PublishAmerica author sues Stephen King for plagiarism

TheTinCat

I am a mighty viking!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Messages
386
Reaction score
62
Location
Behind you
There's no reason to call this guy an idiot; I'd just ill-informed and naive. The people we should be taking to task are the lawyers who agreed to take the case in the first place.


I agree that there is no need to call him an idiot. I disagree, however, that he is not the one who should be blamed for this silliness. He is the one accusing King of plagiarism, and he is the one who decided to hire lawyers to act on this somewhat delusional conviction.

This is presumably a grown man, capable of making his own decisions, not a helpless leaf thrown about on the wind of lawyers and PA's lies.
 
Last edited:

Underthelivingmoon

Closets are for clothes
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 25, 2011
Messages
363
Reaction score
66
Location
WI
I'm just wondering where this writer thinks that ideas come from. We are all products of our environment- things we experience, see, read, etc. influence each of us as a writer. I bet that I could ask anyone in this room about stories that they are working on and I guarantee you that my work and theirs will have any number of similarites. It's only how we twist and turn those ideas that makes our stories stand apart.
 

TheTinCat

I am a mighty viking!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Messages
386
Reaction score
62
Location
Behind you
A lot of newbie writers are scared their ideas will be stolen, because they haven't yet understood that ideas alone are near to worthless.
 

JulieB

I grow my own catnip
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Messages
2,403
Reaction score
213
Location
Deep in the heart o' Texas
A lot of newbie writers are scared their ideas will be stolen, because they haven't yet understood that ideas alone are near to worthless.

And this is why I wouldn't call him silly. I'd be more inclined to say he's learning an expensive lesson.

I hope he finds a community like AW where he can learn about how the publishing industry works so he can avoid these sorts of mistakes next time.
 

Underthelivingmoon

Closets are for clothes
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 25, 2011
Messages
363
Reaction score
66
Location
WI
Are we going to be suing horror writers for giving us mental anguish next? Because Stephen King gave me coulrophobia. I can't go to the circus, parades make me cringe, and I fear walking over manholes. Lol.
 

skylark

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 18, 2010
Messages
401
Reaction score
33
Location
Oxford, UK
I'm just wondering where this writer thinks that ideas come from. We are all products of our environment- things we experience, see, read, etc. influence each of us as a writer. I bet that I could ask anyone in this room about stories that they are working on and I guarantee you that my work and theirs will have any number of similarites. It's only how we twist and turn those ideas that makes our stories stand apart.

Don't people like this actually read? I genuinely don't understand how you could get to the point of writing a book which even might be publishable without having long since realised that most books have similarities with most other books, and some books have many, many similarities with some other books.

It reminds me of the people I see on other sites asking things like, "I'm writing a book. Do all books have prologues? Are all books written in third person? Can I use real cities in my book?" and so on. How can you be interested in books, interested enough to want to write one, and not be able to answer these questions for yourself?
 

JulieB

I grow my own catnip
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Messages
2,403
Reaction score
213
Location
Deep in the heart o' Texas
Don't people like this actually read? I genuinely don't understand how you could get to the point of writing a book which even might be publishable without having long since realised that most books have similarities with most other books, and some books have many, many similarities with some other books.

There are a LOT of people who think they have a book in them, and a LOT of people who haven't a clue as to how the publishing industry works. There's some crossover. I've run into people who think that they learned to write in school, and that's all they need to know to write a book and get it published. Unless you take a creative writing class or the topic comes up in a literature class, the things you mentioned are not part of a standard public school education.

The best we can do is to keep getting the word out about how this business works, and to be welcoming when those who have made mistakes join us.
 

JanDarby

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 26, 2006
Messages
3,553
Reaction score
1,121
I'm always stunned by the number of people who write a novel and in the course of seeking critiques, admit that they don't read novels, and haven't read one since high school or college, some ten or more years ago.
 

Underthelivingmoon

Closets are for clothes
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 25, 2011
Messages
363
Reaction score
66
Location
WI
I'm always stunned by the number of people who write a novel and in the course of seeking critiques, admit that they don't read novels, and haven't read one since high school or college, some ten or more years ago.

