Re: plagiarism

[Leslie Bialler lb136@xxxxxxxx]

Hah and hah! That explains something. I remember years ago picking up a
sci-fi book billed as a promising first novel by a new author and I browsed
through the first few pages and found it intriguing, so I bought it. When I
started reading it, though, I had this strange feeling that I knew exactly
what was going to happen and that I'd been here before.

I flipped through some old books I had around to see if I had already
purchased it, but clearly I had not. So I shrugged and finished the book
thinking, as Hemingway supposedly said, "oh well, there are only seven plots,
after all."

Sorry, I don't remember the name of the book(s) or author(s) now.


> From: "Morris Krok" 
> To: 
> Sent: Saturday, August 17, 2002 12:36 PM
> Subject: plagiarism
>
> >   I mention plagiarism because I know of case where a book was
> reproduced
> > almost word for word, except for a few minor changes, and those issuing
> this
> > edition took the credit of writing it. A note in small print in an
> > inconspicuous page in front mentioned the original author as an
> > acknowledgement.
>
> Now and then, an author will do this in the science fiction & fantasy
> genre, and sometimes succeeds in selling the work to a respectable
> publisher. Of course, since all the editors in the field know each other,
> this puts a quick end to that author's career.

--
Leslie Bialler, Columbia University Press
lb136@xxxxxxxx
61 W. 62 St, NYC 10023
212-459-0600 X7109 (phone) 212-459-3677 (fax)
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