Organic

Filed in: Musings on Craft | Writing | news
Tags: craft | intellectual property | plagiarism | Stephanie Meyer | Writing

I had planned to leave the Craftie Ladies on top of my blog for a couple of days, but the fiction world is a-buzz with something close to my heart. This PW story gives the minor details, and there are more facts on Stephanie Meyer’s website, on the August 28th (II) blog entry.

For many writers, a book is an organic creation. It grows as you write, evolving and changing as your words emerge. Sometimes, they go left when you expected a right turn. They evolve even more in the editing process. While some folks think a book emerges finished the first time, the truth is even million sellers go through a meticulous revision process before publication. The book is not WHOLE AND FINISHED until the printer gets the final files from the publisher.

When I was 19, I had a story stolen. Someone I trusted distributed it under their own name. It’s a blow I have NEVER forgotten. I first learned the word plagiarism when I was seven, and at 19 I learned it’s impact on the soul.

While what happened to Ms. Meyer isn’t technically plagiarism, it is a serious betrayal of friendship. It’s an attempt to be “one-up” on someone (“Look I have the latest Meyer manuscript”). While Ms. Meyer doesn’t think that was the intent of the original betrayal, we should all understand “the Law of Unintended Consequences.”

In this case, it may have cost a friendship and it’s denied her readers the true book she had in mind.

It’s amazing to me that many people have no respect for this intangible something we call “intellectual property,” as if ideas had no value, economic or otherwise. The bottom line goes something like this – if IP sharing makes it impossible for artist to make a living, then they will stop making art. They have to eat, pay bills, etc. So if the art won’t pay, they’ll do something else. And the books, films, and music you love will simply go away. And there will be no Stephanie Meyer manuscript to share.

If you’ve ever had a favorite writer or musician simply stop writing or recording, then you know what a gap can be left behind.

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