Part of a series: Cassie Edwards 1: The First Post | Cassie Edwards 2: Savage Longings | Cassie Edwards Part 3: Running Fox | Cassie Edwards Part 4: Savage Moon | Cassie Edwards Part 5: Savage Beloved | Follow-up: Penguin (Part 1?) | Official Statement from Signet | AP Article Contains Response from Edwards | RWA Responds to Allegations | A centralized document for the Cassie Edwards situation
Nikki the Super Badass Researcher contacted me yesterday upon realizing that she had a Cassie Edwards in her possession, and she had access to Google, and she had an hour to spare:
I must admit, it was worse than I feared. My “evidence” file grew to six—6!—pages in Word. The worst part? I have an unsettling feeling that these are not the only questionable sections—simply the only ones I could locate via Google. There’s one passage in particular about the male sage grouse’s mating ritual, of all things, that’s extremely suspect.
One last thing, which I thought was deliciously ironic. The heroine’s name in this book is Candy.
I just made a noise I cannot transcribe accurately, but it was somewhere between a choke and a snort.
Now for the Official Findings.
There were three texts heavily, shall we say, “borrowed” from:
THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA by George Amos Dorsey, published in 1904
Available at Google Books
Available in its original form at Archive.org.CADDOAN TEXTS PAWNEE, SOUTH BAND DIALECT by Gene Weltfish, published in 1937
Available at Google BooksINDIAN BOYHOOD by Charles Alexander Eastman, published in 1902
Available at Google Books.
Available in its original form at Archive.org.I had to get a bit tricksy when searching CADDOAN TEXTS because it’s only available for viewing snippets via Google—not full text. Luckily, the search function provided enough phrasing to recreate the relevant passages although attempting to verify the scans of the actual words wasn’t possible due to the limited view restriction. I’m confident the search function is accurate, however, and no weirdness thanks to OCR occurred in those sections.
Examples positively identified are pasted below along with their corresponding counterparts in the source material. There are several damning sections, the lengthiest one located on pages 213-214 (yes, it spans two pages) and covers nearly four paragraphs.
I’ve placed the Oddly Similar sections in bold so I hope it carries over to your email programs. Also, I’m pretty sure I caught all my typos but I may have missed one or two. If so, apologies but Y’ALL! My fingers are tired.
.
Here’s the side by side that Nikki found and emailed us. Big hat tip and curtsey to Nikki, because this is above and beyond. In many, many ways.
SAVAGE BELOVED
Published by Leisure Books, May 2006
ISBN: 0843952733
Page 84
“There is an ancient legend telling that when the plants fail to come up, the Wichita people will cease to exist.”
[…]
“When the first shoot of corn comes up, an old woman goes there to perform a rite of thanksgiving over the plant,” he said. “She rubs the plant with her hands in blessing, saying, ‘Oh, big bow,’ which means corn stalk. Then she rubs a baby with her hands in a similar fashion, passing on the blessing from the plant to the child.”He paused, smiled at Candy, then said, “Everyone is happy at the sight of the first plant.”
CADDOAN TEXTS PAWNEE, SOUTH BAND DIALECT by Gene Weltfish
Page 39
When the first shoot comes up an old woman goes there to perform a rite of thanksgiving over the plant. She rubs the plant with her hands in blessing, saying, “Oh, big bow.” Then directly she rubs the baby with her hands in a similar manner, passing on the blessing from the plant to the child. Everyone is happy at the sight of the first plant. There is an ancient legend that states that when the plants fail to come up, we will all cease to exist.
SAVAGE BELOVED
Page 122
At one side she saw a bed with a mattress made of slender willow rods and coverings of buffalo hide.
Hanging down in front of the bed was a long curtain of buffalo hide, which she could tell could be raised or lowered at will. The half-lowered hide seemed to be painted with war scenes.
THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA by George Amos Dorsey
Page 5
The beds consist of mattresses made of slender willow rods and coverings of buffalo hide. Over the bed and hanging down in front, is a long curtain of buffalo hide, which can be raised or lowered at will; this is often painted with war scenes.