Sadly, I know people who don't even own a single book. Those are always the people who say, "You're still working on that book?! I could have finished that in a week."

I am always left thinking,"Sure, you can't even form a proper and coherent sentence when you're speaking, but you can finish a publishable novel in a week? Uh huh..."

I try to be polite and keep that thought to myself. :)
 

Katrina S. Forest

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 24, 2009
Messages
2,053
Reaction score
280
Website
katrinasforest.com
I dunno, I was like that in high school. (Okay, not quite that bad, but I definitely had that all-books-are-badly-written-except-for-mine attitude.) I luckily had friends who loved books and snapped me out of it.
 

aliceshortcake

Wilde about Oscar
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
1,633
Reaction score
258
Location
Oop North
Similarly, why do so many people fall for the "it's impossible for unknown authors to get published" nonsense? I can only assume that a fair number of these people never set foot in bookshops or libraries, where the published works of first-time authors are ten a penny. As for the abysmal spelling, grammar and reading comprehension displayed on the PA forum...well, I suspect that the writers haven't actually picked up a book since the day they left school.
 

tlblack

nothing simple here
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 27, 2006
Messages
824
Reaction score
129
Location
In Buzzardville!
One thing I've noticed on a few different boards is that people tend to revert to how they speak instead of how they write, not realizing that anything they type should reflect how they want to come across as a writer in any kind of open forum. Some will even make excuses... "It's just a forum. Who cares if I misspelled a word or formed a sentence wrong?" They will either figure out sooner or later that how they write online reflects to others how they write on paper, or continue not to care, which in turn will keep people from wanting to read anything they write. And, those on the PA forum already think their writing is strong enough to be in print or they wouldn't be "published." Who on the PA forum is going to tell them anything different?
 

DreamWeaver

Shakespearean Fool
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 11, 2005
Messages
2,916
Reaction score
403
I suspect that the writers haven't actually picked up a book since the day they left school.
I see your point. Many people (I am one) are wired so that the easiest way for them to absorb good grammar & proper spelling, plus acquire an extensive vocabulary, is by reading widely*. On the other hand, I have good friends who assure me that doesn't work for them. Different people learn in different ways, so I personally would hesitate to make a blanket statement about why the PAMB seems to display such a high level of errors.

*ETA: Lucky me, and I suspect lucky you--this is the fun way to do it! :D
 
Last edited:

JulieB

I grow my own catnip
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Messages
2,403
Reaction score
213
Location
Deep in the heart o' Texas
Similarly, why do so many people fall for the "it's impossible for unknown authors to get published" nonsense?

Two reasons. One, it's darned difficult to get published well. This is particularly true for those who don't know how the industry works. While there are some really good small presses out there, they don't advertise, and one has to dig to find them, which leads to...

Second, this is an "instant gratification" society. I've lost count of the number of blog and forum postings in which people justify their reasons for going with the first press or agent that accepted them (without doing due diligence on them) is that they've been rejected three of four times, and were convinced that they couldn't get published via the "traditional" route. Sometimes that press or agent is the right one for them, but more often than not they find themselves paying money for non-existent services or caught up with a publisher that is sincere in wanting to be successful, but doesn't know how the business operates.

We do what we can, but it's impossible to reach every aspiring author.
 

DeadlyAccurate

Absolutely Fazed
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 18, 2005
Messages
2,536
Reaction score
522
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
Website
www.carlaharker.com
One thing I've noticed on a few different boards is that people tend to revert to how they speak instead of how they write, not realizing that anything they type should reflect how they want to come across as a writer in any kind of open forum. Some will even make excuses... "It's just a forum. Who cares if I misspelled a word or formed a sentence wrong?" They will either figure out sooner or later that how they write online reflects to others how they write on paper, or continue not to care, which in turn will keep people from wanting to read anything they write. And, those on the PA forum already think their writing is strong enough to be in print or they wouldn't be "published." Who on the PA forum is going to tell them anything different?

