Jan Dering #Querying

Since I’m still getting comments defending piracy, let me post some stats on the real-world harm piracy of books causes (note, these are all conservative estimates): US Publishers lose approximately $300 million annually to e-book piracy, according to data from the Authors Guild (presented at Book Expo 2019) and a 2017 Nielsen consumer survey commissioned by Digimarc (a copyright protection firm), which pegged losses at $315 million. These figures are conservative, as they often exclude print piracy, indirect costs (e.g., lost future sales from series cancellations), and the "long tail" effect on niche titles. A 2024 field experiment in the Journal of the Economic Science Association tested anti-piracy measures (e.g., takedown notices) on recent book titles and found evidence of sales displacement, confirming piracy reduces legitimate purchases, though the effect varies by book age and genre. Indie authors, who often rely on platforms like Kindle Direct Publishing for 70–100% of their income, face disproportionate harm because they lack the resources of big publishers for legal enforcement. Piracy can wipe out 30% or more of monthly revenue for affected titles, as seen in one indie author's case where fraudulent storefronts tanked sales rankings on Amazon. Authors typically earn 10% royalties on traditionally published books or 35–70% on self-published e-books. From the $300 million U.S. industry loss, authors might forfeit $30–$50 million in royalties annually (using a 10–15% average). For indies, this scales down per book but hits harder proportionally—e.g., a pirated niche title could lose hundreds of sales, equating to thousands in foregone income. Half of full-time U.S. authors earn below the poverty line ($12,488 in 2019), and piracy exacerbates this by deterring investment in sequels or new projects. It also devalues work, conditioning readers to expect free content and reducing willingness to pay. Piracy is not a victimless crime. There are other, better ways of getting free books that doesn’t actively harm the industry and the creators you enjoy.