SAVAGE BELOVED
Page 172
“The tattoo on my right arm, that mark in the form of a small cross, is a symbol of the stars and represents a well-known mythical hero among the Wichita. He is called Flint-Stone-Lying-Down-Above, which in my language is spoken as Tahanetsicihadidia, the guardian of the warriors.
THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA by George Amos Dorsey
Page 2
On the back of each hand is tattooed a small design resembling the bird’s foot. This is made immediately after the boy has killed his first bird. Up and down the arms and across the breast may be found additional marks in the form of a small cross. […] These crosses are symbols of the stars and represent a well-known mythical hero among the Wichita called “Flint-Stone-Lying-Down-Above” (Tahanetskihadidia), who, as is told in one of the myths, is one of the guardians of the warriors.
SAVAGE BELOVED
Page 175
“Three concentric circles are tattooed around one nipple of each Wichita woman. These concentric rings prevent the women’s breasts from becoming pendulous in old age.”
THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA by George Amos Dorsey
Page 3
The nipple is also tattooed, and around it are three concentric circles. […] They are also told that the concentric rings about the breasts prevent them from becoming pendulous in old age.
SAVAGE BELOVED
Page 179
“For it is now the Moon of the Strawberries, when bears are seeking green sedges, or roots, anthills, and berries, and when buffalo sharpen and polish their horns for bloody contests among themselves.”
INDIAN BOYHOOD by Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman
Page 54
“I was once an interested and unseen spectator of a contest between a pair of grizzly bears and three buffaloes—a rash act for the bears, for it was in the moon of strawberries, when the buffaloes sharpen and polish their horns for bloody contests among themselves.”
SAVAGE BELOVED by Cassie Edwards
Page 180
“Four of them represent the four world quarters, or gods, while the upward peak is symbolic of Man-Never-Known-On-Earth, or Kinnekasus, the Creator.”
He gestured toward the entranceway. “And the door of all homes of my people is placed on the east side so that the sun may look into the lodge as it rises, while the small circular opening overhead is placed there not only for smoke to escape through, but also so that the sun may look into the lodge at noon, and at night, the star gods are thought to pour down their strength into our homes.”
He then gestured toward the fire pit. “The fire’s place in all my people’s lodges is considered sacred,” he said. “There offerings are made, food is cooked, and medicine is heated.”
THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA by George Amos Dorsey
Page 5
The four projecting poles outside stand for the four world quarters or gods, while the upward peak is symbolic of Man-Never-Known-on-Earth (Kinnekasus), the Creator in Wichita mythology. It is said that a door is placed on the east side that the sun may look into the lodge as it rises, and that the west door is so placed that the sun may look in as it sets, while through the small circular opening overhead the sun may look in at noon. The south door is still retained that the god of the south wind may enter. The fireplace is considered sacred, for here offerings are made, the food is cooked, medicines heated, etc.
SAVAGE BELOVED
Page 213-214
Each was emptying her bag, dumping the corn into one big heap. The pile soon became so high that it looked as if wagons had been used to haul it instead of the simple carrying bags.
“The next step is to build a long, narrow ditch with mud embankments along each side against which to lean the corn,” Two Eagles explained.
[…]
“They will build a big fire and throw the ears into it,” Two Eagles said. “The women will take turns reaching their hands in and out of the flames to turn the ears over. They are skilled at doing this, and no one ever burns herself. When the wood burns down, the naked ears are left to roast in the coals. Sometimes the ears roast all night, as this gives them a delicious flavor, but today the women will just leave the corn in until the sun begins lowering in the sky. Then whatever husks remain on the corn will be removed and the women will proceed to cut the kernels from the cobs. For this purpose they will use a clam shell, but kernels from small-grained ears are removed with a knife.”
[…]
Candy saw some of the women spreading large hide covers over the ground, then pegging them down tight until they were smooth.
[…]
“The kernels of the roasted corn will be spread out there,” he said. “The blue corn will be separated into three groups by size, small medium, and large. Then they will be winnowed and put into sacks made of tanned hide. After each sack is full, the women will beat upon it with a long stick to make sure that the grains are settled compactly into the bag. They will place a lid inside the bag and pull the drawstring closed. After all the bags are filled, there will be a big pile of them.”
