A story
caught my interest this morning. It highlighted the buffoonery and
incompetence on behalf of the publishing industry. Spy
novelist, Quentin Rowan, was busted recently for plagiarism after his
publisher, Little,Brown, received
several complaints that he ripped off scenes from other popular similar novels.
Rowan—who writes under the pen name, Q.R. Markham—did the manly thing and
confessed to having plagiarized several novels.
We should not be happy about what Rowan did. In fact, had he
not been caught it would've been a slap in the face to several authors who were
refused by literary agents and publishers. In many cases it's not because what they
wrote was bad, but because it wasn't what publishers were looking for. What did
Rowan do in order to please his publisher? He stole from others—an obvious act
of desperation. What's great about this incident is that it highlights what's
wrong with the publishing industry—where
they put profits before talent. As a result, many gifted authors are not
given a fair chance because publishers are more concerned with being able to
make their sales to bookstores rather than to the public. In other words,
they're not letting the public choose for themselves. What's the end result? A
lot of crap ends up in bookstores. You're not convinced yet? Does
anyone remember Joe the Plumber? 'Nuff said.
Had Rowan's agent and publisher not been so blinded by dollar
signs, they would've realized that Rowan ripped off scenes from other books
before it was published. We've heard from Rowan and why he plagiarized, we
ought to be interested in hearing what Little,
Brown—the publisher—has to say.
I have a suggestion to book lovers. If you want to show the
Big 6 publishers what you want? Stop buying from them and give an Indie author
a chance.
Russell Brooks is the author of Chill Run, coming December 1,
2011.
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