meantime, I tag a new friend @donna_trinder.  Find her blog HERE.  And an old friend @mummyontheedge1 HERE

You can find my novels at Amazon for Kindle, PC or Smartphone and at Lulu in paperback.  Go on, treat yourself to a laugh.  See my reviews HERE