CADDOAN TEXTS PAWNEE, SOUTH BAND DIALECT by Gene Weltfish
Page 40
Then they would dump them into one big heap. The pile would be so high that it looked as if wagons had been used to do the hauling instead of the simple carrying bags. The next step was to build a long narrow ditch with mud embankments along each side against which to lean the corn.
Then they would build a big fire and throw the ears of corn into it. One would have to stick one’s hand in and out of the flame repeatedly to turn the ears over, but one would never burn oneself. When the wood has burned down the naked ears are roasted in the coals. The corn would be left to roast all night as this gives it a delicious flavor.
Kernels from small-grained ears were removed with a knife. Large hide covers were then spread out upon the ground and pegged down tight so that they would be very smooth and upon these the kernels were spread out to dry.
When the kernels were dry they were winnowed and put into sacks made of tanned hide. After each sack was full they would beat upon it with a long stick to make sure the grains settled compactly into the bag. Then they would place a lid inside the bag […] pull the drawstring. After we had filled them there would be a big pile of bags.
SAVAGE BELOVED
Page 220
Still in their pods, the beans had been spread out upon a hide pegged to the ground. When the beans had dried, they were beaten with a stick to release them from the pods. Finally the beans were winnowed and then packed in bags.
[…]
The first step was to peel the pumpkins. Then some were cut spirally into strips from top to bottom, while others were cut into rings and hung on a cross-pole to dry.After the whole pumpkin had been stripped, there was a disc left at the bottom, which was known as the “Sitting One.” The pumpkin pieces were then left to dry for about a day. Afterward, the women gathered again to complete the process. The pumpkin strips were braided and formed into mats, which were left out in the sun to dry.
CADDOAN TEXTS PAWNEE, SOUTH BAND DIALECT by Gene Weltfish
Pages 40-41
The beans in their pods would be spread out upon a hide which was pegged to the ground and when they were dry would be beaten with a stick to release them from the pods.
[…]
The first step was to peel the pumpkins. Then if it is decided that braided pumpkin mats are to be made, the pumpkins are cut spirally into strips from top to bottom. Other pumpkins are cut into rings and hung on a cross pole to dry. After the whole pumpkin has been stripped there is left a disc at the bottom which is known as “Sitting-one.” The pumpkin is then left to dry for about a day when it is in the proper stage for braiding and for the stringing of the bottom discs. After they are braided, the pumpkin mats are left out in the sun to dry.
SAVAGE BELOVED
Page 231
“The moon is the special guardian of Wichita women, for the moon is a woman and possesses all the powers that women desire. It was the moon taught the first woman on earth and gave her power. She instructs women as to the time of the monthly sickness, informs them when they are pregnant, and when the child is to be born. She has told them that after birth the child must be offered to her by passing the hands over the child’s body and raising it aloft to the moon. At that time the moon is asked to bestow her blessings upon the child, that he or she may grow into power rapidly, for she, herself, has the power to increase rapidly in size.”
MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA by George Amos Dorsey
Page 19
The Moon is the special guardian of the women, for she is a woman and possesses all the powers which women desire. She it was who taught the first woman on earth and gave her power. She instructs the women as to the time of the monthly sickness, informs them when they are pregnant, and when the child is to be born, and has told them that after birth the child must be offered to her by passing the hands over the child’s body and raising it aloft, offering it to the Moon, at which time she is asked to bestow her blessing upon the child, that he may grow into power rapidly, for she herself has the power to increase rapidly in size.
SAVAGE BELOVED by Cassie Edwards
Page 340
“That star in the north is known as the ‘Ghost-Bear,’” Two Eagles said. “It is said that a man who was traveling in the far north came upon another man who said, ‘This is my burial place. I live in the far north. If you accept whatever I offer you, I will give you power. You shall have power over the herbs to cure people, for I am a medicine man. If an accident should happen, or if sickness should arrive, I will give you a way to heal. In your doctoring you should look to the sun, for my powers are derived from him. Before you begin doctoring, offer me smoke.’ The man was then informed that it was the Ghost Bear who was talking to him, and upon looking again, he saw that it was a Ghost Bear. The man looked back and the Ghost Bear had become a star.”
