Bad Marketing Ideas: Meyer Sued For Plagerism
If you can't get your own publicity, don't steal it from others! Stephanie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, is being sued for plagiarism. My feelings for the author and/or series aside, this is wrong! It sounds very bogus because the guy is claiming such petty things as her characters call each other the same pet name his characters do. He also claims she describes the vampire change in the same way. BFD! There have and always will be similarities in literature. I don't know how many times I've heard the saying, there are no original ideas! And hey, popularity isn't about writing the most original book out there, its about writing it in the best possible way and getting it out there first. Just because she wrote a similar book to his (supposedly) and did it better, he's whining.
What this man is really trying to do is get people to read his book to compare the two. Don't do it folks, if you do it gives credence to all the bogus lawsuits out there and only encourages them. This rates right up there with the whole expecting coffee to be hot thing. Besides it makes him money he does not deserve. Think I'm wrong? I read in an interview that his attorney said people should read both books and decide for themselves! That makes his goal for the whole lawsuit pretty obvious. Even if he loses and is forced to pay all attorney fees, there's a chance he'll gain enough sales to cover everything and then some. I'd give you a link to the interview but honestly, I don't want to spread the man's name or the name of his book around. He shouldn't gain any sales from this at all, it's wrong. If your book cannot succeed on its own, suing someone to get more readers is really not the answer. We would all be a lot better off if the judicial system would refuse to even hear frivolous lawsuits like this with an obvious underlying plan.
Okay, stepping down off the soapbox. Who wants to step up next? Don't worry, I won't throw fruit if you disagree, vegetables are a possibility though!
What this man is really trying to do is get people to read his book to compare the two. Don't do it folks, if you do it gives credence to all the bogus lawsuits out there and only encourages them. This rates right up there with the whole expecting coffee to be hot thing. Besides it makes him money he does not deserve. Think I'm wrong? I read in an interview that his attorney said people should read both books and decide for themselves! That makes his goal for the whole lawsuit pretty obvious. Even if he loses and is forced to pay all attorney fees, there's a chance he'll gain enough sales to cover everything and then some. I'd give you a link to the interview but honestly, I don't want to spread the man's name or the name of his book around. He shouldn't gain any sales from this at all, it's wrong. If your book cannot succeed on its own, suing someone to get more readers is really not the answer. We would all be a lot better off if the judicial system would refuse to even hear frivolous lawsuits like this with an obvious underlying plan.
Okay, stepping down off the soapbox. Who wants to step up next? Don't worry, I won't throw fruit if you disagree, vegetables are a possibility though!
WoW, how crazy! Poor Stephanie Meyers!
ReplyDeleteI've heard about such lawsuits before (who can forget the Davinci Code debacle?) But I hadn't considered it to be a publicity stunt. Clever (in a devious, unimaginative way), but, as you said wrong. Clearly this man has nothing new to give us. If he can't give the reading public something better, he needs to get out of the business. Nadine Liamson
ReplyDeleteWhat he is doing is demeaning. If his book can't stand on its own merits, it doesn't deserve to be read. Stephanie Meyers has proven herself. Let this man earn his way!
ReplyDelete