Plagiarism (Photo credit: Kalexanderson)
Ah, the joy of it all. Discovering (before breakfast, even) that a story you have published online has been re-posted by someone else on another site, as their own work.
Yes, you guessed it, that happened to me. Today, actually. I was going to post about how last week I had a brilliant idea for my next novel (main story, subplot and hero and heroine conflicts all worked out) but this has stayed my hand, so to speak, as I’ve been running around doing what needs to be done – reporting it to the site, posting on Twitter to warn others, etc etc.
I found out through a vanity search. I’ve got Google alerts set up for all sorts of things – my name, my pen name, this story title, you name it. I got the idea from my husband, who does it too: apparently he’s both a professional soccer player in England and a techie in the movie industry who worked on the Lord of the Rings movies. But I digress. Through this vanity search I have found things like the video someone made in honour of my story, and the blog of the person who wants to make a movie out of it. I’ve also found some less than complimentary comments on it, but you have to take the bad with the good, don’t you?
The story in question is on another site under another name and, within a certain genre, is rather popular. As such, I’ve had this problem before – people have posted it on other sites under their own names. I think this is the third time it’s happened, but there could be more and I’ve just blocked it from my subconscious. After all, there’s not much that makes me feel sicker than knowing that someone out there in cyberspace is willing to steal my work.
As such, this blog is intended to be a warning. I know that I’ve talked about this risk before, especially when discussing posting your work online, but in reality everyone thinks that it’s not going to happen to them. Even when it’s happened before, there’s something in your mind that says that you’ve had your share of bad luck, and it’ll be someone else’s turn. (This sucks for the someone else, but when they’re nameless faceless people in cyberspace they seem a lot less human and therefore you feel less guilty about subjecting them to the risk.)
So take note. If you do publish original work online, make sure that you check up on it. Do a Google alert for the story title or a character name or something, and do a manual search occasionally as well. Because there are people out there who don’t have the same sort of scruples you and I have, and they’re willing to pass off your original work as their own. It’s not on, but unless we stay vigilant and report every instance we find, it will continue to happen.
Related articles
- How to Keep Content Thieves from Stealing Your Work (kissmetrics.com)
- What is Plagiarism and how do I avoid it (youngwebbuilder.com)
- Writing Essentials: What is Plagiarism? Paraphrasing? Homage? (reginajeffers.wordpress.com)
I’m sorry to hear that this has happened to you—although of course there is an up-side: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
…if I may inject more: ‘Imitation is the highest form of pissing me off. Quit stealing my content and violating my copyright.’ Jen T. Verbumessor.
Lol.Totally agree with this. The first time, yeah maybe I was a little flattered. Now I just get annoyed.
There’s nothing quite like that nauseating, stomach sinking, sensation you feel when you see your own words represented under someone elses name is there? And it’s not so much a pride thing for me, it’s more of a “hey you stole my work….. you A- hole.”. Google alert sounds like a great idea. I think I’ll give it a try. Thank you for posting on this topic and I hope that your works stops being stolen because no it’s not a compliment, it’s intellectual fraud. Ironically I wrote a poem called “Those who can’t create, cut and paste…..”. and you guessed it…….. stolen….lol……
You have to love the irony, don’t you? Yeah, it does suck. The fact that people think they can get away with this sort of rubbish – and all too often, they do. Sigh. If what I wrote here stops one person or helps them get caught, though, it was worth it. Thanks for the comment!
Bad and good…It is so good that it was hijacked. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. You rock and you can leave comments ad-nauseum..excuse me I wrote this
Share it show it !!!!
Yes and no. The first time it happened I was a little flattered, but now I’m just ticked off. Fortunately the site in question reacted really quickly and took the story down within an hour of being notified, so that was heartening.
Sorry that it’s creating a mess for you. Hard to know what to say because the emotional reactions you’re expressing are not easy to deal with. It’s a violation on many levels. My husband, a retired attorney now doing only pro-bono, deals with issues like this (not copyright) but identity theft, etc. and when he tells me some of the things it’s very unsettling. You’re a good person, a great writer, and you do so much to help others. I hope it’s a tiny comfort for you to know that you are deeply appreciated for all you do and I hope you get this sorted out to your comfort. Paulette
Thanks Paulette! It is unsettling. I admit that it gets less unsettling the more it happens (now I’m just thinking, “again? Really?”) but it’s still annoying. And downright rude of the person who’s stealing my work. Thanks for the vote of confidence and I just h ope it doesn’t happen again.
Wow, so sorry to read this! What goes on in those people’s heads…(if they have heads, or rather, if they have brains, which I doubt…)???
You have to wonder, don’t you? I certainly do. The person who stole the story this time around has another hundred or so fics up on the site in question … I wonder now how many of them she actually wrote. Short of doing some detective work, though (which Idon’t really have time for) I guess I’m not going to find out. Thanks for the comment!
So here I was thinking I wouldn’t be exposed because I always make an effort to publish in a non-copyable format (e.g. a pdf reader online) and today I find one of my books – a short story collection – free on bookfind.co in html format (which means, in anyone wanted to, they could easily copy and paste–if they wanted to). I had made the collection free for a short time on smashwords but unpublished it some time ago and have since published it on Amazon for a minimal amount. But bookfind.co still has it for free. I sent them an email to have it removed. I notice the book listed in quite a few other places too. So making your work free on smashwords is an open invitation for other sites to pick it up and distribute it as they see fit. No more smashwords for me.
Just a heads-up
If it’s there, people will find a way to copy it. Sad, but true. I’m sorry this happened to you but thanks for sharing the warning, because the more people who know this can happen, the more likely it is those who stoop low enough to do it will be caught.
Happy New Year, Emily! Sorry to hear about the plagiarism. Google alerts really works for me too. I really feel for you. Those book-suckers (plagiarists etc) use e-technology and the web to make money out of hard-working folk. Experience tells me that anything you put on the net – publicly is open to those e-tech roaches, who also happen to feast on e-published material and the writer/author can only do the nexy best thing: keep ahead of them. Definitely use google alerts. Hope 2013 bodes well for you, Emily
Thanks Alison! And a happy new year to you too. Yes, Google Alerts is a great way to try to stay on top of things in this regard, though I find the occasional google search as well can reap rewards. If only it just didn’t happen though. Sigh. All the best for 2013 and best of luck with the novel!