A Follow-Up on the Piracy Issue

There was an interesting comment related to my piracy post that I responded to within the comments, but that I'd like to bring more visibility to, in case other people have different perspectives:

I disagree with what is implied here. Sure, some authors choose to give
their material away for free and that can be a good thing.

But, what does that have to do with authors who have their work
ripped off? That isn't their choice, they are victims (of a crime). Is
the implication that they should just roll over and not consider it
theft? "Hey writer friends, even though it was someone else who decided
to pirate your work, just consider it a PR move! Because, people love
getting stuff for free and it could land you on the best-seller lists!
Who cares if it wasn't in your marketing or business plan..." ????

Please tell me I missed something.

This may be picking at definitions, but what does it mean to have your work ripped off? Does it mean that someone makes it available for download, for free, to the masses? Does it mean one friend sharing the work with their friends?

When author Paulo Coelho found someone selling pirated editions of his work, he started a blog to help promote those pirated editions, and even encouraged further piracy, since in the long run, it has only increased his sales.

The tighter we try to hold onto things, the more we stand to lose. Sure, you can get mad, but what good does it do? Why not look for the opportunity inside it?

Jane FriedmanAuthor

Jane Friedman is a full-time entrepreneur (since 2014) and has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. She is the co-founder of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and is the former publisher of Writer’s Digest. In addition to being a columnist with Publishers Weekly and a professor with The Great Courses, Jane maintains an award-winning blog for writers at JaneFriedman.com. Jane’s newest book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press, 2018).