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Plagiarism Wrap Up
May. 13th, 2012 01:21 amOn May 10, I discovered two of my poems, "Safety in Unwanted Things" and "Keep You" had been plagiarized. I found out when I googled "safety in unwanted things" and a Google Book result popped up. After freaking out for roughly an hour, I emailed the publisher, who responded back quickly that he would be pulling the book, and was considering allowing the author another chance to republish with the stolen work removed.
On May 11, it occurred to me to do searches for other poems within the book, and I discovered that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
technophile had also been plagiarized. I commented here about it (using my non-fandom journal, aquaviann). I also found out that my_little_death had been plagiarized, and let her know as well. I updated the publisher on the growing list of lifted poems.
technophile, after discovering several more plagiarized pieces, organized those links and spread the word here and here.
On May 12, the publisher emailed me again, stating that the evidence had made him decide against giving her the chance to republish. A few hours later, he forwarded me an apology from the plagiarist, and a few hours after that, she emailed me an apology herself. She also apologized totechnophile in a comment.
Factually, that was pretty much the whole thing. Emotionally, it was WAY more than that, and I'm still sorting it out. I have been plagiarized once before by some goof on deviantart, but something about the fact that my work was put into a physical volume really got to me. I've spent the last year of my life (Spring 2011 to Spring 2012) working on counseling practicum, getting married, and learning the ins and outs of stepmomhood. I've given HP fandom the occasional thought, but have been too busy to do anything but skim over my friends list. My fandom involvement pretty much peaked in 2006, and I fear that my poetry peaked then, too. Looking back has given me perspective on my improvement, and also on my relative stagnation since then. I'm afraid my life will drown out my progress as a writer, and I'll never get to go further with my work.
All of that had been lingering in my mind for a while when I found my poems in someone else's book, under someone else's name. Even though it was a small publication company and very few copies were printed, it still really gave me a kick in the ass. I guess, overall, I should take from this an urgency to get myself back into writing poetry, no matter how complicated my schedule is. After all, J.K. Rowling had kids, money problems, and lots of real-life crap to contend with before and during the process of writing the HP series. If it takes plagiarism to get me movin', so be it. I've got writing to do!
On May 11, it occurred to me to do searches for other poems within the book, and I discovered that
technophile had also been plagiarized. I commented here about it (using my non-fandom journal, aquaviann). I also found out that my_little_death had been plagiarized, and let her know as well. I updated the publisher on the growing list of lifted poems.technophile, after discovering several more plagiarized pieces, organized those links and spread the word here and here.On May 12, the publisher emailed me again, stating that the evidence had made him decide against giving her the chance to republish. A few hours later, he forwarded me an apology from the plagiarist, and a few hours after that, she emailed me an apology herself. She also apologized to
technophile in a comment.Factually, that was pretty much the whole thing. Emotionally, it was WAY more than that, and I'm still sorting it out. I have been plagiarized once before by some goof on deviantart, but something about the fact that my work was put into a physical volume really got to me. I've spent the last year of my life (Spring 2011 to Spring 2012) working on counseling practicum, getting married, and learning the ins and outs of stepmomhood. I've given HP fandom the occasional thought, but have been too busy to do anything but skim over my friends list. My fandom involvement pretty much peaked in 2006, and I fear that my poetry peaked then, too. Looking back has given me perspective on my improvement, and also on my relative stagnation since then. I'm afraid my life will drown out my progress as a writer, and I'll never get to go further with my work.
All of that had been lingering in my mind for a while when I found my poems in someone else's book, under someone else's name. Even though it was a small publication company and very few copies were printed, it still really gave me a kick in the ass. I guess, overall, I should take from this an urgency to get myself back into writing poetry, no matter how complicated my schedule is. After all, J.K. Rowling had kids, money problems, and lots of real-life crap to contend with before and during the process of writing the HP series. If it takes plagiarism to get me movin', so be it. I've got writing to do!
