Links: Plagiarism, and Jumpsuits

It takes a lot of balls to copy someone’s work word-for-word. It also takes a lot of balls to pass that work off as your own. But it takes a whole pile of balls to copy a book nearly word-for-word and both change the main characters’ name to “Edwards” and “Bella” and change the point of view from first to third. Because making it TwiFic makes it all better, right?

Lucky for Cynthia Eden (except not at all) that’s exactly what someone did. A fanfic writer named “misconception76” took Eden’s story Deadly Heat and turned it into TwiFic. And the fanfic rip off was so good that folks made (and then have since removed) Bella-as-a-firefighter fan art. The reviews were all positive until the plagiarism was spotted.

Jiminy Christmas.

My understanding of the fanfic community is that they have an extremely low tolerance for plagiarism in their community, because shoddy work like this helps the reputation of fanfic not at all. Yet this work is still available. WTF? Many a commenter to the original story has said they’ve reported it, but the story is still up. I tried to join the community and contact “misconception76” but alas, new members are not allowed to DM until a day or two after registration.


In case that leaves a sorry taste in your mouth, here, have a link from Robinjn that I tweeted on Friday but is so good I must share again: Men of Certain Style.

All the best fashion from the days of WTFRUWearing? The best is the “One Easy Piece” jumpsuit. Robinjn even transcribed the ad copy for us, in case your eyeballs are now seared and blinded from the sight of the jumpsuit:

One Easy Piece

Because one is enough, when it’s you. Show where you’re headed in the
ultimate fashion climax.

Fits so tight it shows all you’ve got . . . you’re a walking turn-on.
And treats your body as well as she does.

Easy on, easy off, quick as a flick of her tongue. Sexy cool crinkle
cloth for those hot nights to come. Designed with your desires in mine
. . . she’ll eat you alive in it…. Are you man enough to fill it?

Awww, yeah.

 

Comments are Closed

  1. Paige says:

    Is that the original Starbuck in the Men In Belted Sweaters spread?

  2. LG says:

    O_O

    What the heck was this misconception76 person thinking? I wonder, did the positive at the beginning actually make him/her feel good? What was the point of this?

  3. LG says:

    That was supposed to be “postive comments.”

    Well, thanks for posting a link to those eye-searing pictures. They’re a distraction, at least. Belted sweaters and jumpsuits…

  4. Anony Miss says:

    Seriously, this is a romance novel site. Where’s the recommendations of 70’s novels complete with swinging hairy chested men, jump suits, big hair and disco nights? Surely someone was writing contemporaries in the 70’s, weren’t they?

    Word verification: sense79. No, in 1979, they didn’t have much fashion sense at all…

  5. Ana Farrish says:

    Lol! Thank you for that second link. Lovin’ the guy in the blue hooded jumpsuit.

    Ooh! This just gave me an idea for a new romance series: KNIT, EARL, STITCH (Men in Belted Sweaters #1).

  6. Kel says:

    Thanks for the heads-up about the plagiarism.  I’m a fanfiction writer with lots of repressed anger, so any valid outlet is greatly appreciated.

  7. JamiSings says:

    Say what you want, at least in the 70s men wore the waist of their pants AT THEIR WAIST! Not this moronic “sagging” crap we’ve been putting up with since the 80s with their pants getting lower and lower. I’ve seen many a guy who now wears them so low their entire boxer shorts are exposed! It’s DISGUSTING!

    Give me a man in a 70’s jumpsuit over some fool with his pants on the ground any day.

    Sing it with me now –

    o/` Pants on the ground! Pants on the ground! Lookin’ like a fool with your pants on the ground! o/`

    For those who don’t know the song I’m talking about –



  8. SB Sarah says:

    I’m a fanfiction writer with lots of repressed anger, so any valid outlet is greatly appreciated.

    I just choked on a carrot. That’s not a euphemism.

  9. Lisa K says:

    The jumpsuit!  ACK!!!

    So.Not.Sexy.

    Neither is plagarism…

    Lisa

  10. Jennifer in GA says:

    And yet Cassandra Clare continues to make money. Oh wait- she doesn’t plagiarize, she writes “homages” and “pastiches”.

    Heh- captcha: property97

    97% of Cassandra Clare’s fanfiction was property of someone else!

  11. Nialla says:

    The fanfic community has an extremely low tolerance of plagiarism, but the reason it’s still up is it’s at fanfiction.net, which is not so affectionately nicked “The Pit”.