MYTHOLOGY OF THE WICHITA by George Amos Dorsey
Page 18
Next in importance is a star in the north known as the “Ghost-Bear.” This star is of comparatively recent origin, for it is said that a certain man who traveled in the far north saw a human being standing before him, who said to him: “This is my burial place. I live in the far north. There I live. Should you like some of my power, and should you accept whatever I offer you I will give you power. You shall have the power over the herbs to cure people, for I am a medicine-man. If an accident should happen, or if sickness should arise, I will give you a way to heal, and in your doctoring you should look to the Sun, for my powers are derived from him. Before you begin doctoring, offer me smoke.” Thereupon the man was informed that it was the Ghost-Bear who was talking to him, and upon looking again he saw that it was a Ghost-Bear. The man looked back and the Ghost-Bear had become a star.
The work being out of copyright doesn’t erase the issue of plagiarism—it means that there may be no one with rights to ask for monetary damages. Cassie Edwards’ systematic and widespread copying of source material is not covered under the doctine of fair use.
Huge cheers to the Bitches and the Bitchery for exposing this. Man, this is…amazing. Terrible. Shocking.
I will say this for Ms. Edwards, though. At least she hasn’t shown up here to threaten everyone with “Wicca curses”.
George MacDonald Fraser, RIP. (He just passed away earlier this week.)
I love you, Teddy Pig because your cowbell comment made me crack up. More cowbell!
But back to the seriousness of this topic. A real-life example that came to mind for me (that I don’t believe I’ve seen mentioned in the comments yet) was the two cases brought against Dan Brown over copyright infringement in
The DaVinci Code
. (Source: Dan Brown’s Wikipedia page)
Brown was accused of lifting ideas, not even actual words, from a particular source material that he not only acknowledged as a source but then used the two source material author’s names as an actual character in the book. (The authors were Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, who wrote
Holy Blood, Holy Grail
and Brown named a character Leigh Teabing—Thanks Wikipedia—Teabing is obviously an anagram of “Baigent” and the character of Leigh Teabing actually references the Baigent/Leigh book in
The DaVinci Code
.)
But still they sued him for copyright infringement (in Britain) and they lost. Brown cited their work as a source and, as we are discussing, did not plagiarize by stealing their words, simply used the information given in their book in his own, unique, way.
So. Since Edwards never pulled a Dan Brown and not once bothered to acknowledge source material (if that’s a slight on the publisher because they didn’t want to bother publishing a bibliography then that would be interesting) BUT she did more than just use source material, as we’re all discussing. She flat-out plagiarized and THAT is inexcusable.
Has anybody attempted to contact the authors and pubs of the materials from which Edwards stole? I’ve got a slow day at work today and would be glad to use my time to try and track down some email addresses of some of these people. If it were me, and my non-fiction work, I would like to be notified that a beautiful phalanx of Bitches had uncovered a theft of my work.
I don’t believe the romance genre will suffer because of this because romance readers/writers outed her. I think, based upon the comments before me, this has infuriated a lot of people.
All I want to know is what happens now? I’m no lawyer. This has to be brought to the attention of her publisher (if it hasn’t already) and some action must be taken. Whatever happens, Cassie Edwards needs to explain herself.
How could her editor not see this? If a reader can simply pick up a book and immediately realize something is very wrong with certain passages, then how come an editor couldn’t pick it up?
One person out of many thousands realized something was wrong. As I’ve said before both of our very Smart Bitches read these books without immediately screaming “Plagiarism!!!” Let’s not overstate the obviousness.
I can’t help but think of that popular paranormal romantic comedy book that takes several comedic lines sputtered by the heroine from an online dictionary of bizarre French phrases without acknowledging the source. It’s interesting how dumb some authors suspect readers of being.
This sounds like a very gray area to me. It’s a dictionary of French phrases, which means the phrases are public knowledge (in France). I don’t cite the dictionaries I use. At most this would’ve called for an acknowledgement (in a work of fiction), as far as I can tell. Is there something more damning about the example?
