Plagiarism disgusts me. There’s no excuse for it.
So, I was disappointed and annoyed when I found one of my original stories on page 148 of the Everything Ghost Hunting Book.
It’s the Colby-Sawyer ghosts story, and it’s an entire section in Ms. Ellis’ book.
It’s written as if the author — Melissa Martin Ellis — had interviewed “the student” herself.
Well, Ms. Ellis might have gotten away with it, except for two things:
- She quoted “the student” — and much of the story — word-for-word from one of my webpages that has been online since 2001. (That can be documented via the Wayback Machine; Ms. Ellis’ book came out in August 2009.)
- In addition… I’m the student. That’s my story, from when I attended Colby-Sawyer College. So, Ms. Ellis can’t claim that she acquired the story directly from the student who had the ghostly encounter.(A couple of my HollowHill.com stories were written in the third person, with a few facts altered, specifically to catch plagiarists. That’s one of those stories, and it worked.)
I’m going to think about this copyright violation before I decide what to do. I have already contacted an attorney.
For starters, I want to see if Ms. Ellis copied more than just that one story. I may find other HollowHill.com stories in her book, and I may see stories from others’ websites, too. (If you find additional copied — and uncredited — material in her book, please let me know.)
I keep saying that integrity and credibility are among our most valuable assets in this field. When someone steals another researcher’s work and copyrighted articles, I have no respect for them, and you probably shouldn’t, either.
We have enough credibility issues in this field. Plagiarism is unacceptable, and opens the door to even more criticism from people who doubt the integrity of our research.
Photo credits: Glasses with legal symbol – linusb4, Australia
Arrested icon, Michal Zacharzewski, Poland
Even without any further action, Karma will come back and end up kicking her in the end. I honestly do not understand how anyone can steal another’s idea to make a profit from it. If she cannot put the effort into gathering her own information and take time to form it into a solid, and original book, she needs to find another career. That is If she can find one that will hire her after adding this blunder to her resumee.
Sean,
Thanks for the comments. They echo how I feel, exactly.
The sad things is, most book authors don’t make very much money from their books. Though every author probably dreams about the book becoming a best-seller, those are few and far between. We write to share the information, and cross our fingers that the time spent will eventually yield a minimum-wage income.
She had nothing to lose and everything to gain by correctly crediting her sources.
At the very least, what she did is extremely unprofessional and it will alienate those who discover what she did. At worst, it’s not just illegal; it’s portrayed her as someone without integrity.
Sincerely,
Fiona
I teach English, mostly essay writing, at the college level and have had occassion (too many) to chase down plagiarism in my students’ writing. After having read Ellis’s book and done an analysis of several portions of her text, my guess is that, at best, she wrote perhaps 20% of the book and that the balance is merely a compilation of work done by other people, some of whom could easily have been credited. In many of her sections, Ellis’s “voice” (which includes syntax, diction, vocabulary, grammar) shifts one or more times in relatively small sections, which is a classic signal that the writer may be compiling others’ work rather than writing original material. One conclusion is that Ms. Ellis has a seriously flawed understanding of quotation, paraphrasing, and attribution. Another conclusion is that her book is purely an exercise in money-making and is not intented to be a well-researched, well-intentioned contribution to paranormal studies.
Mrs. Broome,
I think it is safe to say her writing days are over. An author just can’t recover from plagiarism.
Art
I hear ya, Fiona…and it’s worse than just plagarism. Although I have been plagarized many times (espeically what I have published online) what really cut me to the quick was an article in Fate magazine that not only reported MY personal experience, but didnt ever interview me, mention me by name, or make note of my book about the experience. And this is in a fairly substantial magazine! I don’t mind when people retell my stories so long as they are in thier own words (ie, rewritten), are factually correct, and are not put forth as thier own work. They don’t even necessarily have to say it was MY work, so long as they don’t claim it as thier own. In the case of Fate Magazine, the author was someone I have personally met, have done speaking engagements with, and who has easy access to contacting me. She may have met the basic conditions I just mentioned, but it was almost like being betrayed by a friend. We’re not actually friends, but some professional courtesy should have been employed.
Hi Robin,
Ouch! Fate magazine should know better. They used to be the big mainstream name in the field of paranormal reports. Shabby work like that has reduced their credibility and popularity, and that’s really too bad.
The fact that the author is someone you know… that doubles the reasons to feel indignant.
Online plagiarism seems almost routine now. (There are days when I want to explain, in small words that anyone can understand, that copying = plagiarism, and “flame war” = libel.) Online plagiarism seems to lower the bar so plagiarism in print is slipping past publishers’ legal staffs, unnoticed.
I understand that online copying is so prevalent, many kids seem regard it as a compliment to the original author. (Hello, put my name or URL with it, please?)
I can spend my life trying to correct that misconception, or I can continue with my work. I choose the latter.
However, when my uncredited work appears in print… yes, that still stings, big time.
It’s not that I want fame or fortune. (If I did, I’d be in a very different field.) It’s that we get so little in benefits (like, oh, a living wage) for this work, I want at least a footnote to acknowledge my part in the R&D.
My other rant is about noting sources. If we’re not mentioned as resources, how will people discover the wealth of other wonderful breakthroughs we’re making…? (Yes: Rhetorical question. Preaching to the choir.)
I’m this close to saying I may conclude my ghost research at the end of 2011, when my current book projects should be completed. Of course, that’s just my current annoyance speaking; my curiosity about all things paranormal will probably keep me here indefinitely.
However, it’s difficult to watch the field unraveling on almost every front. Plagiarism is just one ugly symptom that’s especially hurtful to those of us with academic backgrounds, who value what’s published.
We’re in “interesting times,” and I know this is an extreme swing of the pendulum. I may stay in my R&D lab (figuratively speaking) until the worst is over.
people like this do not have the brains to write their own material and they don’t think you (author) will see their story or recognize it as your own. What baffles me is that I have read whole books of fiction with different titles and authors but the same stories. Or take out whole sections from other books and incorporate it in their book.