    The administration there doesn’t really care about plagiarized works, so reporting them doesn’t do anything. About the only way they’re taken down is if the “author” takes it down because they’re tired of getting comments that have switched from praise to loathing.

  12. Jody W. says:

    I just had a fashion thought. You know how they make vests or shirts with “fake” undershirts sticking out at the collar or cuffs? So you can look layered without being so sweaty. Who is going to invent fake pants on the ground, where the jeans are actually sewn onto the ass-area of the boxers so you are, in fact, wearing a single garment? And when they do invent that, will people then wear boxers UNDER the POTGs? And will they then let the POTGs sag so people can see not one but *2* pairs of boxers with the jeans now belted around the knees??? WHEN WILL IT END?

  13. Celli says:

    I knew I kept my ffn account around for a reason…I just reported her (along with a billion other people, I think). Hopefully the volume of complaints will inspire prompt action.

  14. Ros says:

    I agree that ff.net are unlikely to bother doing anything unless the author sends a formal cease and desist notice.  I hope she does.

  15. Cynthia Eden says:

    Hi, Sarah.  Thanks for posting the information about the plagiarism.  After I joined the Fan Fic site (I joined after I found out what was happening there), I also had to wait 24 hrs before I could PM anyone. Guess who I sent my very first PM to?  Unfortunately, Misconception76 has chosen not to respond to me—or to remove “her” story. 

    I’ve also sent the site multiple abuse notices, but I haven’t heard back from them.  And, today, Grand Central got all of my information so they could send an official take down notice, too. 

    I would like to thank everyone who has reported on this issue.  The support is extremely appreciated.

  16. Ros says:

    This is my favourite bit about the plagiarised story, from the beginning of chapter 1: ‘Disclaimer: The Twilight Series character names belong to Stephanie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.’

    And all the other words belong to… Cynthia Eden!  Any copyright infringement intended there?

  17. Julie Brannagh says:

    Let’s face it: After that fashion hit parade, it’s a miracle anyone had sex in the 70’s.

    Oh, the humanity.

  18. kara-karina says:

    Oh, thank you for 10 minutes of hysterical laughter and mental scarring. What an amazing link! As to plagiarism, it always comes back and bites you on the backside big time. I’m glad it’s all out. Hopefully the story will disappear from the web eventually.

  19. Karmyn says:

    Oh yes, the fanfic community takes plagiarism very seriously. That’s why you will still see Cassie Clare brought up. That’s one reason I absolutely refuse to read her books. That, and I heard they suck.
    Has this made fanficrants or fandom_wank yet?

  20. Allie says:

    As a long time fanfic reader – we’re talking mid-90s, on a computer that my BlackBerry is more sophisticated than, using a dial up modem that took 5 minutes to load a page (dedication, I haz it) – I hate to see things like this happen.

    Awhile back I read the first chapter of the story thinking it was a really great and the fanfic author referenced the book where she got the plotline (the story wasn’t word for word but the plot was similar). I went to the library and checked out the book. It turned out to be the first in a very long series of books. I went out and bought them all. And thus began my romance novel addiction. Which led me here.

  21. robinjn says:

    Sadly, I remember these fashions IN REAL LIFE. And I have two extra words, for the Men’s Extravaganza not adequately covered in the link.

    Leisure Suit

    My Dad had a pumpkin orange one. He wore it with white patent leather shoes with a big ol’ side buckle. And not only that, but he bough my Mom one of those one-piece jumpsuits for Christmas once. Onlyexcepting it was not just a one-piece jump suit, and not just a 100% polyester one-piece jump suit, but it was a neon pink one-piece jump suit with a searing purple and green paisley print. It. Was. Awesome.

  22. MarieC says:

    Hi! thought I’d bring this up. The story is gone. They finally took it down! Hurray!

  23. Laurel says:

    I’m pretty sure that was Kenny Rogers in one of those jumpsuits.
    Fine-tooth combed hair and all.

  24. TracyS says:

    Sadly, I remember all of those 80’s fashions. I may have even worn some of them. Neon, big hair, parachute pants, t-shirts so big I could wear them 10 years later at 9 months pregnant with room to spare=teen years in the 80’s!!

  25. delphia2000 says:

    As someone who had a lot of sex in the 70’s, all I can say is that they looked better with the clothes off. ;o)

  26. Maya says:

    It’s on fandom_wank now.  Let the snark commence.

