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Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Writing Craft » Book Business » Page 18

Book Business

Can You Plagiarize Yourself?

By Steve Laubeon July 9, 2012
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Recently John Lehrer of “The New Yorker” was discovered to have reused past material for his articles and his bestselling book Imagine: How Creativity Works.  Here are links to the articles unveiling the controversy. From Jim Romenesko, Jacob Silverman, and Edward Champion. There has been considerable outrage and a genuine apology from John Lehrer.

This incident begs the question, “Can you plagiarize yourself?”

First you have to define plagiarism. The traditional definition is copying someone else’s words word-for-word without acknowledged of some kind, intentionally or not. In the United States this is actually illegal.

But what if the words are your own?

In magazine writing it is a common practice to sell an article’s “First Rights” to one publication and then sell “Reprint Rights” to other magazines. I jokingly say that you can use the same article multiple times by selling it to the Baptist’s denominational magazine, then the Presbyterians, then the Methodist, and then the Nazarenes…because those groups don’t read each other’s material! I met one man who sold the same article over 100 times over a number of years to over 100 different periodicals. The difference here is that this is not plagiarism because the writer is openly offering “Reprint Rights” and the magazine knows they are buying something that showed up elsewhere.

But can you “repurpose” a blog post or an article and reuse it? This starts to get trickier. John Lehrer of “The New Yorker” did not “repurpose” something, he simply lifted full sections and reused them without telling anyone.

If I were to be asked to write three separate articles on the topic “How to Fix a Flat Tire” I would be hard pressed to be completely unique in all three articles. The principles for fixing a tire are the same no matter how you approach the task. But maybe I could find a nuance to make each article unique. And I would have to be careful not to simply lift paragraphs and reuse them unedited. Otherwise I would be plagiarizing…or being sloppy.

In a book contract there is a Warranty clause that reads in part “the Work is original, has not been published before.” And if a chapter had once been an article or a blog post (yes, a blog post is “published in that it is freely available on the Internet) your contract would have to then be adapted to read “Portions of the Work have been previously published in periodicals. The Work, in whole, has not been previously published and is not in the public domain.” This fact is then revealed on the copyright page of the final edition of the book. Many professional columnists do this when converting their work into book form.

In a recent case we had to negotiate with the publisher because much of the material for the book was on the author’s blog. He did not want to have it removed from the Internet, so we negotiated accordingly to make sure the material was different in scope, citation, and expression. Such that it would still “feel” new to a reader who had already read it on the web. The publisher of course was concerned that a reader could get the material for free so what would be the motivation to purchase a copy? Often a publisher will ask the author to remove the disputed article from their blog to avoid any trouble. But this shows the difference from the John Lehrer case. Mr. Lehrer failed to tell his editors that he was copying phrases and content from previous material.

You see the difference? One used full disclosure and cooperation of the editor and publisher. The other did not.

So what is the bottom line?

The question is “can you plagiarize yourself?” Of course you “can.” A better question would be “Should You Plagiarize Yourself? My answer would be “Not if you can avoid it.” If you are converting a blog, columns, or articles into book form be sure to have an open conversation with your editor, agent, and publisher. If you plan on trying to sneak by with a shortcut…you may suffer the consequences of a ruined reputation and a loss of trust by readers, editors, publishers, and even your agent. Just be careful.

UPDATE:
On February 12th, 2013 Jonah Lehrer made an apology as part of his speech at a Knight Foundation Seminar. (link to story here). Two weeks later his publisher pulled another of Mr. Lehrer’s books off the shelves and is offering refunds to anyone who purchased it. According to this linked article from The Daily Beast, “an internal review uncovered significant problems with the book.” The article goes on to show material from the now discontinued book that could possibly have been drawn from Wikipedia.

UPDATE 2:
On June 6, 2013 it was announced that Simon & Schuster had contracted Mr. Lehrer’s new book on the power of love. Slate magazine journalist Daniel Engber wonders if the proposal content had plagiarized content in it. (Click here for the details.) In the second half of the article Engber cites Lehrer’s use or adaptation of lengthy quotations from another author’s essay.

UPDATE 3:
On September 13, 2013 a plagiarism controversy struck the Australian poetry community. Read about the scandal here.

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Category: Book Business, Book Business, Career, Contracts, Writing CraftTag: plagiarism

Who Am I? – About the Author

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 28, 2012
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The author biography section in a book proposal seems to be one of the least anxiety-provoking sections, yet I often see areas that could be improved. Here are a few ideas on how to make your author bio section the best it can be.

