Some of you may have noticed that I posted a new chapter to my story The Jade Bracelet (chp 4) on Fictionpress a few days ago. Since doing so, several people have alerted me to the plagiarism that's going on at that site and I have to admit--it both scares and upsets me! I'm really glad that I took my stories down when I did, and I have yet to discover if they were stolen by anyone. How disheartening. I swear, one person can really ruin it for everyone else.... (Image taken from: http://tutorials.sjlibrary.org/tutorial/plagiarism/source/images/stop.jpg) <--see, I give credit! I'm not sure what to do about my stories. Do I remove myself completely from that site and set up something through blogger? Do I throw caution to the wind (sorry for the cliche) and just keep posting? It's safe to say that I will not be re-posting my Moo/Es stories or A Starter Boyfriend on that site until we're all assured that our work is safe. (If you're concerned about your own writing, please click here).On to updates:
- Aside from writing another chapter for The Jade Bracelet, I haven't written much this summer. I need to set up a writing schedule for myself--force myself to write for 2 hours each day (I should do the same thing with exercising). I really need to get back into it... I don't know why I feel so lackluster about the whole thing. Writing is my PASSION! I need a writing doctor.
- I submitted a short story (one written for school) to eight different journals. If it's published, it may help me get a novel published down the line. May... may not.
- I'm still dawdling about getting a Starter Boyfriend out there for agents. I can't wait anymore though--not with plagiarism on FP. And honestly... what am I waiting for. These things just don't land in your lap you know?!
Thanks for reading my blog! Happy Summers to all. :)
Plagerism isn't something that will ever go away on the Internet. And it isn't just restricted to Fiction Press. It can happen with things that are put on Blogger or any where else.
ReplyDeleteEven printed books can end up being sold by pirates. Each of the new Harry Potter books were taken apart and scanned by teams of pirates who had it online and more available than Barnes and Noble did in their stores. It's part of the world. A lot of publishers keep their ears out for pirates and warn each other of it just as your group is on LJ.
The safest thing to do if you put something out online is to register it with the Library of Congress. You can register online for less than snail mail registry. And anything you register is covered even before you get an official aknowledgement. That will cover you legally. If you don't want to bother with that and you want your work seen only by a few friends, use Live Journal and only allow friends to read it. But if you're looking to get a lot of readers so you can get playback, this may not be feasible.
Places like Fiction Press and Scribd allow you to build up a following. You take a chance. But the biggest problem that new writers usually have is building an audience. So it can equal out in the long run. Just know that every place is going to have risks.
Good luck making the rounds! Get your book out too! Who knows?
http://www.fictionpress.com/u/15052/Mary_Anne_Gruen
http://www.StarlightBlog.com
Totally! I knew there was a chance when I first started posting on fictionpress and I'll still use the website--only with more caution this time. I'm going to look into registering my stories with the Library of Congress too (as soon as I get some extra cash). I think registering them would make me feel more secure (although, like you said, people can still pirate). Thanks for your post Mary Anne! :)
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you will be posting your Moo/Es stories on LJ (or any other secure places) like Mary Anne suggested and just keep it to friends only, because I really did enjoy reading the first one, and I was in the middle of the second when you took them down. Plagiarism is a huge problem, and it does really suck that one or two people ruins it for everyone (aka me!).
ReplyDeleteI wish you all the luck with writing because I am reading The Jade Bracelet and it's fantastic.
you might wanna look at authonomy.com it's run by harper publishign and the actually try to limit plagerism through a few tools liek makign copy pate options impossible on the site and it also gives your stories exposure with the company as they then always keep tabs on the most popular stories when goign through future projects within the posts...
ReplyDeleteThanks SO much, I'm making a profile right now :)
ReplyDelete