You really know when you've made it when someone torrents your work

ghostyjack · 10-28-2013, 04:02 PM

Well this came as a bit of a shock to me today.

I got a PM from someone asking if a particular torrent was the latest version of my H. P. Lovecraft books.

I thought to myself: "Who on earth would want to go to the trouble of torrenting my books?"

Naturally I had to check it out. Lo and behold, there they were! Just needed to search for "H.P. Lovcraft - The Complete Lovecraft", shame they couldn't spell his surname correctly.

I could not believe it, all my Lovecraft books in one 7Mb torrent. I had to download them.

Now... Is this piracy I'm committing? Downloading ones' own books from a dubious website? Hmm...

On a more serious note, I've finally managed to find some time to make some corrections Jellby found (it's been the best part of a year since he gave me them, sorry Jellby). Hopefully I can get new versions out by Halloween.

Istvan diVega · 10-28-2013, 04:23 PM

Congratulations on your new-found fame!!

ghostyjack · 10-28-2013, 04:59 PM

Thanks.

The only change from my originals is they have changed the cover. Mine was getting a bit old though. They even left in the page saying I made it.

Waylander · 10-28-2013, 07:04 PM

L.E. Modesitt Jr talks about his own experience on this in his blog, which is very interesting and well worth a perusal. He has some interesting insights into today's world, not just in the book world.

Ravensknight · 10-28-2013, 07:41 PM

Edited because I couldn't figure out how to delete.

JSWolf · 10-28-2013, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waylander

L.E. Modesitt Jr talks about his own experience on this in his blog, which is very interesting and well worth a perusal. He has some interesting insights into today's world, not just in the book world.

Link(s) please to the specific blog post(s). Thanks.

AnemicOak · 10-28-2013, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Link(s) please to the specific blog post(s). Thanks.

Don't know if these are the posts Waylander meant, but a quick Google turns up...
COMPLETE PIRACY AT LAST
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PIRACY: A FEW [MORE] THOUGHTS

I'm guessing there are more on his blog too...
http://www.lemodesittjr.com/blog/

taosaur · 10-29-2013, 01:43 AM

A suggestion to combat piracy: edit the OP, highlight the words "my H. P. Lovecraft books," click the link button, and insert the link to your preferred download/purchase location. Based on your OP, I know exactly how to locate the pirated copy, but can only guess at how to find the originals. My best guess would be the MR library, but it's just a guess. Failure to make your works discoverable is one of many ways to exhaust your audience's goodwill, leading them to turn to unapproved but better curated sources (e.g. a torrent index site).

Billi · 10-29-2013, 04:03 AM

I must admit that I can't see any problem or piracy here. Aren't these works all in the public domain? Have you not provided them for free download/use here in the MobileRead library? Or is there something that I overlook?

ghostyjack · 10-29-2013, 05:56 AM

Oh I don't have any issues with someone putting my books on torrent, I never made them to make any money anyway. I was just rather surprised that someone thought my work good enough to do this for.

Yes my books are in the MR library, I don't have my own website to host them and am not interested in doing that. I am not worried about advertising my books, I'm happy enough that they are on this site and available to whomever finds them.

I don't believe my lack of advertising if effecting anyones goodwill, the same could be said for most of us who publish here as almost none of us advertise the fact anywhere else that we've made them. If someone would rather use sites like torrent sites to download my work is fine (not the case for any copyrighted work), the only issue would be if they are up-to-date versions as I would not be able to control the quality.

As to my line about piracy, I think people might have taken it a bit out of context. I certainly am not upset about them being there. It was more a non-serious statement about downloading from a site that provided links to pirated software. The fact that they are there means I must have been doing something right when I made them.

kennyc · 10-29-2013, 06:09 AM

I guess I'm missing the point then.....why would it be a shock if they are already freely available? This is the way of the internet world these days....

kennyc · 10-29-2013, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Don't know if these are the posts Waylander meant, but a quick Google turns up...
COMPLETE PIRACY AT LAST
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PIRACY: A FEW [MORE] THOUGHTS

I'm guessing there are more on his blog too...
http://www.lemodesittjr.com/blog/

Yep, publishing is changing....

Billi · 10-29-2013, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghostyjack

As to my line about piracy ... It was more a non-serious statement about downloading from a site that provided links to pirated software.

Okay, then I've misunderstood you a little bit. As Kenny, the "shock" irritated me.

Quote:

The fact that they are there means I must have been doing something right when I made them.

Definitely!

DrNefario · 10-29-2013, 07:48 AM

Torrents are a useful way of distributing legitimate files, too. They don't have to be used for evil. I mean, they mostly are, but that's not their fault.

jgaiser · 10-29-2013, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Torrents are a useful way of distributing legitimate files, too.

Indeed. I regularly use torrents to download current distributions of Linux.

