Well, I'm never writing for the catalogue again

A place where authors can exchange ideas or thoughts. Talk about what categories are hot and which ones are not.

Moderators: Celeste Stewart, Ed

Post Reply
evaku
Posts: 184
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2011 2:46 am

Well, I'm never writing for the catalogue again

Post by evaku »

Hey guys,

Someone who bought one of my articles a while back just recently alerted me that it is posted almost word-for-word on this site: http://maggycalteengs.com/2017/08/06/fo ... -dentures/

They also assume that *I* was the one who stole it from this blog, not the other way around, which makes me feel even worse.

I'm actually on the verge of deleting all of my catalogue articles rather than having to deal with something like this again. I know I can always limit my article previews but I really feel that then I would get almost insignificant sales anyway. I don't blame Constant Content or anything, I know they do their best to try to curb this kind of thing. Just needed to vent a little :)

If you ever write about dentistry then I encourage you to look at the blog as well, as I suspect most, if not ALL, of their other posts are stolen.

I tried to file a copyright infringement claim with Google but their form must be glitching as it kept telling me that my links had "invalid schemes" even though I know they didn't! I guess I'll try again later - I've got a ton of writing to do and this has already taken up hours of my day!

Just thought I'd give you all the heads up and any advice is appreciated!
KWilson
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2016 2:38 pm

Re: Well, I'm never writing for the catalogue again

Post by KWilson »

I would contact a member of CC staff directly via email with the link to the website in question and to your article. They have surely dealt with this before and will have the best advice for you! It is in their best interest for this NOT to happen so I'm sure they'll be able to help.
Gauderbock
Posts: 117
Joined: Tue Sep 29, 2015 8:26 am

Re: Well, I'm never writing for the catalogue again

Post by Gauderbock »

Frustrating, isn't it. I'm not sure what can be done though.

The last time I noticed a batch of my work had been stolen, I notified CC but got nothing concrete back apart from an acknowledgement. I also spent a day or so reducing the preview size of all my articles. Sales dropped off a cliff, so after a few weeks I set them all back to 100%.

At this point I'm basically accepting it as one of those things that happens on the internet that I can't control. Not ideal by any means, but... :?
HiredGun
Posts: 311
Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2014 2:45 pm

Re: Well, I'm never writing for the catalogue again

Post by HiredGun »

Thanks to OCR technology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_c ... ecognition), it's easy for thieves to steal your content if you offer 100% as a preview. (Remember that old saying "Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free"?) The key is to be a temptress with your preview (and your profile), without giving away the farm at the same time.

Have you tried showing snippets of your articles, i.e lead paragraph, middle paragraph, and conclusion? You have to show at least 33%, but it doesn't need to be the first 33%. Maybe adopt the attitude of a seductress when it comes to showcasing your content, but don't open the kimono completely until there's money on the table. :lol:
Gauderbock
Posts: 117
Joined: Tue Sep 29, 2015 8:26 am

Re: Well, I'm never writing for the catalogue again

Post by Gauderbock »

Hehe, well that's got me thinking on a late Friday afternoon :D

I really do see the reasoning behind limited previews. And I suppose I should give it another try, but being a bit more subtle about it than I was.

Plenty to ponder, thanks.
Post Reply