So yesterday I became aware that an individual (whom I will not name) plagiarized “The Morning After I Killed Myself,” a piece of mine I wrote over a year ago that went viral and has been read since I posted it over 5 million times (and plagiarized hundreds of times). This individual submitted this plagiarized piece to a prestigious art & writing contest (for which, ironically, I won several national awards in the past) and won an award for it.
When I became aware of this fact, I contacted the necessary individuals and this person’s award has been revoked; they are now subject to disciplinary action.
What I am trying to say is that plagiarism is rampant, especially on Tumblr, and of Tumblr writers. What I am trying to say is that by plagiarizing us, you are putting enormous stress and pressure on us, and sometimes you even cause us to feel stressed about writing, or to no longer enjoy writing. It’s gotten to the point where plagiarism of my work has been so rampant that it has affected my mental health. Just because some Tumblr writers are not “professional” writers or do not have lucrative book deals does not mean that their work is any less important.
When you plagiarize writers, you take away their livelihood, damage their passion, and sometimes, you even take away their financial resources. Writing is, for some of us, not only a hobby but a job. By plagiarizing our work, by spreading it without sourcing or crediting us, you are literally sometimes taking money out of our pockets - money we use for food, groceries, medication, bills, rent, etc.
What I am trying to say is that every single day I grow more disappointed, and less hopeful, with the plagiarism of writers both on this site (either by Tumblr writers of other writers’ work, or by writers off Tumblr of Tumblr writers’ work) and off. It gets more and more exhausting to hunt down individuals who have stolen my work and ask that they provide credit.
And it gets harder and harder to post new work on my blog, or even write new work in the first place, when the probability is so high that it will only be stolen and spread without credit.
So. Don’t plagiarize. Give credit where credit is due.
Try to understand and realize that a writer discovering their stolen work can be hurtful, damaging, and exhausting. Financially exhausting as well.
Literature and the arts are already under-appreciated enough as they are - don’t contribute to that fact. Please.
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