  27. Re: the link: OW MY EYES!

    Dear gods and little fishies, the COLLARS. The HUGE, FLOPPY COLLARS.

  28. Lee Rowan says:

    The only person who ever looked good in those jumpsuits was Emma Peel.  And she was AWESOME.

  29. Brandi says:

    Who is going to invent fake pants on the ground, where the jeans are actually sewn onto the ass-area of the boxers so you are, in fact, wearing a single garment?

    Funny you should say that.

    (They use snaps rather than permament stitching, but…)

  30. I always enjoy the “GQ Regrets” segments where the magazine highlights some of their own mistakes from the past.

    Thanks for sharing, though my eyes will never be the same.

  31. Asia M says:

    I “know” this girl who posted her work on FictionPress, only to find it posted by someone else, somewhere else, without the slightest mention of her name. It was also a battle for her to contact the website’s admins and have the user banned and the story put down… That’s when you realize that most Internet sites are kind of dysfunctional and/or abandoned.

    LOL at the link! That jumpsuit was hilarious

  32. Ellen Brand says:

    Geez, I remember when somebody “borrowed” one of my fanfics and put it up… Actually, from what the person who posted it said, they put it up for a friend who swore blue that it was their own work. As the poster IMMEDIATELY took it down upon being notified that it was plagiarized, I tend to believe them. But honestly, how dumb do you have to be to steal an installment from a moderate popular series in a reasonably small fandom? Anybody who reads it is probably ALREADY aware of my work, even if you don’t like it. (I’m a very little guppy in the fandom sea, but in Power Rangers fandom, I am Shamu.)

  33. Dragoness Eclectic says:

    Twice I’ve had fans of my own fanfiction warn me that someone had plagiarised my fics—when I went to check, I was amused to find many shaming comments on the story to the effect that “How dare you plagiarize DE’s Raditz fics! Did you really think no one would recognize them?”

    There are advantages to writing passable stories about a very minor character that almost no one else writes about—all the fans of that minor character know your stories, AND check out new stories about said character, and thus recognize plagiarism.

  34. Cedar Sanderson says:

    The story is down, now. As a long-time member and reader at FF, I figured I’d complain as soon as I saw you couldn’t. I don’t read TwiFic (never even read the original) so I wouldn’t have seen it anyway.

  35. PJ DEAN says:

    Oh, man! I think I dated every one of those guys in the pimp pose off picture. Love the feather flourish on the chapeau. Their heels were higher than mine.

  36. Trinket says:

    Actually, Nialla softened it a little bit. The full, not-so-affectionate nickname for Fanfiction.net is “The Pit of Voles.”

  37. Kim says:

    Someone from a FanLit just copied Kiss An Angel from Susan Elizabeth Phillips. She contacted the site and they took down the piece.

  38. Kim says:

    Sorry, I should have said fan fiction site, not fan lit. Jessicakg, the name of the person who supposedly copied SEP’s work, was banned from the site after SEP notified them.

  39. SonomaLass says:

    For the sake of closure, sort of, here’s what the plagiarist had to say:
    Confession

    Okay…confession time. What people said I did, I really did do. It was an experiment with a friend of mine. Her mom is totally addicted to the site, and it made me wonder. How many people actually copy other stories and claim them as their own. Well, now I know. Probably not many at all. I’m sorry for all the crap that I caused, and I promise to never show my face again. When my mom’s friend found out what we did, she was livid to say the least. I don’t blame her, or you for any words or actions you brought my way. I totally deserved it.

    Once again, I’m sorry.

    Misconception

  40. Joyce says:

    Oh man, I’m so glad other people brought up Cassie Clare before me. I sometimes wonder if I react too strongly to that chick.

    I’m an avid romance, sci-fi/fantasy, and YA reader but I will never read anything that has the Cassandra Clare byline on it. Ever. Her entire online reputation was based on witty dialogue, plot points, and sequences that were entirely ripped off. The entire thing leaves such a bad taste in my mouth, especially when you bring into account her online hordes of fans who bought her presents and donated to her PayPal for what boils down to as the privilege of reading her “homages”. Sometimes I have a dark urge to take a glimpse at her books housed in my library just to see how her writing fares when (ostensibly) stripped of all outside assistance, but I don’t even want to dignify her by giving her even that much cosmic attention.

    (hey my captcha is arms92 which is quite nice—the subject of Cassandra Clare definitely gets me up in arms)

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