Man, I get a cold and miss everything. My jaw seems to be hanging permanently open this morning. Every time I think it can’t get any worse *BANG* it so gets worse.
My hat is off to the SBs for putting this issue FIRMLY in the spotlight where it BELONGS.
Noonie makes an excellent point… because if she HAD reworded she wouldn’t have been found by using Google.
She MAY have come up when searching for the same topics, but not for the same words.
It was the fact, that her points of similarity were so exact which lead to her getting busted.
So the new rule is if you doubt the quality of you “rephrasing†then Google… if it comes back to you don’t take it for it is not yours ~A
As a reader, this situation and this author seems to perpetuate the misconception that romance readers are ignorant, borderline illiterate, bored housewives who have no life and romance authors aren’t “real” authors ,anyone could do it. It’s not “real” literature. It’s trash!
That view has irked me since I started reading romance at 12 years old.
I agree with a lot of commenters, it is ultimately the authors crime but gee whiz it is so MUCH by volume why the heck hasn’t it been caught before?
It probably hasn’t been noticed before because there wasn’t a crossover between the material – the people reading old academic material weren’t reading Cassie Edwards and vice versa. And, until now, no one searched for the language.
My college was very serious about plagairism and, my first year, everyone was very careful about citing sources and making it clear where specific information came from in writing papers. After that first year we were still careful about citing, but were more comfortable with what we were doing.
I think using the information is one thing, but lifting entire chunks of text is wrong.
I’m still boggled by the ferrets, though. (seriously – ferrets?)
Laura, I’m not a lawyer either, but whether she faces any legal repercussions from anyone but her own publisher depends on whether she plagiarized anything under copyright, and *that* depends on where the books were published, by whom, and in what year.
Plagiarism and copyright violation are two different things. Copyright violations can be unintentional (see George Harrison) or in good faith. Plagiarism can be neither.
Plagiarism can easily exist in the absence of copyright and copyright violation can exist in the absence of plagiarism. Sometimes people confuse the two because copyright laws can be used to stop plagiarism.
Damn! That’s ballsy. No wonder her books were so bad, though. No one really talks like that.
I’d just like to underscore KatieW’s point. The Dan Brown case is probably one of the most relevant here—his author’s note was sufficient to give credit for his borrowings from the source text.
Had Edwards done two things: 1) learned the art of the graceful paraphrase/rewrite and 2) added an author’s note saying where she got some of her ideas, or even put the book in the acknowledgments, we would not be having this discussion.
It’s not that she needs a detailed bibliography. She needds to learn to rework ideas and give credit where credit is due.
But what can we expect from someone who capitalizes on the racist myth of the “noble savage”?
I have to agree with Toddson about there not being much crossover audience with the material. Unless you were writing an academic paper on the poor representation of Native American peoples in modern American fiction vs. the historical representation in modern American prose, it’s not something that would come up easily.
Honestly, who reads a Cassie Edwards book that CLOSELY? How many reviewers missed what The Bitches and Co. stumbled upon? Especially after 100 of them! After the fourteenth savage runs off with a white-breasted maiden with flowing hair, you know the formula and you just accept it all on a surface level and keep thumbing through the pages.
Which may be what CE was banking on.
The saddest part (IMO) is that it explains a lot about why CE’s books are so poorly written. Anyone with a sense of prose, with an ear for dialogue, and with a head for plot- and character-development could never snick sentences wholesale.
Real fiction writers don’t write that way. The characters and narrators have their own voices, and the writer who isn’t tuned to that is just typing, not writing. Even media-tie-in novelists “feel” their characters instead of constructing them from parts. (Or at least the MTI novelists I know say that.)
I don’t think I could plagiarize passages if I tried. Aside from all moral issues, it just wouldn’t feel like writing.
A ways back, Jenny said: Maybe I’m just a product of this culture, but if you turn to source material for research, read it, incorporate it into your mental knowledge base, and then rewrite that information in your book in your own – or, more accurately, the character’s – words, how is that wrong? It would be like saying you can know the stuff but could never use it.
