Some advice here that seems good to me [who knows nothing]: http://www.horror.org/writetips/writetips-morton.htm
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"Protecting your IP on the high seas of the internet"
- Thread starter Marc Joan
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K
Karen Gray
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This is a good article, though many big authors have told me that the chances of someone stealing your work is next to zero. But there's always that one case 
This is a good article, though many big authors have told me that the chances of someone stealing your work is next to zero. But there's always that one case
I have signed so many NDAs as a card game publisher because many people are generally concerned that their ideas might be stolen. But you are right there is next to zero chance of anything being stolen. Reputation is a far more valuable, non-transferrable commodity than anything else.
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Jason Byrne
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I have to respectfully disagree that the chances of someone stealing your work is next to zero. Every single day I see yet another instance of plagiarism. Perhaps it's more prevalent in the romance genre? I don't know. I only know that authors blatantly copy others' work, change the cover, change the title and a few names, then toss it up on Amazon as their own. Eventually they're caught, but the damage has already been done by that time.
I know of one Siren author who plagiarized in part ALL her books with that publisher. All 24 of them. She was finally caught when she submitted the 25th book, and her books are gone now, but she made money off them. A lot of money. Not to mention she duped a lot of readers, including ME.
Then there are the pirate sites… I don't even want to go there. Trying to chase them down is fruitless, plus it's a full time job. And most of them aren't based in the US so there is nothing US authors can do about it.
At the heart of all this is the belief by a large section of society that our work has no value. It's not really "stealing" if someone takes it for their own, or if they download our books off torrent sites. That attitude ruined the music industry, and eventually it will ruin publishing as well.
Perhaps there are "big time authors" who tell you there's little chance of having your work stolen. I don't know. It's a stupid thing to say, IMHO. Ask Nora Roberts or Becky McGraw what it feels like to have someone copy your work. It's happened to other well-known authors as well, and not only in romance.
For the most part, people aren't foolish enough to steal the work of a well-known author because it would be too obvious and they'd be easily caught. Instead they go after people like me. People who barely squeak out a living doing this, but are prolific, and whose books are out there in digital (translation= easily copied) form. We fly under the radar, so to speak. It's usually readers who alert authors like me to the plagiarism.
The solution? There isn't one. Not yet, at least. Not until the laws catch up which still confounds me. It's not like the Internet or intellectual property copyright issues are new. But it's not an "important" issue to the powers that be, so it's not given the same time and attention as other issues.
I know of one Siren author who plagiarized in part ALL her books with that publisher. All 24 of them. She was finally caught when she submitted the 25th book, and her books are gone now, but she made money off them. A lot of money. Not to mention she duped a lot of readers, including ME.
Then there are the pirate sites… I don't even want to go there. Trying to chase them down is fruitless, plus it's a full time job. And most of them aren't based in the US so there is nothing US authors can do about it.
At the heart of all this is the belief by a large section of society that our work has no value. It's not really "stealing" if someone takes it for their own, or if they download our books off torrent sites. That attitude ruined the music industry, and eventually it will ruin publishing as well.
Perhaps there are "big time authors" who tell you there's little chance of having your work stolen. I don't know. It's a stupid thing to say, IMHO. Ask Nora Roberts or Becky McGraw what it feels like to have someone copy your work. It's happened to other well-known authors as well, and not only in romance.
For the most part, people aren't foolish enough to steal the work of a well-known author because it would be too obvious and they'd be easily caught. Instead they go after people like me. People who barely squeak out a living doing this, but are prolific, and whose books are out there in digital (translation= easily copied) form. We fly under the radar, so to speak. It's usually readers who alert authors like me to the plagiarism.
The solution? There isn't one. Not yet, at least. Not until the laws catch up which still confounds me. It's not like the Internet or intellectual property copyright issues are new. But it's not an "important" issue to the powers that be, so it's not given the same time and attention as other issues.
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I agree with your comments Carol. Once plagiarists are found out that's the end of their reputation.
I guess I'm mixing speaking from a publisher's POV with an author's. As I have both hats on I do need to work on trademark and protecting it with the intention of selling it on. That's the exit strategy after all. But I also receive royalties within the contract as a writer within my own publishing vehicle. It gets confusing if I didn't have that boundary fixed in my mind. But yeah - authors in general (and game designers) should NOT worry about copyright - they own it automatically with no need to register anything. It's granted by default.
I guess I'm mixing speaking from a publisher's POV with an author's. As I have both hats on I do need to work on trademark and protecting it with the intention of selling it on. That's the exit strategy after all. But I also receive royalties within the contract as a writer within my own publishing vehicle. It gets confusing if I didn't have that boundary fixed in my mind. But yeah - authors in general (and game designers) should NOT worry about copyright - they own it automatically with no need to register anything. It's granted by default.
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