The thing
about plagiarism is that no one is safe from being labeled as a plagiarist. And
let’s face it, once a writer is under that category, no matter how famous of a
writer he or she is, readers will still cluck their tongues, point their
fingers, and assume it was all-intentional.
What non-writers don’t understand is that in
today’s society, unless a person lives under a rock, it is impossible not to be
influenced by what we read, discuss with friends, see or listen to in the media.
When Stephenie Meyer, author of the best-selling trilogy Twilight, published
the last book of the trilogy, “Breaking Dawn”, she, too, was accused of
plagiarizing from a book posted on the Internet. Clearly, plagiarism doesn't discriminate by popularity.
What are some methods writers can use to ensure a piracy-free manuscript,
without busting their pockets? What things can writers do to protect their
writing from future piracy? Here are some tips I’d like to share with you.
Unintended Plagiarism
Thank God
for tools available on the web that allow writers to double check if any of
their passages or sentences seem to parallel another existing source.
One such program is Small SEO Tools. Simply cut and paste your text into the yellow box, and the software
will plant red flags where content appears to be similar to another source.
These simple websites are perfect for quick and free plagiarism checks.
Marketers and students frequent Small SEO Tools because it’s completely
fuss-free, and really user friendly.
If you’re looking for a more advanced program,
try Grammarly. Grammarly
not only has a free plagiarism checker, matching content on the web to that of
your text, it also acts as a proofreader, detecting more than 150 text errors,
beating the rate of normal word processors by more than 10 times. The best part
about Grammarly is that if an idea or phrase is flagged for potential
plagiarism, the source website is suggested along with a prompt to either
include a citation in your text or modify your work. This intuitive program is
user-friendly and will redefine the ease in which authors publish their books.
Protection
Google, Google, Google. It’ll be a good idea to randomly search for your
book title or your name on various platforms to see if a pirate managed to land
their hands on your intellectual copy. If you’ve written a few books and catch
one on a website, go into that website and hunt down the rest of your books.
Chances are, if they managed to get one of it on, they wouldn’t have stopped
there. Report these websites to protect your book from being passed around
further.
Though some authors don’t mind
the free distribution of their books since it helps them get the word out
faster, if you lie on the other side of the spectrum and really consider it a
misfortune instead, what you can do is to acquaint yourself with article 17 USC
512(c)(3)(A)[ii],
which is the “Limitations on
liability relating to material online”. In a polite letter, request for your book to be removed. Under legal
terms, the site is obliged to comply. Do maintain your professionalism at all
times. You are representing yourself after all.
It is very difficult to eliminate
piracy altogether. Once a consumer grabs a hold of the book, the possibilities
of what they could do to it are endless. Take piracy in your stride; see it as
the highest form of compliment. On your part as a writer, check and recheck
your document for any plagiarism issues using online tools available.
Plagiarism will cease to take such a toll with the current market offerings.
By Nikolas
Baron
- Online Partnerships Team -
Grammarly Inc. 548 Market Street, #35410, San Francisco, CA 94104
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