The Discarded Bathwater Dilemma: Plagiarism and Signet
Posted by Linnea on 11 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Chit Chat, Publishing, Writing Life, Books
You’ve likely heard the expression about “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” which cautions people not to quickly discard something that might be valuable (baby) with something of little value (used bathwater). It’s a tired old cliche. It came to mind, however, as I breezed through the brouhaha surrounding allegations of author Cassie Edwards’ plagiarism. If you’ve been living under a rock this week and I have no idea what I’m talking about, go here and here.
Okay, back with me?
I’m not going to talk about whether or not Ms. Edwards copied research text verbatim into her books. That’s already being talked about everywhere and my input on that would be superfluous.
I’m going to talk about something that I saw in a lot of comments and postings on the issue. It set me back a tad. It’s not something I’d not heard before, but I was surprised to see it crop up so quickly. And that something was this: “I’m never buying another book by Signet (Edwards’ publisher).”
Yes, I saw I’m never buying another Cassie Edwards’ book, which is a feeling I understand. An author has betrayed your trust or no longer subscribes to the same belief you do.
I don’t understand penalizing hundreds of other authors who had absolutely nothing to do with what Ms. Edwards did or did not do, simply because they write for the same house.
Note: I do not write for Signet/Penguin. I write for Bantam/Random House. Unrelated.
But this scares me. The last time I saw this reaction crop up was with book covers. A few–blessedly few–readers log from time to time at various blogged cover art discussions, and state that they 1) hold the author responsible for the cover art, even though they realize the author has little say and 2) if they don’t like a cover, they’ll never buy that author again. Ever.
Those are the kinds of things that make me want to pound my head on my desk.
The “I’ll never buy another Signet book” seems to be in that same camp. I understand readers are trying to send a message to Signet, or punish Signet for the stand Signet took in defending Ms. Edwards. But in my humble opinion, and as an author whose day and night job is writing books, penalizing authors who have had nothing to do with the brouhaha is tragic at best, stupid at worst.
Trust me, I have no idea what my sister and fellow authors at Bantam Spectra are doing right now. I have no idea if their prose is perfect or their research is annotated. I don’t have time. If one of them does something heinous and provably so, and you ask me, I’ll decry their horrible action with all my heart. But I’m not responsible for whatever they do, and to hold me in thrall in such a way is… nuts.
If an author from my publisher wins a huge award for his books, would you conversely buy all my books as well?
I’ve long had a problem with broad-brush tactics: all blondes are dumb, all Polish-Americans like to bowl, all teenagers are lazy, whatever. All Signet authors plagiarize and must be shunned. That would mean shunning Nora Roberts. A victim of plagiarism herself. And a Signet author.
I think it’s good to get impassioned over injustices. I’m all for taking a stand. Those of you who know me personally know I don’t suffer fools quietly and, after ten years of carrying a gun and a badge as a licensed PI, I’m a great believer that wrongs need to be righted, that the guilty should pay.
But as you raise that heavy tin bathtub of oily, soapy wrongs, please take a look at what else you’re tossing out into the gutter. There may be more than a few innocent author babies in there.
Respectfully yours, poolside, at the Home for the Perpetually Confused…
Namaste (I salute the Divine in you), ~Linnea
The Down Home Zombie Blues, an RT 4-1/2 star TOP PICK! Nov. 2007 from RITA award winning author Linnea Sinclair:
http://www.linneasinclair.com/DHZBCOVER.htm
“Linnea Sinclair’s recipe for success—undeniable passion, clever conversations and perilous situations, combine to produce another sensory delight with The Down Home Zombie Blues.” –SingleTitles.com
very nicely stated, Linnea!
January 11th, 2008 at 8:43 amI totally agree with all you said, Linnea. As an author AND a reader, this is definitely throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Don’t like a cover, but liked the book, buy one of those quilted covers and hide the dang thing? Or buy it in ebook where you often don’t even see and certainly no one but you can see it if its there!
Authors are already struggling to stay published. Readers, IF you want new books, if you want old favorites to keep publishing, you have to buy their books or they are gone pecan.
If you don’t like something a publisher did, WRITE to them and tell them. I admit it takes more time than NOT buying a book, but if they don’t hear it from readers, then THEY punish the authors, too.
That’s a LOT of punishment to take for things you have NO control over.
Btw, love your books, Linnea.
January 11th, 2008 at 9:55 ambest,
Pauline
On the cover art issue, Pauline, it’s not that they’re ashamed of the covers as much as they feel the covers don’t accurately portray the book, so the reader feels s/he’s being duped. (IE: a cover that promises steamy but the story is not steamy, or a cover that shows action-adventure but not romance and the reader is horrified to learn there’s romance in the book).
And yes, writing the publisher or the book’s editor is the proper place to start with anything that is out of the author’s control.
And yes, yes! Supporting your favorite authors is the best way to keep more books in the pipeline! ~Linnea
January 11th, 2008 at 10:47 amI guess I don’t look at covers that way anyway. LOL! It would never occur to me to get pissed about a cover not reflecting the book. I guess I live in a cave. (grin)
January 11th, 2008 at 10:57 amPauline
I must respectfully disagree with you on one point, Linnea-all teenagers are lazy.
Well all the ones in my house are
Otherwise you’re right on!
January 11th, 2008 at 11:45 amFirst off…While Nora and Cassie share the same parent publisher…Penguin Putnam…they don’t share the same publisher (if that makes sense) as Cassie writes for Signet and Nora writes for Berkley Jove. Berkley/Jove/Penguin/Putnam are completely different companies. Saying that tho, Linnea is right on about not lumping everyone into the same basket.
Let’s say, for arguments sake, that Cassie IS guilty (I beleive we are innocent till proven guilty so am holding judgement for a bit longer), one rotten apple doesn’t mean the whole bunch is rotten too. I ask everyone to please not judge all Signet authors, or all historical authors, or better yet, all romance authors as if we all are guilty of plagiarism.
And yes…authors are in no way responsible if their covers don’t jive with their stories. Blame marketing LOL
January 11th, 2008 at 8:08 pmGood posts. I’ve been appalled by the ignorance of both readers and supposedly professional writers regarding how Signet, or any publisher, should respond to unproven charges of plagiarism. First off, Signet would have been risking a lawsuit, not to mention violating the ethics of publisher-author relations, to issue a blanket condemnation of an author whose work a) hasn’t yet been studied by copyright experts and b)whose “plagiarism” may not violate her contract terms IF she used out-of-copyright or Fair Use materials. These are not small issues and had Signet ignored them to give a knee-jerk reaction that made ignorant readers (and authors) happy, Signet would have been in the wrong. In the same instance, RWA was absolutely correct to issue a “wait until the evidence is in” statement, because plagiarism is a thorny thicket of copyright technicalities, and Ms. Edwards may well be cleared of most, if not all, actionable claims. Whether you like what she did or not, whether copying verbatim is bad writing, (it is) the fact is that copying does not always equal illegal action. What this tempest mainly showed was just how little most people know about copyright law. And how savage they are in their ignorance.
January 30th, 2008 at 2:19 pm[…] The debates will rage on for some time, I’m sure. Some writers will continue to claim that their readers would never know the difference. Some will overreact, which Linnea of HEA Cafe warns us against. Some will shrug and move on. You can bet that this situation won’t be forgotten quickly. […]
February 20th, 2008 at 11:51 am