10-28-2013, 04:02 PM	#1
ghostyjack Guru Posts: 718 Karma: 1085610 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bristol, England Device: PRS-T1, 1825PT, Galaxy Tab, One X, TF700T, Aura HD, Nexus 7	You really know when you've made it when someone torrents your work Well this came as a bit of a shock to me today. I got a PM from someone asking if a particular torrent was the latest version of my H. P. Lovecraft books. I thought to myself: "Who on earth would want to go to the trouble of torrenting my books?" Naturally I had to check it out. Lo and behold, there they were! Just needed to search for "H.P. Lovcraft - The Complete Lovecraft", shame they couldn't spell his surname correctly. I could not believe it, all my Lovecraft books in one 7Mb torrent. I had to download them. Now... Is this piracy I'm committing? Downloading ones' own books from a dubious website? Hmm... On a more serious note, I've finally managed to find some time to make some corrections Jellby found (it's been the best part of a year since he gave me them, sorry Jellby). Hopefully I can get new versions out by Halloween. Last edited by ghostyjack; 10-29-2013 at 05:05 AM.

10-28-2013, 07:41 PM	#5
Ravensknight Serpent Rider Posts: 1,123 Karma: 10219804 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: Sony 350; Nook STR; Oasis	Edited because I couldn't figure out how to delete. Last edited by Ravensknight; 10-28-2013 at 07:43 PM. Reason: NNTS, SNAA

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10-28-2013, 04:23 PM	#2
Istvan diVega Inharmonious Posts: 416 Karma: 2157616 Join Date: Jan 2013 Device: Sony PRS-950, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1	Congratulations on your new-found fame!!

10-28-2013, 04:59 PM	#3
ghostyjack Guru Posts: 718 Karma: 1085610 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bristol, England Device: PRS-T1, 1825PT, Galaxy Tab, One X, TF700T, Aura HD, Nexus 7	Thanks. The only change from my originals is they have changed the cover. Mine was getting a bit old though. They even left in the page saying I made it.

10-28-2013, 07:04 PM	#4
Waylander Guru Posts: 664 Karma: 2905052 Join Date: Oct 2013 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 5 16GB, Kindle Paperwhite 6, Kobo Clara,	L.E. Modesitt Jr talks about his own experience on this in his blog, which is very interesting and well worth a perusal. He has some interesting insights into today's world, not just in the book world.

10-29-2013, 01:43 AM	#8
taosaur intelligent posterior Posts: 1,562 Karma: 21295618 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ohiopolis Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Samsung S8, Lenovo Tab 3 Pro	A suggestion to combat piracy: edit the OP, highlight the words "my H. P. Lovecraft books," click the link button, and insert the link to your preferred download/purchase location. Based on your OP, I know exactly how to locate the pirated copy, but can only guess at how to find the originals. My best guess would be the MR library, but it's just a guess. Failure to make your works discoverable is one of many ways to exhaust your audience's goodwill, leading them to turn to unapproved but better curated sources (e.g. a torrent index site).

10-29-2013, 04:03 AM	#9
Billi Wizard Posts: 3,388 Karma: 14190103 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Berlin Device: Cybook, iRex, PB, Onyx	I must admit that I can't see any problem or piracy here. Aren't these works all in the public domain? Have you not provided them for free download/use here in the MobileRead library? Or is there something that I overlook?

10-29-2013, 05:56 AM	#10
ghostyjack Guru Posts: 718 Karma: 1085610 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bristol, England Device: PRS-T1, 1825PT, Galaxy Tab, One X, TF700T, Aura HD, Nexus 7	Oh I don't have any issues with someone putting my books on torrent, I never made them to make any money anyway. I was just rather surprised that someone thought my work good enough to do this for. Yes my books are in the MR library, I don't have my own website to host them and am not interested in doing that. I am not worried about advertising my books, I'm happy enough that they are on this site and available to whomever finds them. I don't believe my lack of advertising if effecting anyones goodwill, the same could be said for most of us who publish here as almost none of us advertise the fact anywhere else that we've made them. If someone would rather use sites like torrent sites to download my work is fine (not the case for any copyrighted work), the only issue would be if they are up-to-date versions as I would not be able to control the quality. As to my line about piracy, I think people might have taken it a bit out of context. I certainly am not upset about them being there. It was more a non-serious statement about downloading from a site that provided links to pirated software. The fact that they are there means I must have been doing something right when I made them.

10-29-2013, 06:09 AM	#11
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,897 Karma: 119230421 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	I guess I'm missing the point then.....why would it be a shock if they are already freely available? This is the way of the internet world these days....

10-29-2013, 07:48 AM	#14
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,202 Karma: 12029046 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	Torrents are a useful way of distributing legitimate files, too. They don't have to be used for evil. I mean, they mostly are, but that's not their fault.

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