—>But that’s not what CE did. She quoted verbatim, or so close to verbatim it’s clear that she wasn’t working from internalized knowledge.
If you’re looking at your source material while writing your fiction, then you’re doing it wrong.
Reading this has left a heavy lump in the pit of my stomach. It’s beyond sad. I know that plagiarism is generally viewed as a civil offense, and the aggrieved party must seek redress in a civil suit. At what point does this rise to theft?
While CE probably can’t be sued for copyright infringement because some of the source material is so hold, she’s still a plagiarist.
Less harm on the checkbook in the short term but, assuming this plagiarism issues expands beyond the internet blogs, it could have a huge affect on her future sales. I’m very interested to see what her publishers say.
As for her fans defending her, I could understand if it was just one instance in one book. I’d be willing to chalk it up to an honest mistake in that case, but clearly it’s in way more than just one of her books and it’s more than one instance in each book. I’m really not sure how anyone can justify that or explain it away (note: I’m sure people are trying, but I’m pretty sure they won’t succeed).
You’ve made the news!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/527541/romance_author_cassie_edwards_under.html
Rats—I posted a link, but it doesn’t show the funny picture.
Here’s the thread it’s on at Absolute Write in their Romance & Womens Fiction forum:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88553
You’ll know the pic when you see it.
Heee.
I guess what makes me angry (outside of the P word) is that other authors’ work has been labeled bad through no fault of their own because of CE and her actions. And in reality, the writing that we’ve faulted is not bad (at least in my unprofessional opinion) in the original context. Were I to come across it when reading a non fiction work, most of it wouldn’t even give me pause.
You can tell I’m the mother of toddlers, because as I was reading more and more of the passages, I could hear Sesame Street characters singing ‘One of these things is not like the others…’
That explains why the site has been slowing down! Lots of traffic.
I’m no expert, but my understanding is that works published before 1925 are in the public domain. What that means is that you don’t have to pay anyone for the right to quote the material because it’s no longer protected under copyright. As someone said earlier, you still need to attribute a quote, whether it’s copyrighted or not.
Did Cassie Edwards write her own books, or did she have a writing team who crafted the text based in her general plot ideas?
Question for the writers here: does a romance novel undergo a permissions vet prior to publication? I work in non-fiction so every book is thoroughly reviewed for potential permissions issues.
JaneyD, Publishers Weekly didn’t have any mention of this in today’s PW Daily. Neither did Publishers Lunch.
It’s not plagiarism, it’s research.
Hey I have an “IDEA”!
Since Ms Edwards has written what? over 100 books? She and her publishers should compile a ” Savage Companion” book.
You know… ala “outlandish companion ” or ” dark hunter companion”
Instead of explaining the world building, this “companion” can credit and acknowledge the alleged plagarised materials.
Most of the work is already done here, give it a few more days and voila! All done, just gotta polish it up and pick out a nice bodice ripping cover. LOL
I’m brilliant..shouldn’t someone be paying me for this shit?
Rofl.
Here’s the sad thing. First, even if it is plagiarism, it’s probably not copyright infringement so there doesn’t appear to be any legal mechanism for enforcement against the copying. The question will be whether the publishers decide that because no law was violated whether the books will be pulled.
At this point, I think it is more of an ethical/moral issue.
Now, call me cynical, but I somehow feel like the mainstream press really isn’t interested in whether some bestselling author within the romance genre liberally lifted words from non fiction sources. After all, its just romance.
Thanks for that PW update, MplsGirl.
I think this story is too new, it just broke, but maybe someone with a PW subscription can e-mail them a link so they can look into it. I’m sure there’s a hole in their schedule now that the Viswanathan twit is old news.
Re: copyright violation not being involved—I’m sure there are plenty of examples cited here from works published after 1925.
But before or after that date—
—the main point is she COPIED STUFF.
It’s no different than if she quoted a few paragraphs from “The Origin of Species” and passed it off as her own work.
Her paraphrasing is inept at best, and there are too many suspicious—to put it kindly—examples to shrug off.
In the world of kids, she is a stinky ol’ copy-cat.
