Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! Last week I learned something that disturbed me. It upset me so much that I investigated the situation myself. I heard another author plagiarized someone else’s written work. They did it so blatantly that she was accused of just copying and pasting text from a certain book into hers. I was appalled by this and so were many hard working authors.
Because of this, the imposter’s book has been removed from Amazon. This is the bright side in this situation. Because there was such an uproar in the industry; she was called out and her book removed.
I loved how all the authors who saw this caused a stink. Many of them went on Amazon and posted a one star review of the imposter’s work and stated in their review the work was plagiarized. There is something to be said for this industry. I’ve never seen a group get together and support each other the way authors do. You certainly don’t see this in Corporate America. Sure when an employee is screwed over by a corporation their peers may grumble, but no one takes a stand for that employee.
I love this about the publishing industry. It’s very refreshing. It’s also refreshing how many authors are willing to help another by allowing them to do guest posts or offering marketing advice. Many are willing to share their success secrets and what didn’t work for them. Many authors love to write, but find marketing their work time intensive and laborious. So sharing trade secrets is a must.
I’m amazed by the audacity of the imposter. She took advantage of another author’s blood, sweat, and tears. She has ruined her good name in the publishing industry and I bet it’ll be a long time before a publisher looks at her work again. What I find so interesting is that she probably could have asked for help. This industry is full of people who are willing to help others.
We all want success. We all want to be on the bestseller’s list but let’s face it there’s no short cut to success. We all have to put our time in and become the best writers we can be. And how can we share our unique voice with the world if we don’t put the time in? It certainly isn’t by regurgitating someone else’s work.
In closing, I’d like to say a thank you to all the new friends I’ve made on my publishing journey; the ones who have helped me either by allowing me to be a guest on their blog or offered editorial advice and/or marketing advice, or offered encouragement. You know who you are and there are too many to list by name here.
Thanks everyone for reading my post. It’s a short but sweet one today. :) I’d love to read your thoughts on the publishing fiasco that was brought to light last week. I’ve decided not to identify the individuals just to be on the safe side.
