Other People are Going to Steal Your Work
My warning to new creators, and general writing etiquette
I had been working on an article over a period of months.
As I wrote, I uncovered the core insights I had to offer that helped me after around 10-15 years of personal struggle. In my view, it was my best work because it was so reflective of how I pulled my mind together.
I had high hopes for it …but it only received moderate views. In a way, I was ok with that.
Still, I decided to keep my eye on articles other writers were publishing to contrast with my own, and potentially discover why it didn’t do so well.
As I read around I noticed something a little strange.
First, an article posted not long after mine with a bunch of points I had made and dead giveaways that my article was the source. Then I saw another. And another. Then I saw another that ripped off an older article I had done.
“Oh f*ck that!”
I couldn’t help but say it out loud as I was shocked at what I was seeing.
Life lessons articles are hardly unique, but I had no doubt. Some points and phrases were almost repeated verbatim, even by writers that were much more popular than myself.
Ironically, some of these writers have published articles against copying.
However, it could have been a lot worse.
They did make an effort to put their own spin on things, but there is something disheartening about seeing ideas I had just posted being expressed by others who had obviously read it, and on top of that were getting many more views.
While not totally plagiarism, there’s something to be said for timing, crediting, and coming up with your own ideas.
As a creator beginning to provide something of value, plenty of others are ready and primed to exploit it — a lot more so than yourself.
This all led me to think more on the issues. Was I exaggerating? What is and isn’t ok, and how do people justify it?
Why some think it’s okay
I found there is no shortage of people justifying this behaviour.
There are plenty of articles online rationalizing taking ideas. Calling it sharing knowledge. But isn’t sharing great?
Major influencer Seth Godin seems to celebrate the ‘spreading of ideas’. It means you have good ideas and people are paying attention. He also claims the ideas that spread, win. This has some credibility — but my objection is that if the work was lifted from elsewhere, the person who spreads it wins, leaving the original creator in the dust.
Seth says the goal isn’t credit, the goal is change. This reminds me of the words etched into Karl Marx’s tombstone: “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.”
The end may be change, but the means must be reasonable and just, otherwise how do you know you’re an adequate judge for change? Certainly change can also mean from bad to worse.
“When we copy, we justify it. When others copy, we vilify it.” — Kirby Ferguson
Considering Marx, I thought more on the political element which led me to think of public vs private ownership, and I thought one political leaning would be more predisposed to valuing collective ownership, while individualists would believe it to be justifying theft. We also seem to be divided, even within ourselves, of when it is and isn’t ok to leverage other ideas.
As for when it isn’t, one of the most detestable quotes I have ever read about creativity was one Steve Jobs expressed — attributing it to Picasso.
“Good artists copy, great artists steal.”
Bad idea.
There are more reasonable variations of this quote, but any creator that believes this has a criminally distorted view. It completely negates the definition of ‘artist’ and ‘creativity’. Skilled artists and writers are adored for their work, and if it is not their work then the audience rightly should feel betrayed.
So why is it wrong?
Two reasons:
a) Because the reward does not connect to the original effort.
b) A creator becomes inauthentic.
But is unique creativity a myth?
Kirby Ferguson made an interesting documentary called “Everything Is A Remix: Remastered” where he makes some pertinent points about the perils of monopolizing ideas and where new inventions come from. One of the points that was contentious for me though was that unique creation is a myth.
In this view, everything is a transformation of what already exists. I agree — to an extent. But there must be a line, otherwise why respect any artist’s entitlement to their works at all if nothing is original?
If no level of originality existed, no creators would be individually recognizable.
Why not directly compile and steal other ideas that creators have spent years discovering themselves? Are there no inventions that have clearly defined novel characteristics and uses that revolutionize culture that deserve credit? Is credit really just ego gratification?
This philosophy does not serve creators as it discredits the foundation of recognition for effort. It can however serve as a great justification for taking ideas and reproducing them by those who cannot or will not think for themselves — or others who see their own opportunity in someone else’s ideas.
Flattery or demoralization?
A common interpretation of how you should take others copying you is that you should feel honoured that you inspired them. This is a gaslight if I ever saw one. Sure, it means that people are seeing value in your ideas which is a great sign, but this is more or less my take on it that I couldn’t put better if I tried:
Creators should be able to speak on the same topic and take influence, but as I mentioned earlier, timing and coming up with your own ideas matters, especially if you are larger than the ones you take from. The right people must be recognized, or their incentive will suffer from the feelings of disillusionment I had tasted myself.
A balanced perspective
If indeed multiple people discover truth, they will often come to the similar conclusions — and we are going to express those conclusions. They need to be heard for the expression of ourselves and betterment of humanity. We can’t avoid some similarities with others, but we can take steps to be original, and we can give credit where it is due.
Kirby notes that creativity requires a process: copy, transform, and combine. This is the process that takes material from plagiarism and turns it into inspiration.
Inspiration points you in a general direction; copying is treading someone else’s path.
If you like an idea from someone, quote them and expand upon it. Paraphrase. Tag the person. Link their article for further reading. Don’t reword points that you just saw expressed by someone else. If you’re concerned that your work might be recognizable — take that as a hint.
With larger influencers though, it doesn’t seem as bad to be recognizably influenced by them. For example, in psychotherapy different psychotherapists are trained in certain areas of thought and will continue along those lines and contribute to that view. Those who influenced them already have the credit and recognition, and their perspectives well-known.
But if you have to rely on other minds too heavily then you are ignoring your own greatest asset: your own mind.
As a creator I have discovered that one has to lay down their philosophy of plagiarism and inspiration early.
I took this opportunity to come up with some general notes on the issue:
- Accept that there are others primed and ready to exploit any value you have worked hard to create, but never let them get away with outright word-for-word plagiarism.
- If you’re a creator, work in secret, and work fast.
- Some rationalize their personal gain with community gain.
- If you have a good idea, act on it NOW. Chances are, if you thought of it, someone else will soon. Be first. Don’t resent the person that did it.
- Build your platform! Set yourself up so you’re the one recognized for being influential, not someone else who copied you. Make sure you take the necessary steps such as: have an email list, social media accounts, learn the platforms, leverage promoters etc.
- Always write down the source of an idea when taking notes.
- Don’t rip from others who have good ideas, but not your level of influence. Help them. Collaborate. Tag them. Quote them.
- You’re going to express ideas many others have expressed before, so don’t get too bent out of shape when it happens to you.
- When avoidable, don’t rely too heavily on one source.
- For social media content, be careful documenting the process of a new creation.
- Protect yourself with anti-plagiarism tools and stay vigilant. Followers can also double as watchdogs and will alert you to plagiarism.
- Think on the topic with no source material in front of you. Use your own mind to explore the ideas.
- For Medium writers specifically, take from outside of Medium and bring in. That’s what enriches the community.
What all this hopes to achieve is the matching of effort with recognition.
And while nonmaterial ideas and discoveries cannot be protected, we should agree on a certain level of etiquette.
It’s true that we all largely reside in charted territory and that doesn’t mean most of the wisdom isn’t worth repeating — but at least work in a way where you can know in yourself that your similarities are not intentional.
It takes courage to create, and I think we do need that little piece of fear of plagiarism that comes with being a creator.
It means we are honest.
What the patent and copyright laws acknowledge is the paramount role of mental effort in the production of material values; these laws protect the mind’s contribution in its purest form: the origination of an idea.
– Ayn Rand
