They’re talking about places like Wattpad, probably. Lots of people post popular stories on Wattpad, and then turn around and try to monetize them. Traditional publishing houses are generally not thrilled with the idea, despite the supposedly built-in readership.
When it comes to publishing a paper novel, a ‘traditional’ publisher is taking an expensive risk (unless you’re Stephen King). There’s a lot of time and effort put into these things, not to mention the cost of the print run. So it’s not too surprising that they’re not keen on the idea of competition from publishers who’s only costs are a tiny bit of bandwidth.
They also take copyright very seriously and, I imagine, having bits of your book scattered about all over the place makes it impossible for them to work out what’s been ‘stolen’ and what hasn’t. They evidently don’t want all that extra work.
5 Likes
Camille, copyright is with you once you publish an original work and does not require registration. I will go into the details with you privately. For now, be sure to assert copyright with your name, the date it was first published, (published being a word of art, meaning that you presented it to the public). Your can just make sure that your game has your name, the date, and copyright or the little C in a circle. I was an intern at a patent, trademark, and copyright firm one summer while in law school. IM me here or on Discord and we’ll make sure you’re protected.
2 Likes
One easy tip I can give, as an artist, is to always e-mail yourself a copy of any work-in-progress as you finish things up for the day. That way you have timestamps and snapshots, which is an easy way to prove that you are the original content creator behind something if its actually really necessary to take legal action at any point. The good thing about it is that it doesn’t require for you to go public about something in order to have proof, which may be something some content creators prefer, especially if they are just barely starting to shape something new and want to avoid peer pressure in those first steps. Keep a safe backup of said e-mails.
My two cents on the copyright subject: So, ideas are not a scarce resource… I mean, look at how many humans are there. People are bound to have similar thoughts and create things that already exist but through a different lens from time to time… But, having the right spark to realize how to turn a good idea into a good final product is, and it’s something very particular to each human being. Even if I say something simple like “chair”, each of our brains will think of a different chair. Maybe not even a chair, maybe you see the words written in front of you, or an entire scene that is meaningful to you that is somewhat related to the act of sitting. Maybe you see nothing at all. But it’s the unique life experiences of each person that make us perceive every little thing differently that has real value, imo. It’s what makes your art, be it drawn, painted, written, sung… A scarce resource. Because it’s you, and once you have refined your own perception to bring it out, only you will be able to create it.
Fewer still will be able to translate that chair mental imagery into something profitable after picturing it. Without that step, it becomes but vapor in our minds after a few days. Maybe minutes. Such understanding and resourcefulness has also value in itself too.
If people steal not just the general concept/theme (which is not something anyone can actually own), but the entire design behind something that makes someone’s art theirs and an actual product with value, then yes, it pays off to be prepared in advance. Copy/pasting can’t be avoided once anything becomes public, even prior to the internet, but actually stealing one’s perception and, in a way, identity for themselves? That’s jumping to the bottom of the hole with a shovel and shouldn’t be left alone.
1 Like
This topic is rather old, and seems to have run its course