Our Novels Were Being Plagiarized by Others

[Unregistered]

Alright... so, I decided to do some digging around and found this forum post. To those whom have already read—and replied to—it, it discusses suspicious sites ran by bots that plagiarize our novels.

Now, I won't link their site nor go into too much detail; but, I did do some slight research. Nothing major.
There are two sites.

1. Both sites are ran in Vietnam.
2. Yes, most if not all your novels are also there.
3. Only the first draft of chapters gets posted.
4. Revisions do not get updated.
5. All my chapters came from Scribble Hub.
6. The cover art does not get updated.
7. The synopsis does not get updated.

I've already taken Paul_Tromba's advice. Love that guy, by the way. And it was to email them. Hopefully they take it down because I don't like the idea of others reading my work in a place I didn't give permission to. The publicity's cool till you see that the views there aren't even a fraction of what's given here. Either way, it just feels unsettling.

So, my question to you guys here is: Should I continue posting here?

And yes, I already know what some of you are thinking. The publicity is good, jokes on them 'cause I stopped updating, or it's okay because the sites ran by bots.

Update: After reading all your comments and doing a little research, I can confirm I've (technically) beaten their little plagiarizing system. It's been more than a month since those sites (novelnb and novel35) have been trying to copy my work. Though their site doesn't appear when I search my novel, it's apparent they still try and copy the drafts. If you're having trouble and wish to get some help, just let me know by reaching out. Not on the forums, though. Try commenting on one of my chapters.

 

[Paul_Tromba]

More power to you. I hope that they email you back and I think that you should keep posting here. For people like myself, it's a lot easier to write when you have an audience so I would feel awful having someone leave when it can be so helpful to them. Though I understand that if you intend to publish your story properly in the future that it can be an issue.

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

Sure. They can't carry over stuff like spoilers so you can mess with the bots by encasing your work in them.

 

[Unregistered]

More power to you. I hope that they email you back and I think that you should keep posting here. For people like myself, it's a lot easier to write when you have an audience so I would feel awful having someone leave when it can be so helpful to them. Though I understand that if you intend to publish your story properly in the future that it can be an issue.

This is true. Planning on waiting for their response. How long did it exactly take for them to write back to you anyways?

 

[Premier]

I'm going to guess you probably weren't planning to sell your stuff in a Vietnamese market. It sucks they're stealing, but it's not like it's hitting an audience when 90% of the audience here is USA/Europe.

 

[Unregistered]

... you can mess with the bots by encasing your work in them.

I was thinking the same thing. Lol. Literally, I noticed one of the sites, the chapters were all out of place because I had to re-order them here. It looks funny when you read it

I'm going to guess you probably weren't planning to sell your stuff in a Vietnamese market. It sucks they're stealing, but it's not like it's hitting an audience when 90% of the audience here is USA/Europe.

Absolutely true. Since it's their market, the translation's likely off by a large margin. Unless they genuinely just copied and pasted it in only English. I know I'm not making any money off their plagiarism, but I can only imagine how much money Scribble Hub's lost to them.

 

[Zero300]

Lol, this made me do a search on one of my novels and turns out...someone wrote a review about it on tvtropes

 

[IanWhite2105]

Alright... so, I decided to do some digging around and found this forum post. To those whom have already read—and replied to—it, it discusses suspicious sites ran by bots that plagiarize our novels.

Now, I won't link their site nor go into too much detail; but, I did do some slight research. Nothing major.
There are two sites.

1. Both sites are ran in Vietnam.
2. Yes, most if not all your novels are also there.
3. Only the first draft of chapters gets posted.
4. Revisions do not get updated.
5. All my chapters came from Scribble Hub.
6. The cover art does not get updated.
7. The synopsis does not get updated.

I've already taken Paul_Tromba's advice. Love that guy, by the way. And it was to email them. Hopefully they take it down because I don't like the idea of others reading my work in a place I didn't give permission to. The publicity's cool till you see that the views there aren't even a fraction of what's given here. Either way, it just feels unsettling.

So, my question to you guys here is: Should I continue posting here?

And yes, I already know what some of you are thinking. The publicity is good, jokes on them 'cause I stopped updating, or it's okay because the sites ran by bots.

