An author recently submitted a manuscript that he said would not be for distribution. He would only be buying a handful of copies for people he knows. Since the author wasn’t planning to earn a profit from the manuscript, no sources were cited. Entire sections of the book contained information taken from websites but no websites or writers were given credit.

So, is this copyright infringement or plagiarism?

In this case, it’s both.

By not giving credit to the original creators of the work, readers might assume the “author” of the book is the creator of all of the text therein. That is plagiarism.

By not obtaining permission to publish longer sections of text, and not citing those, along with the shorter sections, that is copyright infringement.

Just because a book is not being published for the masses is irrelevant. The book could eventually end up in a used bookstore and, thus, would be in distribution.

I actually heard from two authors yesterday who, in the year 2020, still fully believe that taking content from the Internet is hunky dory, and completely legal. I guess those people haven’t read about the countless copyright infringement lawsuits that have arisen since the Internet gave people easy access to the works of others.

Copying and pasting is super easy. Paying a lawyer thousands to defend you in a copyright infringement lawsuit is not. Neither is paying hundreds of thousands after you lose such a lawsuit.

Write your own stuff. If you want to quote from a website, a person, or anything else, research copyright law before doing so.

RELATED

• When Authors Don’t Understand Copyright Law, the Law Might Come After THEM!
• Do NOT Bequeath Your Book’s Copyright to a Third Party Without Obtaining Permission First! by Angela Hoy
• The New News: Paraphrasing or Plagiarism? By Gail Kavanagh
• Plagiarism: Much Ado About Something By Neil Wilkinson
• Plagiarism…or Work-for-Hire?

Got questions about Print On Demand and Self-publishing? Ask Angela Hoy.

About The Author

Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the author of 19 books, and the co-owner of BookLocker.com (one of the original POD publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month), PubPreppers.com (print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish), and Abuzz Press (the publishing co-op that charges no setup fees).

Angela has lived and traveled across the U.S. with her kids in an RV, settled in a river-side home in Bradenton, FL, and lived on a 52 ft Irwin sailboat. Angela now resides on a mountaintop in Northwest Georgia, where she plans to spend the rest of her days bird watching, gardening, hiking, and taking in all of the amazing sunrises.

WritersWeekly.com - the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday.

BookLocker.com - According to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is: "As close to perfection as you're going to find in the world of ebook and POD publishing. The ebook royalties are the highest I've ever seen, and the print royalties are better than average. BookLocker understands what new authors experience, and have put together a package that is the best in the business. You can't go wrong here. Plus, they're selective and won't publish any manuscript just because it's accompanied by a check. Also, the web site is well trafficked. If you can find a POD or epublisher with as much integrity and dedication to selling authors' books, but with lower POD publishing fees, please let me know."

Abuzz Press offers FAST and FREE book publication, but only accepts a small percentage of submissions, and only works with U.S. authors.

PubPreppers.com - "We Prep, You Publish!" Print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish. Offers formatting and design services only, and then provides simple instructions for authors on where to sign up to have the print and ebook editions printed/listed/sold. Cut out the middle man. Keep 100% of what bookstores pay for your book!

Angela's POD Secrets Revealed Series can be found HERE.

Have a POD Book with another publisher? See if BookLocker can give you a better deal. (BookLocker offers "disgruntled author discounts" to those who want to move from other POD services.)

See BookLocker's publishing packages HERE.

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Angela is the creator of the Original 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/

Read More Of Angela's Articles HERE

90+ DAYS OF PROMOTING YOUR BOOK ONLINE: Your Book's Daily Marketing Plan by Angela Hoy and Richard Hoy

Promoting your book online should be considered at least a part-time job. Highly successful authors spend more time promoting a book than they do writing it - a lot more.

We know what you're thinking. You're an author, not a marketer. Not to worry! We have more than a decade of successful online book selling experience under our belts and we're going to teach you how to promote your book effectively online...and almost all of our techniques are FREE!

Online book promotion is not only simple but, if you have a step-by-step, day-to-day marketing plan (this book!), it can also be a very artistic endeavor, which makes it fun for creative folks like you!

Yes, online book promoting can be EASY and FUN! Let us show you how, from Day 1 through Day 90...and beyond!

The Art and Craft of Writing and Editing

Writing is a constant dialogue between author and reader.

The craft of writing involves an interchange of emotions between an author and a reader. An author creates a story line, conflict, and characters, gives his characters words to speak, and then hands off these materials to a reader. This process results in a constant dialogue between the mental imagery produced by a reader and that proposed by the author.

Read more here:

https://writersweekly.com/books/6712.html