Wes Chu Talks Ebook Piracy

TheLivesOfTao-144dpiMy pal Wes Chu is one hell of a sharp writer. I had the honor and pleasure of offering a blurb for his debut novel, The Lives of Tao (available now at better booksellers everywhere), for which I said: 

“A fast-paced, high-action SF mix of Jason Bourne meets the Hero’s Journey, jam-packed with dark conspiracies, wild romance, ancient aliens, and a secret, globe-spanning war. Loved it!” 

Honest. Every damn word of it. 

Like most authors, Wes has a lot to say about all sorts of things, so I made some space for him to do that here. Today he’s decided to tackle the subject of ebook piracy. Take it away, Wes!

Matt – one of my favorite writers in all of the known universe and all-around good guy – is letting me guest blog today. At first I was going to talk about my Hillary Clinton love, but I decided to be more topical. So, let’s talk about book piracy.

Really, Wes? You gonna go there? Damn straight.

Here’s the deal. Piracy is inevitable. In a way, it’s a badge of honor for an author to get his book pirated. It means you’ve arrived. Nobody steals garbage, so someone actually thinks enough of your work to steal from you. But remember, authors need to eat, and no author is Neil Gaiman or George R.R. Martin (well, except for Neil and George). The majority of us scratch and claw to make a living doing what we love.

The Lives of Tao (April 30th, 2013) is my debut novel, and its sales numbers will help dictate my career moving forward. And if I can’t make a living writing, then I’ll have to stop and work as a waiter, insurance salesmen, computer programmer, or something else that isn’t creating stories. Not that there’s anything wrong with those careers, just that I’d make an awful waiter.

Also, Angry Robot Books has been releasing fantastic books and selling them DRM-free through the Robot Trading Company, but they are by no means a big publisher. They live and die by their book sales. Every book counts. If they can’t survive, then they close shop and stop producing these excellent books. That’s a lose-lose for everyone.

Now, I’m a big believer in the Amanda Palmer methodology of The Art of Asking. By the way, if you haven’t seen her excellent TED video, you should.

So I’m going to trust you and ask you to consider supporting this author by buying my book, and I would love you immensely if you did. And if you do pirate it, I hope you enjoy it. Seriously, enjoy it, and consider purchasing it as a token of appreciation for the people who worked many countless hours to bring it to you.

And as a last resort, consider this. If you pirated and like the book, consider donating whatever you like to this Paypal account: pirate4pups@chuforthought.com. All donations will go the local Paws Animal No-Kill shelter here in Chicago.

Straight up. Remember, save the restaurant business by not forcing me to wait on tables.