Plagiarism and Authors

Paul Tolme, one of the authors whose work was lifted by Cassie Edwards, wrote an interesting and thought-provoking column on the topic in Newsweek Online. You can find Tolme's article here; his remarks about plagiarism at the end of the article are particularly astute, and I plan to share the article with my Composition students to open up a discussion about the fair use of research. As Tolme's remarks, "Plagiarism victimizes writers. It betrays the trust of readers. It tarnishes the craft of writing." As an English instructor, I've always been attuned to how I incorporate other authors in my research on the nineteenth century, which has helped when I approach research for my fiction writing. It's just plain courtesy, thanking the people who have helped you along the way to complete your research by acknowledging their contributions.

Promotional Tips for Authors

So, you have your contract in hand and a release date set with your publisher. Now comes the scary stuff: Promotion. When you're first starting out and money is tight, it helps to focus on establishing an Internet presence. All the sites I've listed below are free, and they're ideal for the new author keen on jumping into the marketing and promotion game.

1. MySpace: The ultimate networking tool. Numerous authors have joined MySpace over the past few years, and by doing a simple search, you can find some of your favorite authors and begin making new friends. Also, by joining romance friendly groups, you can find people with similar interests and perhaps even potential readers.

2. AuthorsDen: "Where authors and readers come together." You can upload your bio, add news and stories, and include links to your other sites.

3. Bebo: A cool new site I recently found out about. Again, it's a wonderful networking tool, and it allows authors to register their books on the site.

4. Blog: Blogger is a user-friendly way to set up a blog, and I've also heard positive remarks about Wordpress and Livejournal. The only downside to blogging is you have to be willing to invest some time into posts; ideally, you should post new material about 2-3 times per week.

Happy writing!