In my post about my experience with watching Kuroko no Basket: Last Game movie, I did say that illegal downloading can be the possible reason behind the packed hall.

Yes, people do want to support creators when the legal means are accessible to them.

But if they can’t, it will leave them no choice other than to resort to illegal downloading.

While that can be the case for pretty much any form of entertainment, will I be saying the same thing when people are illegally downloading any of my books?

Will I be changing my mind that illegal downloading does nothing but hurt the industry?

To be honest, it’s hard for me to say whether I’ll be changing my tune down the road.

But one thing I know for sure is that the illegal downloading issues won’t hinder me from writing and publishing my books.

Same argument but with a different context

As you already know, I have never experienced having any of my books being illegally downloaded.

But I do experience having people not buying any of my books after giving a few of my books for free.

For those who don’t know, I used to give the first book from the Trigger Locked series, The Mind Control Assassins, for free on all platforms years ago.

Not only that, but I also give my other books, the prequel to the Trigger Locked series and Twisted Destiny for those who are joining my mailing list.

And guess what? Most people who get any of my books for free never buy any of the books that I released after that.

Even worst, most of them expect my next book to be free. They don’t even want to buy any of my books even if they’re at a deep discount.

The point that I’d like to make here is this: people who only want free stuff will never buy anything from you or anyone else whether they can get them legally or not.

Yes, these people do exist. But it doesn’t mean that I will stop writing altogether because of them.

While my strategy to give my books for free backfired, at least it was clear to me that I shouldn’t give my books for free. It did nothing but attract freebie seekers.

What’s more, it also attracts the wrong kind of people to the series.

The people who gave a low rating on the first book from the Trigger Locked series? I can tell from the get-go that this isn’t the kind of book that they would touch with the ten-foot pole, let alone paying for it.

They only got the book because it was free at that time, nothing else

The tale of a hentai mangaka

It’s not unusual to see many mangakas being vocal about the illegal downloading issue.

Well, can’t blame them when the issue does affect their livelihood of making a living from their creations.

But the one that takes the biggest cake of all is this hentai mangaka.

According to this article on ANN that I read a long time ago, he threatened people to quit unless the illegal downloading of his work stopped.

It makes sense that he would do that when 25,000 people were downloading his work.

But according to one of the commentators on the ANN forum, that 25,000 downloads actually netted him ONE sale.

Sure, it may only be a puny sale. But it proves my point that people would buy the actual book or support in any way they can if they like the work enough.

As for the rest of them who don’t go out and buy the manga?

Well, it can be that they want to read the manga for free. Or the manga isn’t just for them.

As much as I’d like to believe that they’re a bunch of freebie seekers, I’d like to believe that these people aren’t even a fan of his work instead.

Just because they got the manga for free, it doesn’t mean that they’re a fan of the mangaka and his work.

For many of us, that can be a hard pill to swallow.

But the truth is, our work will only appeal to a certain group of people. And that also applies to this hentai mangaka.

How I make illegal downloading to be less of an issue for me

To be honest, it’s not that hard to get rid of freebie seekers from my life since the only thing I need to do is to start charging the books that I used to give for free. And these people will disappear for good.

But getting rid of illegal downloading? Well, that can be a little tricky to do since piracy is here to stay regardless of what you do.

The least I can do is to provide ways for those who are on the fence to support me.

With that said, here are the things that I do to soften the blow on the illegal downloading on me.

Offer a discount on my books

If you’ve been reading my blog, you already know well enough that most of the books that I recommended on my blog are the books that I got when they were on sale.

And yes, even the print books. I tend to get them when Kinokuniya was running a flash sale.

Not only does the discount incentivize me to buy the books. But it also allows me to give a chance to the books that I never heard of.

I’m sure that many of you will notice that majority of the books that I recommend tend to be the books that aren’t known to the vast majority of the fans.

Well, it’s no surprise here that I got those books when they were on sale.

If I want people to take chances on my book, then the best way for me to do it is to offer a discount on my books.

While my books are pretty much available on every platform you can think of, I only offer a discount if you buy directly from me through my Payhip store.

If you’re interested in giving my books a try, you can take a look at them right here:

Buy my books on my Payhip store

Don’t forget to use the coupon code SEKINAMAYUBLOG during checkout to receive 25% off on your order.

Improve the quality of my books and also myself

If you want more book sales and more people to support you, then it’s a no-brainer that you have to improve the quality of the books.

This is something that I’ve been doing all along. I read all kinds of books to improve every aspect of my writings and business from craft to the reference that I use in my story.

I even take online courses too to improve my writings and my business.

And yes, I got them when they were on sale, in case you’re wondering.

People are more likely to recommend your books if your books are top-notch.

I won’t deny that all the things that I do will certainly cost money. But if it helps with creating a high-quality book and generating the sale in the long run, then I’m fine with that.

Make it available on every platform

Well, let’s face it. Not everyone can buy books on Amazon. It’s because of this reason that I have all of my books available on other retailers as well.

Can’t buy the books from these retailers? You can buy the books directly from me through my Payhip store.

To be honest, it’ll be great if you can buy the books directly from me instead of these retailers since these retailers tend to take a large chunk of fees from my book sales.

But if you don’t want to, then it’s fine with me. I’m happy enough that you decided to buy my books regardless of where you get them from.

Just to let you know I’ll be adding more retailers that will sell my books anytime soon. So, stay tuned for more information about this.

Make it available in a different format

I won’t deny that I love reading books in digital format. But I also love reading books in print as well.

And I’m sure that many of us do.

If you prefer to read any of my books in print, you can also buy the book at places like Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

I’m also planning to release a hardback and large print editions for all of my books as well.

So, please stay tuned for more information when these editions are available for sale.

What will stop me from writing then?

If illegal downloading won’t stop me from writing, then what will it be?

Will it be negative feedback on my book?

Well, I’m sure that you already know by now that getting negative feedback still doesn’t stop me from continuing writing.

They can hate me and my books for all they want. But I’m going to annoy them even more by releasing more books.

If I have to say what will stop me from writing, I will say that I will stop writing when I’m on my deathbed.

Yes, I know that it sounds extreme. But it’s the truth.

I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon even if I’m running out of ideas on what to write.

Even if I do stop, it won’t be because of illegal downloading for sure.

P.S For those who are unsure of the kind of books that I write, my books are mostly thriller and suspense light novels.

If you enjoy reading original light novels in English especially in the thriller and suspense genre, then you may enjoy reading my books.

You can take a look at my books right here:

My books on Payhip store

Don’t forget to use the coupon code SEKINAMAYUBLOG during checkout to receive 25% off on your order.