![]() It is possible that plagiarism was thought to be more common in these genres because industry professionals were willing to fully expose and punish perpetrators, with one notable professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill stating that plagiarism “is a grievous professional transgression in the academic world” (Mclendon, 1). In a broader context, plagiarism was considered to be most prevalent in academic works and historical non-fiction, such as Pulitzer Prize winner Doris Goodwin’s plagiarism in her 1987 book, The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys (Le Moyne College, 1). A reader observing and bringing attention to the plagiarism that various other industry professionals were unable to point out while the book was under production showcases the extent to which romantic fiction readers feel loyal to their authors and value their work. Roberts writes that she “might never have known that work was stolen” if a reader had not noticed the discrepancy (Roberts, 1). Instead, it was a reader who enlightened the world to Dailey’s plagiarism through an online blog (Associated Press, 1). Notorious. 1996.ĭailey managed to sneak the stolen contents of her books Notorious and Aspen Gold past her editors, publishers, and critics. (See Figure 1 Sweet Revenge and Figure 2 Notorious).įigure 1- Roberts, Nora. How could an established and well-known author plagiarize from another without anyone knowing? At certain points in the novel, Dailey nearly directly lifted dialogue from Roberts. However, for a popular author like Dailey to plagiarize from a beloved icon like Roberts, the crime is almost nonsensical. Plagiarism is defined as stealing another person’s ideas and publishing them or verbally stating them without crediting the original source (Khan, 119). ![]() Romantic fiction readers demonstrated their ferocity for protecting authors within the industry by accusing Dailey of plagiarism, and supporting their claims with evidence, before Roberts’s team or any other professionals discovered the theft. Even so, Dailey’s eventual return to the romantic fiction world demonstrated the industry’s divided opinions on the topic of redemption. However, Nora Roberts’s strong reaction, as well as the support of the literary industry, helped to establish that romantic fiction authors value their work and are willing to fight to protect it. ![]() Janet Dailey’s plagiarism of Nora Robert’s work and subsequent apology demonstrated a lack of accountability for her actions therefore, the seriousness of the theft appeared to be minimized. While the incident may have only directly affected two authors, massive ramifications were felt across the industry. This particular plagiarism scandal rocked the romantic fiction industry because both of the authors involved were highly influential: Daley was the former superstar, with more than “200 million novels in print” at the time of the incident, and Roberts was the “hottest new writer” for romance (Peyser, 1). ![]() The disgraced author was also dropped from her long-time publisher HarperCollins. After a tumultuous period of denials, carefully-worded apologies, and a civil court case, Daley was forced to pay reparations to Roberts, who donated the funds to Literacy Volunteers of America (Wexler, 20). ![]() Within a year, Dailey admitted that three of her books stole details and story elements from Roberts. Roberts certainly has the authority to speak on the subject in 1997, an astute reader realized that Janet Dailey’s book Notorious and Roberts’s book Sweet Revenge shared too many similarities and posted her findings on a blog (Peyser, 1). Nora Roberts equated plagiarism with “mind rape” in the early months of 1998 (Wexler, 20). ![]()
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