The Dirtiest Word in the Writing World

The dirtiest word in the writing world is plagiarism. Over the past couple of years, I've encountered multiple instances of plagiarism. From a friend whose novel idea was stolen by another writer to someone in my writing community having their work copied word for word and marketed under the offenders name. When I released my first book, I did a blog tour and one of the bloggers copied another blogger's review. This is every writer's fear. Someone steals a car--you can get a different one. A stolen idea is one of a kind and cannot be replaced. It's a huge violation.

Dictionary.com defines plagiarism as "an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thought of another author without authorization and the representation of the author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author."

Recently, I had a reader leave a question in the comments on Wattpad that she suspected me of copying another's work. I had never read the work in question, but had heard of the book because it belonged to a local author. I'd written this particular piece five years ago, so well before the release of the other book. I was taken aback. Any resemblance would be coincidence, but if they really were that similar, my reputation was at stake since the other book hit the public eye before mine. I knew the other author's editor and brought the matter to him. He told me that my story and the other were very different. So, I assured the reader there had been no misconduct and encouraged them to read further and see the differences for themselves.

I appreciated how gracious and polite the reader was about the whole matter. I also thanked the reader for asking the question for couple of reasons. Firstly, if I was plagiarising another's work, I should be called on it. Secondly, I'm glad the reader asked rather than making the assumption that I stole another's work. I believe this reader did the right thing and I hope in a similar situation, others would do the same.

Let's look out for each other. If you suspect plagiarism, bring it to the attention of the author. But always be very careful about hurling accusations.

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Melinda Marshall Friesen writes YA and adult science fiction. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada with her children. When she's not writing, she's devising ways to avoid venturing out into the bitter cold.

Book Marketing Experiment #782: Wattpad

For me, book marketing has been one experiment after another. I hear of or think of a new idea, then give it a try. Some things have worked. Some haven't, but I'm always willing to try something new.

For the past year, I've been thinking about and researching Wattpad. I've heard of people having success there, but I've been in this business long enough to know that for every wildly successful author out there, there are about 10,000 others who haven't achieved the same results.

I had a few of misgivings about Wattpad.

1. There are thousands and thousands of stories available which means it's yet another platform where competition is fierce.
2. It's free. I work very hard on writing and editing my novels, and I feel my time has value. No one would give away a house they built themselves, and we're talking about a similar number of hours invested.
3. If the novel didn't do well, I ran the risk of never getting it traditionally published because it would be available online for free, which technically means it was previously published.

However, I have this manuscript that I wrote during the 72-Hour Novel Contest (yes, you have 72 hours to write an entire novel). The Typhon Project is a YA Sci-fi apocalyptic read that is complete at 35,000 words, qualifying it as a novella, not a novel. I loved the story, so I'd considered weaving in some subplots to beef it up but, after a lot of thought, came to the conclusion that the story was best served at its present length. 

As I considered trying out Wattpad, I thought of The Typhon Project, a manuscript that I would probably never pursue traditional publication for because of its length. I wanted to share that story and since it was just going to languish on my computer anyway, I decided that Wattpad might be an excellent way for me to get it in front of readers, especially since the platform is hugely popular with teen audiences. 

So, I designed a cover and posted the first couple chapters. I've committed to posting a chapter per week until it is complete. This experiment is well underway, and I'm excited to see how it turns out. If you're curious, you can find it here: The Typhon Project

Since I'm still learning this new platform, I'd love tips from the OA community. If you have any tips or best practices to share with a Wattpad newbie, please post them in the comments below. Thanks!

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Melinda Friesen specializes in writing teen fiction. Her first novel, Enslavement, has been nominated for a Sunburst Award as well as a Saskatchewan Young Readers Choice Snow Willow Award.