Dear 168 Book Pirates,

Perhaps you feel an extra bit of joy as you read my book, knowing you outsmarted the system and took it for free.  You might think that I’ll never know, or that it’s a compliment when you want a book enough to steal it, or that I don’t need the $2.49 I would have earned if you’d paid to buy Prized on Kindle.  You might think there’s nothing wrong with downloading pirated books for free since so many others do it, too.

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The truth is, I do need that money.  Within two weeks, from one site alone, 168 book pirates stole more than $400 from me, and three times that much from my publisher.

Here’s what bothers me most.  I worked on Prized for over a year.  Do you know what it’s like to devote yourself to one project for such a long time?  My livelihood, and that of my editor and a team of hard-working people at Roaring Brook, depends on the sale of our books to honest readers who pay a fair price for them.  You’ve cheated me, and you’ve treated my work like it’s worthless.

You make a difference.  Every choice you make to be honest or dishonest adds or subtracts something to our world.  Get my book from the library if you have no money.  Borrow it from a friend.  But quit stealing.  Become a better person.

Sincerely,

Caragh M. O’Brien