She wrote to tell me my books were so good—while she only downloads books she can’t wait to read on the day of release for ‘free’ from online sites—she liked some of mine so much that once she read the entire series, she ‘actually paid for hard copies of her three favorites.’

She went on to say the reason she never pays for books but downloads them for ‘free’ (sorry let’s be precise here, they’re not free, they’re pirated and kill our sales, which can lead to cancelled contracts) was because there were a lot of books she ended up not liking as much as she thought she would, and didn’t feel obligated to pay for a book she wouldn’t want to read a second time.

Can I please go eat a pizza but pay for it only if I like it? Can I get a haircut and highlights but pay only if I think it’s good enough that I’ll want to use that stylist again? Can I go to the doctor but if he doesn’t make me better, ignore the bill?

Writers make a small percentage of the (much larger) percentage the publisher takes, after the online retailers take their (again much larger) percentage of the list price. The books that sometimes take up to a year to write are our sole source of income.

Books at pirate sites aren’t free. They’re stolen. If money is tight, go to your local library. Support them. Keep them afloat (Yes, I know there’s often a waiting list and instant gratification is preferable to patience.) One day those libraries may no longer exist if books continue to get any more ‘free.’

To those of you that don’t pirate THANK YOU! You’re the reason I can continue getting my books published and that means the world to me. :)”

This was posted to Facebook. 99% of the comments were in agreeance with moning, including myself.

And then you had people like this: 

Just no.