Not to mention how you write on a day-to-day basis will start to seep into your other writing, too. I have a chat friend who has awful spelling and grammar. Because of his typing, I sometimes find myself drifting into lazy, unedited writing myself. But I notice the more I do that, the harder it is for my writing to be accurate, and the harder it is for me to see real errors.
 

absitinvidia

A bit of a wallflower
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Messages
1,034
Reaction score
159
Location
Earth-that-was
I've run into people who think that they learned to write in school, and that's all they need to know to write a book and get it published.


ITA. People will readily admit they can't sing, draw, paint, compose -- but because they know how to put fingers to keyboard, they think they can be authors. It's amazing how little respect there is for literature as an art form that requires study and practice.
 

aliceshortcake

Wilde about Oscar
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
1,633
Reaction score
258
Location
Oop North
Maybe it's because we don't need to sing, dance, draw or act as part of everyday life, but we do need to be literate. Would-be players of 'Published Author: the Role-Playing Game' seem to think that anyone capable of writing a letter or shopping list is automatically capable of writing a book!
 

Ari Meermans

MacAllister's Official Minion & Greeter
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 24, 2011
Messages
12,853
Reaction score
3,051
Location
Not where you last saw me.
The fact is anyone who can write can write a book. The questions an aspiring author must ask himself are:

Do I have something to say (or, do I have a great story)?
Am I capable of writing it well?
Is my book marketable?

I've read that agents and editors are looking for great stories, well written. They can afford to be picky because of the sheer volume of submissions they receive every freakin' day!

I suspect that the problem is so many people think that writing is the easy path to riches or at least financial independence. I don't know when or how that got started, but it's not; it's hard work and it's hard work that accelerates once you sell the first book. Edits and marketing tasks are added to your workload. Deadlines for those must be met while you are hard at work on the next book.

If I were to hazard a guess at the mindset of Mr. Marquardt, I'd suggest the possibility that he saw the success of Duma Key and asked himself why that was so when Keller's Den was so similar but was not selling. (Of course, those similarities exist only in his mind.) Someone has to be to blame for the lack of success for his book and that someone must be Stephen King. Why Stephen King in particular? Well, because . . . because . . . "he stole my idea!"
 

DreamWeaver

Shakespearean Fool
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 11, 2005
Messages
2,916
Reaction score
403
I think it's drifting because we're all twiddling our thumbs waiting to hear the next update.
 

Kateness

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 12, 2010
Messages
2,716
Reaction score
884
Location
Wilmington, DE
Website
kateness.wordpress.com
well, circlexranch was the one checking the docket and s/he hasn't updated us.

As far as my limited paralegal-understanding of the legal system goes, now that the briefing on the motion to dismiss is done, either the judge rules or there's an oral argument/hearing on the motion. That may or may not be scheduled for any time soon.
 

JanDarby

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 26, 2006
Messages
3,553
Reaction score
1,121
So has this author's lawsuit been dismissed?

Not yet.

I went and looked at the docket sheet online. The plaintiff's second law firm has withdrawn, leaving Marguardt representing himself ("pro se"). A reply brief was filed by S&S et al. on the May 12 deadline. I didn't read the whole thing, just skimmed, but it seemed to be pretty much repeating the arguments from the original brief, and indicating that nothing in the opposition had undermined their original argument.

Courts tend to move slowly in general, and they can be extra-cautious when there's a pro se party, so I can't even begin to predict a timeframe for when to expect a ruling on the Motion to Dismiss.
 

Kateness

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 12, 2010
Messages
2,716
Reaction score
884
Location
Wilmington, DE
Website
kateness.wordpress.com
Ah, that's interesting - the second firm withdrawing.

I was speaking with one of the lawyers I work for the other day (about something totally unrelated in which a law firm had withdrawn), and he was citing the reasons for which lawyers can withdraw representation. Pretty much only for bad-things reasons (no payment, attorneys and client no longer agreeing on strategy, etc)

Looks like no one wants to touch Marquardt's case.



ETA: Did the second law firm even file anything on behalf of Mr. Marquardt?
 
Last edited: