Plagiarism: The Pattern and also the Reaction. Therefore, hey, there’s plagiarism. Plenty of it this week, too.
First, Jenny Trout blogged extensively this week concerning the numerous, numerous similarities between books by m/m romance “author” Laura Harner, and novels by Opal Carew and Becky McGraw.
Harner’s declaration into the Guardian contained this line, that will be still baffling: “…it seems that I may have crossed the line and violated my very own rule of ethics.”
Each time this occurs, we cue up Rhianna within my mind.
Like to sing along? Begin only at about :47.
When I stated on Twitter, in the event that you plagiarize and publish it, a audience will notice. Constantly. Because a LOT is read by us.
Nevertheless the pattern repeats: a audience notices, seems the alert, more passages are unearthed that are way too comparable for coincidence, and also the one who did the copying is somehow astonished by unique behavior.
This informative article from 1997, “Meaningless Apologies, Disowned Selves,” by Kathy Kellerman (PDF) features a pattern that is similar Janet Dailey’s “apologies” to Nora Roberts whenever she ended up being found copying Roberts’ terms. I’dn’t seen this short article before also it’s a fairly examination that is insightful of language of apologies which don’t own responsibility and familiarity with one’s own actions:
Recently, much published (93 publications) love novelist Janet Dailey, ‘apologized’ for plagiarizing passages from competing Nora Roberts’ novels, blaming her conduct on a disorder that is psychological. Janet Dailey — the intact, entire, and undivided, ‘I’ — would not plagiarize.
Rather the dirty deed had been carried out by “my basically random and non-pervasive functions of copying,” Dailey stated.
“I don’t know very well what this means,” said Nora Roberts.
Harner’s declaration is comparable. “It appears” that Harner “may have” plagiarized other authors, and “violated her code that is own of,” which, strangely enough, resembles the rule of ethics held by many people who create the majority of things – to wit, don’t steal people’s composing and state that it is yours. (more…)
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