The Dear Author Article about the "Plagiarizing of Tammara Webber" made me angry enough to spit nails. Stealing another persons work is bad enough, but when that stolen work makes it to bestselling status, it's even worse. As an author, I know first-hand how much hard work is poured into a book. It's not just some words on a screen, or between the pages, it's your baby. You love it, treat it like an unborn child, and send it out into the world hoping that other people will give it the same emotion you did while creating.
Piracy is something that we deal with already, but plagiarism? That's a unique monster, and in my opinion should have a special place in the library of book hell for the person that does it. Greed is the underlying theme behind both crimes. Dear Author goes into detail about how they uncovered this disgusting act of thievery. BN and Amazon have removed the title in question from their shelves and according to Smardy Pants Book Blog, are offering refunds to those that purchased the book.
The sad part is it doesn't stop with just the one book. Apparently other titles are being added into the mix that have some affiliation with the fake pseudonym of the author. It was discovered that the author picture was a fake and used without permission as well. Teresa Mummert gave a post where they dug a little deeper and are discovering all kinds of new developments. There's no telling what else will be discovered as this case goes forward. My only concern is that now this becomes the witch hunt of 2013. Already one author who was named in this illegal activity is being claimed innocent by other book bloggers who know them personally.
We'll be following this story closely because this is one that speaks to my heart. Long time readers of Tears will understand why I think people like this should be held accountable for their actions. Let's hope that anyone who considers stealing a person's work sees this as an example of what could happen.
Just in case there are any concerns about my real identity. The hot, sexy, mama on the left is me! Yes I'm trying to lighten up the atmosphere with that comment. My blood pressure was through the roof when I first heard about this story. The reality is that if things continue on this way, proving your identity might become a reality for all authors. The days of hiding behind a book cover might become a thing of the past.
Feel free to friend me on facebook if you have any doubts about who I really am. Although I am still listed as CaraFaithDonovan I promise you get the real deal there. That's another blog post topic! For those of you who don't know. Cara is a character from the first book, A Night at Tears of Crimson. And yes, I did roleplay under that name for many years on Twitter.
No comments :
Post a Comment