Literary Plagiarism Revisited

[alfreda89]

http://my.ev1.net/english/news/newsarticle.asp?articleID=50258751&subject=entertainment

One of the things that irritates me the most about this is, why in heavens' name didn't this young woman write her own book, using the tropes of a transition family from India? I can see the owner of my favorite Indian restaurant coming up with a plan to Get His Granddaughter A Life -- it's pure culture.

Instead, she not only mimicked books from her teen years, she apparently borrowed entire passages wholesale.

And some editor paid her six figures to do this? Do you realize how many books a novel in this price range has to sell for the publisher to make any money at all?

I certainly hope that that editor is around when *I* release my next manuscript to the NYC Wars.

Comments

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Seems to me that editor will probably be finding another line of work soon.

I do not understand how that much money got attached to a project this questionable. What was it, Eragon effect?

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Seems to me that editor will probably be finding another line of work soon.

I do not understand how that much money got attached to a project this questionable. What was it, Eragon effect?

I suspect it will be hard for the editor to overcome this -- even at the most simple level, why hasn't s/he read more of the books in this sub-genre they're courting?

I have not read Eragon -- I've heard it's derivative (as in solidly based in several well-known branches of fantasy without stealing from any of them) but that he's not a plagiarist. It does surprise me that something this blandly derivative (Eragon) succeeds so well when NY constantly encourages us to write something unique.

Perhaps we need to discuss the question a few of the blogs have brought up. If schools are assigning projects so difficult the parents have to not only help, but DO the project, how can we explain to our children that you don't "borrow" in a whole-hog fashion when creating something? I know I didn't understand that until junior high -- and that behavior is much, much worse than when I was a child.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Eragon is not plagiarized, it's merely derivative. I was speaking of the effect of the mid-teenage author with influential friends or family, buying enough shelf space to turn a bad book into a monster bestseller. Child prodigies sell.

As for the difficulty of school projects, as far as I can tell, education in general is drastically dumbed down from what it was when I was in school; between that and constant teaching to endless standardized tests, the whole thing is a sorry mess.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

between that and constant teaching to endless standardized tests, the whole thing is a sorry mess.

A friend interviewing lately (many credentials teaching HS) says one of the two questions they ask is "How do you teach to the TAKS test?"

This</> is education?!

Child prodigies are always news. Maybe we need to find our own hook. We can put Pook in your author photo -- that will sell books! ;^)

[tia-tarina.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, we're neither teenagers nor minorities.

We're just women writers and publishers seem to think we're a dime a dozen. :(

Seems like ya gotta know somebody important or have some sort of hook to get the big publishing deals nowadays. :(

Nobody actually reads the manuscrips anymore, silly. It's all about the hype. (ala 'Blair Witch Project' and the upcoming 'Snakes On A Plane').

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, we're neither teenagers nor minorities.

If they can lie about whether they wrote the work, how about we don't tell them what race or age we are?

I can feel a certain compassion for the Blair Witch boys -- I suspect they are now in way over their heads. I hope they haven't spent it all, because their encore will need to be impressive. BW II was ho-hum, I hear.

I've heard "Snakes on a Plane" bandied about, but haven't heard exactly what it is? And have been too tired to care. I have too much to do to be this tired . . .

[tia-tarina.livejournal.com]

"If they can lie about whether they wrote the work, how about we don't tell them what race or age we are?"

And when they find out (which they will, like they did with this girl), we'll be just as screwed and then no-one will touch us for fear we'd try something else stupid.

"I've heard "Snakes on a Plane" bandied about, but haven't heard exactly what it is? "

Another super-hyped movie that hasn't come out yet and will probably suck mightily when it does. :(

*sigh* Very jaded today.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Very jaded today.

Keep writing. That's what is real.

PS -- Remember when it was revealed that Stephen King was Richard Bachman? Or James Tiptree Jr. was Alice Shelton? No lies -- everything in the bio was honest. But people inferred things.... It's the tell no lies part that matters.

My doctor was told how old I was Thursday, and she can't believe I'm that old. I told the truth on my medical form, but her eyes told her something else. So -- was it a lie?

[ulitave.livejournal.com]

that kid landed a half-million dollar contract. I DON"T HAVE A F'N CONTRACT. They deserve all the bad things in life. [whine, whine, pout]

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

You know, in a fair universe they would be punished. Instead, they'll probably do the talk show circuit apologizing and explaining how they were not taught ethics in the schools . . .

[ulitave.livejournal.com]

I wasn't taught ethics either! GIMME SOME MONEY!

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

{Grin} Me, too!

[janni.livejournal.com]

Although it's worth keeping in mind that that six-figure advance was both for two books, not one; and was presumably split with the book packager that handled the book as well. By the time you figure all that in, plus her agent's fee, we're talking very low six figures.

Everyone's quick to attack the writer in this case, but I've yet to hear anyone talking about the book packager, or her agent, or her editor at all--and all of them are being interestingly quiet. Easier to let her take the fall alone, even though it's not like she took the money alone.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard about the book packager -- so that's three who are culpable, the writer, the editor and the book packager. The last two should know the sub-genre. The agent might be slightly less familiar with the sub-genre, if s/he sells in different fiction markets.

It's still a mess, even at six figures for two books. I wonder if they'll put out another edition -- and will it sell? Can she recover from this and have a career? Will the editor get busted back to the mail room?

Those of us trapped in mid-list h@#l would like to know.