Include a portrait

When I was an intern on Capitol Hill, one of my duties was to open the mail. On one occasion, we received a resume that included a portrait, …

Read moreWho Am I? – About the Author
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Branding, Get Published, Marketing, TamelaTag: book proposals, Proposals

The Tell-All You Can’t Live Without

By Karen Ballon June 27, 2012
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Karen Ball

Okay, okay, I admit it, the title of this blog is hyperbolic. Kind of. But let me explain why it’s not that far off the mark to say you really can’t—or at the very least, shouldn’t--live without it. Also, let me explain why I’m addressing something that Tamela addressed a mere 3 months ago.

So far this week, I’ve had no fewer than seven conversations with writers, agents, and …

Read moreThe Tell-All You Can’t Live Without
Category: Agency, Agents, Book Business, Communication, Get Published, KarenTag: Agent, Communication, Karen

Inside a Publishing Company

By Steve Laubeon June 18, 2012
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by Steve Laube

I just returned from three days at the Write! Canada writers conference outside Toronto. During my time there I presented a six session lecture series on the Complete Publishing Process: From Idea to Print.

When the entire process is compressed into a short series like that it becomes evident how many people are involved in the publishing of a book at any given publishing …

Read moreInside a Publishing Company
Category: Book Business, Defense of Traditional Publishing, Marketing, Steve, The Publishing LifeTag: publishing, Publishing A-Z

Keys to a Great Synopsis

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 24, 2012
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When I posted my ideas on some Keys to a Great Book Proposal, a few writers said they were challenged to write a synopsis. I agree that writing an interesting synopsis is difficult. However, it’s not an element you want to omit from your proposal because a synopsis orients the editor to the book’s contents. Here are my answers to often-asked questions: 1.) Do I need a …

Read moreKeys to a Great Synopsis
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: book proposals, synopsis

Goodbye to Traditional Publishing?

By Steve Laubeon May 14, 2012
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by Steve Laube

Recently Ann Voss Peterson wrote of her decision to never sign another contract with Harlequin. One major statistic from the article is that she sold 170,000 copies of a book but earned only $20,000.

Multiple clients sent me Peterson’s “Harlequin Fail” article and wanted my opinion. My first thought is that this was typical “the publisher is ripping me off” fodder. But …

Read moreGoodbye to Traditional Publishing?
Category: Book Business, Contracts, Defense of Traditional Publishing, E-Books, Steve, TrendsTag: Contracts, royalties, Traditional Publishing

Writing to Market: Bad Advice?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 10, 2012
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Throughout my career I've seen various responses to the advice that declares "Write to market!" In other words "write what sells" because that is what is most important for a writer. Is this good advice or bad advice?

It is both.

Here is when it's bad advice: When you're made to feel you have to write a certain type of book just to break into the market, any market.

If you think, for …

Read moreWriting to Market: Bad Advice?
Category: Book Business, Get Published, Marketing, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Marketing, passion, Rejection

What Is the Agent Doing While I Wait?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 3, 2012
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You submit a great manuscript to an agent. Then you wait. And wait. And wait.

What could she possibly be doing?

Let's say your baby jumped most of the hurdles and is near the top of the slush pile. (See the previous post on the Mystery of the Slush Pile) Why can't the agent make up her mind? Might I offer a few ideas:
1.) Market changes can mean a shift in priorities. An agent may receive …

Read moreWhat Is the Agent Doing While I Wait?
Category: Agents, Book Business, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Agent, Proposals, waiting

Implications of the Department of Justice Lawsuit Against Five Major Publishers

By Steve Laubeon April 16, 2012
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by Steve Laube

As you have heard by now the Department of Justice (DOJ) has leveled a lawsuit against Apple and five major publishers accusing them of conspiring to fix prices. There has been a lot written on the topic with varying degrees of understanding and a wide disparity of conclusions.

Authors are asking what this all means to them. And many are confused about the math involved. A …

Read moreImplications of the Department of Justice Lawsuit Against Five Major Publishers
Category: Agency, Book Business, Contracts, Get Published, Legal Issues, SteveTag: Book Business, Get Published, lawsuit, News, retail prices

True Confessions

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 29, 2012
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When our eldest daughter was learning about various religions in college, she told me that converts to the Greek Orthodox faith must make a lifetime confession. This would mean confessing all of your past sins. Don't worry -- joining our agency does not require a lifetime confession. However, we do need to know about your publishing past.

Poor Sales History

Poor sales of your books in the …

Read moreTrue Confessions
Category: Agency, Book Business, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Agents, Book Business, Get Published
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