In the world of grown-ups, she is a bald-faced plagiarist.
I’ve done plenty of research for my fiction, but never felt the need to copy, paste, and change a word or two of some other person’s hard work to fill up an empty page.
That’s just WRONG.
Shame on you, Ms. Edwards.
You’ve given a slap in the face to all hard working writers for your laziness.
SHAME ON YOU.
No cookie.
According to the following, hyperlinked sources, Plagiarism is:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism
2. http://www.wpacouncil.org/node/9
3. http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/plagiarism.html
4. http://www.ncusd203.org/central/html/where/plagiarism_stoppers.html
In a nutshell, it’s deliberate
copying of language used,
copying of ideas,
copying of original, non-common knowledge material
and
paraphrasing another person’s spoken or written words.
All of the above actions are plagiarism without proper citation and documentation of sources. Inadequately or incorrectly documenting sources (where an appropriate attempt has been made) seems to be regarded as a much lesser offense that can be forgiven in students at a certain level of education.
Basically, there seems to be a forgiveness of some high schoolers and college freshmen, if they made a good-faith effort to document.
I love you SBitches.
I wondered if anyone was going to mention Susan Johnston and her endnotes, so yay for fiveandfour. Even when the books were less than stellar, the existence of superscript numerals and notes explaining things in the back was enough to make me a fan. I love foototes/endnotes. Don’t believe me? Ask my dissertation supervisor.
Everything always needs more cowbell.
Also, this has made [a href=“journalfen.net/community/fandom_wank”]fandom_wank[/a].
Victoria—
I’m talking about something I consider a little more damning, because they weren’t things like “Good morning, how are you,” but really bizarre things you’d never say that sound funny in English and were translated on the basis of being humorous for a humor-based website. It would be like translating someone’s stand-up comedy into a different language and passing it off as your own.
As an enraged SB fan I find this lacking in gleeful delight. Needs more cow bell!
Bwah! You know, this was the first real laugh I’ve had all day. Cheers, TeddyPig.
Bitches, has there been any response from Edwards or her publisher?
Any comments thread with Will Ferrell slamming on that cow bell is a GOOD THREAD. MORE COW BELL!
(And maybe less DayQuil for me.)
Now, call me cynical, but I somehow feel like the mainstream press really isn’t interested in whether some bestselling author within the romance genre liberally lifted words from non fiction sources. After all, its just romance.
This made my eye twitch because I’m sure many people think all romance novels are the same anyway.
And that cow bell picture: priceless.
It’s not plagiarism, it’s research.
Posted by Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky
I just about snorted tea out of my nose. “What I’m going to do?”*
*That’s a quote from the great Lobachevsky song by Tom Lehrer, just so everyone’s clear I’m not stealing anything. 😉
I clued my DH/CP on the CE thing and directed him to your reviews on two of her books. He loves you bitches, btw. This is how the subsequent conversation went (a male brain perspective):
J: Wow, that’s depressing.
K: I know. And she’s such a famous author. She’s sold over 100 million books.
J: Yeah, you told me before. *That’s* what’s depressing…not so much the plagiarism. How much does she make a book?
K: Oh, I dunno. Maybe 68 cents a copy.
J: So that’s 68 million in 25 years, minimum.
K: Minus 15% for her agent…[click click on the calculator]. Uh, $57.8 million in 25 years. Or about $2.3 million/year.
J: Exactly. You can see what you *should* be writing, don’t you?
K: What, dissin’ on other cultures? Oh God, at least tell me I don’t *write* like her!
J: (contemplative pause…he’s my CP, remember?) Unfortunately not.
Imagine being in a situation where I’m envying CE, with her success and rabid fan base. My green eyz, let me sho u dem.
Sorry, that’s Qm over 25 years…or $2.04m/year. Mis-slip on my re-enactment.
it’s just lazy lazy laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy. And in any job it ought to get you fired.
Oh, well.
Hmm this explains a lot…
ce’s computer screen shot..
Yes there are romance story generators online
I played with paint and adapted the screen shot from http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=romance
(scared as shit not to give credit anymore ,even with satire LOL)