Plagiarism is almost the least of your worries because the accuser must prove the book is a plagiarized work which is very difficult, but not impossible as history has shown. As noted in Editors on Editing, Plagiarism is THE GREATEST AND LEAST OF YOUR WORRIES; YOUR ONLY DEFENSE AGAINST IT IS THE INTEGRITY OF THE AUTHOR…
Think of recent examples of plagiarism or stories that were simply untrue. As the Editor here, Evander Lomke - a well-known Editor at a trusted house that is international as well as in New York City, noted, Aside from having a broad general knowledge, there's little an editor could or can do but trust his or her instincts. In short, you have to trust your Author. Be cautious, yes, but trust your Author - and try to fact-check and publish reputable authors, but again there are no real guarantees.
One Editor tells me that his first job "...was comparing Haley's Roots to The African by Courlander. Roots was supposed to be a family history, yet Haley plagiarized Courlander's novel. Doubleday eventually paid a lot in an out-of-court-settlement ... Aside from having a broad general knowledge, as I say there's little an editor could do but trust his or her instincts. I doubt Haley's Doubleday editor would have suspected. Haley was already an established authority, having worked with the likes of Malcolm X."
The best thing you can do is double-check outside sources and have your author source and cite every fact or even little factoids for you so that even if they (the sources) do not show up in the finished work, you know what they are... this is important.
Think of recent examples of plagiarism or stories that were simply untrue. As the Editor here, Evander Lomke - a well-known Editor at a trusted house that is international as well as in New York City, noted, Aside from having a broad general knowledge, there's little an editor could or can do but trust his or her instincts. In short, you have to trust your Author. Be cautious, yes, but trust your Author - and try to fact-check and publish reputable authors, but again there are no real guarantees.
One Editor tells me that his first job "...was comparing Haley's Roots to The African by Courlander. Roots was supposed to be a family history, yet Haley plagiarized Courlander's novel. Doubleday eventually paid a lot in an out-of-court-settlement ... Aside from having a broad general knowledge, as I say there's little an editor could do but trust his or her instincts. I doubt Haley's Doubleday editor would have suspected. Haley was already an established authority, having worked with the likes of Malcolm X."
The best thing you can do is double-check outside sources and have your author source and cite every fact or even little factoids for you so that even if they (the sources) do not show up in the finished work, you know what they are... this is important.
1 comment:
Interesting about Haley. I never knew there was a plagiarism case regarding Roots.
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