When is there plagiarism? (Article) - 8/20/2014 8:02:10 AM
Plagiarism should be stopped. When I found it in my assignments to college students, I failed the student involved, giving a clear message that such behavior was uncalled for.
If you believe you have been plagiarized, I would first contact the author involved, in writing, to try to determine how that author came up with the title, and ideas in the work. If Speciale gave credit to you for her idea in her book, then it may not be plagiarism. However, if she lifted any significant part of your book, including the title, from your work and didn't give you any credit, she should be sued and I would consult with an attorney as soon as possible. On the other hand, if the title is merely a coincidence, no plagiarism is involved. You do not need the opinion of "friends" to determine plagiarism. I will not be reading your book to determine it for you.
When I first finished my autobiography back in 1998, I checked the Internet and found that my title, Hanging by a Thread, was not used. I didn't publish the autobiography until this year because I was working on other work and never quite got it finished. Anyway, when I did a recent search, several books with the same title popped up. I think that in the current surge of self published books, there will be many repeated titles of totally unrelated books.
Ron
