“Rewriting” Is Plagiarism, Like It Or Not

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, endlessly… “rewriting” others’ work is PLAGIARISM.

Three writers this week have approached me saying that they’ve been offered writing jobs which ask them to “rewrite” published books.

As I said in this post, Intellectual property/ copyright infringement and the dangers of the “rewrite” | Angela Booth’s Fab Freelance Writing Blog:

“Freelance writers are often asked to “rewrite” ebooks, Web sites, articles and other copyrighted material. Not only is this unethical, it’s illegal.

A work is copyrighted the moment it’s set down in its final form, so whether a piece of writing (online or offline) is marked “copyright” is immaterial. It’s automatically given copyright the moment it’s created.”

So, rewriting is unethical and illegal. Please understand that, right down to your soul.

If you take these kinds of gigs, you may never be caught. But on the other hand, you just might… If you’re caught, you’ll be involved in a nasty lawsuit, and you have no defense. Saying “I didn’t know” is no protection.

Writing talent is rare. It’s a gift. Use your gift wisely. Please don’t use it to “rewrite”. The very idea is an abomination.

If you don’t respect other writers, you’ll never be able to respect yourself. And if you don’t have self-respect, you have nothing at all.