The Hill News

I am an author living in Texas. My Congressman, Lamar Smith, introduced a bill this fall to help protect copyrights online. I wish this effort every success. 

Since 1995, I've been a published author, first under contract to Kensington Publishing and, since 1997, to HarperCollins/Avon. For the last three years, I've been watching as digital thieves began offering my books â€" free â€" to anyone, sometimes in an effort to make money for themselves (with sites such as Filesonic), and sometimes, just because they could. "Love Karen Ranney's books â€" here they are, all thirty of them!"

For the last three years, I've been watching my royalties drop, even as I actively fight digital thieves. Each month, I routinely take down between a hundred to two hundred links to my "free" books. Each day, I go to twenty-seven digital thief sites (I refuse to call them pirates â€" they're thieves). Each day, this costs me an hour to an hour and a half of work time.