Authors: What to do about ebook ripped and shared?

[mckitterick]

So I happened to do a search on my book and discovered that the top results no longer link to my website (or Amazon or Powell's or Alibris or whatever) but instead to a wide variety of file-sharing networks.

Is this normal these days? Do I combat it by doing the same, offering my own free download on my website as an "official" way to get it free? Do I contact all the forum managers to remove such posts - or is that a Sisyphean effort? Or do I not try to combat it at all and learn to like it?

Huh!

EDIT: Or should I just take it as a compliment that someone liked it enough to share it? *sigh*

EDIT2: I've decided to fight fire with fire and just give it away electronically!

Thanks for any advice,
Chris

Comments

[ryltar.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately the only thing you can do is contact each site and ask them to take the file down as the original copyright holder. Most sites have a DMCA policy at the bottom of the page. Unfortunately, as red said, that is eat all your time.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

I started contacting sites, but it's a mega-pain, mostly because it's nearly impossible to find contact info unless you're a member. Egad.

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

Did you use whois? That is the easy way. Then past the address of the contact into a bcc and contact lots of folks with the same request.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

I do not know of this magic contact tool of which you speak. Please enlighten me!

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

http://www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/

Go to this site, and enter your main domain name (ending with .com, .net, .org, etc) -- or enter an IP address. On the page you get there should be contact information.

One time someone was talking about KU's web site and did not know who was responsible for it, so I went to the whois for KU's web site and got the information.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Neat, thanks!

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. I learned about it a long time ago when chat was all IRC -- no sweet little interfaces until AOL's IM came along.

[auroraceleste.livejournal.com]

I think you know google search rankings, is there a way we can link to McKitterick's stie or Amazon en-masse in blogs and such to at least push the crap down the search page?

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

That's a great idea, thanks! Here are the links:

My site with an HTML excerpt (where people can download the whole thing in .pdf format for free):
http://www.sff.net/people/mckitterick/Me/Transcendence1.htm

My publisher's website with my book:
http://www.hadleyrillebooks.com/transcendence.html

Here's the link to Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982946708/?tag=CSSF-20

It's also been Kindled:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004BA5GJ0/?tag=CSSF-20

Powell's:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=29700&cgi=product&isbn=9780982946701

Barnes & Noble:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Transcendence/Christopher-McKitterick/e/9780982946701

It's at lots of other places, too, like Alibris and so forth.

Thank you!
Chris

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

And I created a Creative Commons license for it. I'm clever! ;-)