Technological Gains and Writing

August 5, 2009 at 11:50 am (Uncategorized) (, , , , , , , , , , , )

Jordan Scott, author of The Nocturne, has filed a plagiarism claim against Stephenie Meyer; stating that her bestselling novel, Breaking Dawn, contains text, characters and story line that are substantially similar to that found in The Nocturne. The Nocturne, though published after Breaking Dawn, was begun in 2003 with Scott posting excerpts and ideas surrounding the novel to her website as the writing progressed. Stephenie Meyer, of course, denies that any part of Breaking Dawn was plagiarized and that Scott’s claim is completely without merit.

As any author, college student, professor or journalist can tell you; plagiarism is a very big deal. Taking the work of another and claiming it as your own, either knowingly or in ignorance, can have serious repercussions. But, that’s not quite what this post is about today.

While reading the article I naturally checked out the discussions said article has spawned. I would love to say I was surprised but what I saw, but unfortunately, that’s just not true. As with anything that people really like or really dislike, passions tended to run high and those weighing in had a tendency to come across as if their opinion was the only opinion worth bothering to hold.

We see this so often in the writing world that it becomes rather disheartening to see it yet again. You almost cringe when a media outlet or entertainment news outlet publishes a story on a book or author because the mud will start flying soon thereafter. At the same time, however, you can’t help but appreciate that people are speaking up, regardless of your own opinion.

We’ve heard for years that people just aren’t reading anymore. My own husband hasn’t cracked a book since I convinced him to read Angels and Demons (Dan Brown) several years ago. In fact, in the years leading up to that amazing reading feat, he hadn’t read a single book either. My mother’s boyfriend is the same way. He actually watched a book trailer on television earlier this year and decided he wanted to read the book. After purchasing the novel, however, he read the first chapter and then handed it over to my older sister, having decided that he really didn’t want to read it after all.

I tend to believe, however, that those individuals are still in the minority. Sure, we’re a busy nation. But I can’t count the number of people I come across on a daily basis that have their noses stuck in a book. For every one person I come across that confesses to not reading; I come across two or three others that include reading as one of their all time favorite things to do.

In fact, I’ve seen book clubs form on both Facebook and Twitter after individuals have discovered that they hold similar reading interests. I’ve even seen similar groups form for the purpose of reading fan fiction and reporting their favorite finds for other fan fiction readers.

So, we’re not necessarily reading any less, but we are reading a bit differently. With so many options available to readers these days (including blogs, ebooks, fan fiction web-rings and traditional print, just to name a few), reading has become as easy as they wish it to be. And while that decrease in print sales may have the publishing world screaming, there is good news.

Ebook sales increased in 2008 and it’s become easier than ever for authors to connect with readers and potential readers. I’ve heard, quite often, how important it is for authors to find ways to connect with their fan base and I can attest to how well that has worked for me, as a reader.

I’ve come across author blogs, author Facebook pages and even author Twitter accounts and, having known nothing about the author previously, have picked up their works based on what I’ve experienced in those realms with that specific individual. When it’s not those personal interactions that have sparked my interest; excerpts, bloggings about their personal writing process or even unrelated short stories that they’ve posted have captured my attention and made me want to see more.

I’ve heard and seen similar reactions from others as well. When Alice Hoffman took to Twitter in June to rant about a less than stellar review and encouraged fans to tell said reviewer off, her reputation certainly took a hit. Readers were not amused by her antics and several simply refuse to read her works as a result of that temper tantrum.

When it was announced that Brandon Sanderson would be completing the Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan’s passing in 2006, several friends decided they would no longer read the series. When they came across him on Twitter, however, they decided that their decision might have been made in haste and are now eagerly anticipating the November release of The Gathering Storm.

Technology might make it easier for those less than respectful interactions to take place when publishing world news breaks, but I can’t help but feel that no matter how irritating that downside may be, the gains that technology have offered more than make up for it. It’s up to authors, of course, to take advantage of what technology can offer.  We’ll discuss how to go about doing so in the next installment.

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