This is just wrong.

So, a couple of weeks ago, there was a resurgence of conversation about the illegal downloading of books and whether or not it was good for publishing. Or something along those lines.

I skipped over it, because, PLEASE. It's stealing. I wouldn't steal a book from a bookstore, I wouldn't steal a book from someone else's house, I wouldn't grab a laptop or Kindle or iPad and run.

It's just not a Shades Of Gray Issue for me.

But then, this morning, I came across this post at Saundra Mitchell's blog, and my head almost exploded:

It’s going out of print in hardcover because demand for it has dwindled to 10 or so copies a month. This means I will never get a royalty check for this book. By all appearances, nobody wants it anymore.

But those appearances are deceiving. According to one download site’s stats, people are downloading SHADOWED SUMMER at a rate of 800 copies a week. When the book first came out, it topped out at 3000+ downloads a week.

If even HALF of those people who downloaded my book that week had bought it, I would have hit the New York Times Bestseller list.

If you haven't read the post, do so. And then, if you haven't read Shadowed Summer, do that, too. Buy a copy. If your bookseller of choice doesn't have it in stock, request that they get a copy for you. Or check it out at the library. If it's out, put it on hold. If the library doesn't have it, request that they purchase it or ILL it. Because it's a fantastic book. And it deserves to be read.

While you're at it, put in a request for The Vespertine, too. Because it also deserves to be read.

And if you download books illegally, or if you know people who do, cut it out. Because it sucks, and you know it. And also, completely selfishly, I'M GOING TO BE REALLY CHEESED OFF IF I DON'T GET ANY MORE SAUNDRA MITCHELL BOOKS JUST BECAUSE OF SOME CHEAP, LAZY AND ENTITLED JACKASSES.

Ahem.

Anyway.