Are you affected?
Thanks to Bryony, i was made aware today that one of my stories, Mikaela, released in my Omnibus, Kaleidoscope on Kindle, had been made available as a standalone offering under the title ‘Mikaela's Tale’ by an individual publishing as 'Julie Swan'. Whilst its flattering that my work should receive such acclaim, it took me but seconds of further research to confirm that apart from the subtle change in title, this was indeed my story stolen wholesale, i have now started the process of copyright infringement complaint with Amazon.
This person, 'Julie Swan', has released a large number of titles and i suspect that they are all using stolen content which not only is illegal but monies are being deprived from the legitimate publishers which will include many on this and similar sites and of course Doppler Press, the publishing arm of Big Closet.
My story was easy to identify, yours may not be as easy but i urge you all to firstly not purchase product published by 'Juli Swan' and secondly, spend a few moments checking the synopsis of 'her' wares for anything that seems rather too familiar and report to Amazon or the actual author if you do find anything.
Maddy
Comments
Excellent
Well done for acting on this, Maddy.
The good news is that Amazon only pay two months in arrears, so as long as we act promptly and as a community we can ensure that the thieves and scammers don’t profit from this.
I can’t take the credit for spotting the theft: the person who brought it to my attention was Chris Archer, over on Goodreads, who has given one star reviews to any number of pirated stories. A good source of information for anybody who’s interested in shutting down the thieves.
Let us know how you get on with Amazon?
Best wishes,
Bryony
Sugar and Spiiice – TG Fiction by Bryony Marsh
Julie's not the only thief
Without wanting to blow my own trumpet, it was me who brought this to Bryony's attention. Anyone wanting to see if they or anyone they know has had their work stolen can check my reviews on Goodreads: it's not an exhaustive list, by any means, just those I've been able to trace. I did try leaving one-star reviews on Amazon, but all that got me was a less-than-cordial warning that I was in breach of their guidelines. As they're clearly more interested in keeping the money rolling in than giving a damn about the provenance of such books, I closed my account (for all the good that'll do, other than me knowing I've done what I feel to be right).
Amazon will take down books that can be shown to be plagiarised; sadly, they seem content to allow these 'authors' to keep profiting from theft where the complaint doesn't come from the copyright owner.
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/69080791-chris-archer
Hope this is helpful to anyone affected,
Chris
Oops!
Bryony's reply wasn't showing when I posted mine! Sorry, Bryers - I'll do extra homework to make amends.
I for one
am very grateful to anyone who spots this stuff going on!
Credit where its due.
At least having stories that are easy to identify has some benefits!
Maddy
Madeline Anafrid Bell