No matter what you do, unless you turn the novel into patreon only, bots will get your novel. IDK if you do this or not but a 10-20 chapter backlog that readers can pay to read ahead (using things like patreon, buy me a coffee, etc...) that you will upload to a free site (like scribblehub, royal road, etc...) after more chapters are published to the paying readers is the best thing you can do.

 

[Paul_Tromba]

This is true. Planning on waiting for their response. How long did it exactly take for them to write back to you anyways?

About 5 days.

 

[K5Rakitan]

Though I understand that if you intend to publish your story properly in the future that it can be an issue.

It can be an issue, though it depends on the press and their policies. My press would let it fly. Since everyone has a stake in percentage of profits, that would give an author with a contract grounds to sue. We're a small press, so we would leave that up the author's discretion. A large press with a legal team might take matters into their own hands.

 

[Unregistered]

No matter what you do, unless you turn the novel into patreon only, bots will get your novel. IDK if you do this or not but a 10-20 chapter backlog that readers can pay to read ahead (using things like patreon, buy me a coffee, etc...) that you will upload to a free site (like scribblehub, royal road, etc...) after more chapters are published to the paying readers is the best thing you can do.

Way ahead of you.

 

[SailusGebel]

Yes.

 

[Jailbreak571]

...
Yes, I guess.

 

[BlissyMKW]

That's up to you. No matter where you go, unless you post exclusively on Patreon or something, bots will find a way to snatch up your work. Best to just roll with the punches and keep doing your own thing.

 

[Anon2024]

Ritoria has an anti-copy and paste function, but they also have very low reader numbers currently.
If you're posting on SH, you're posting for free anyway so what's the point in worrying? The more who read your novel the better in this case.

 

[Lire]

Since they only upload the first draft, instead of posting your chapter outright, put a message in there to only read at the sites you actually post your work in.

And then after an hour (I don't know how much time it takes before they scrape it...) then replace it with the actual chappo.

Warn your current readers in an AN though.

Ritoria has an anti-copy and paste function, but they also have very low reader numbers currently.
If you're posting on SH, you're posting for free anyway so what's the point in worrying? The more who read your novel the better in this case.

It causes problems when you have to take it down. like for Kindle and stuff

 

[J_Chemist]

So, I've been thinking of the same thing. I found one of the websites and it scrapped my new chapters at least an hour or so after I posted them. I did email the site owners as well, but I haven't heard back and it's been almost a week.

However-

Since they only upload the first draft, instead of posting your chapter outright, put a message in there to only read at the sites you actually post your work in.

And then after an hour (I don't know how much time it takes before they scrape it...) then replace it with the actual chappo.

Warn your current readers in an AN though.

It causes problems when you have to take it down. like for Kindle and stuff

This is a good idea. I only have problems with bots here on SH, so I'll probably be putting placeholders for an hour or two before posting the real thing. While I have no plans for kindle or publishing at all, it still irks me to know that there's theft being committed. Sure, I agree- more eyes on the prize. On one site, my book is rated fairly high. Even so, if they had at least messaged me first then I wouldn't have had an issue.

 

[Unregistered]

No matter where you go, unless you post exclusively on Patreon or something, bots will find a way to snatch up your work.

The problem with that is, I verified the bots have only been taking my novel from ScribbleHub. The other sites the novel's posted on haven't been effected. I'll probably end up posting less and less here and only come back to see all your wonderful faces. Unless of course readers start messaging me personally to release more content.

Ritoria has an anti-copy and paste function, but they also have very low reader numbers currently.
If you're posting on SH, you're posting for free anyway so what's the point in worrying? The more who read your novel the better in this case.

My issue is that, if I'm not in charge of my own novel then it's an problem. Say I change something important or wish to update the synopsis so my Patreon account is properly linked. I won't able to. Do you get what I'm saying? Like, there's nothing wrong with posting your novel in every single site books can be read at, but it becomes an issue if you're not in control of your own book and others start profiting from it. Free advertisement? Note even close. I'll give Ritoria a look, though.

Since they only upload the first draft, instead of posting your chapter outright, put a message...

This is an excellent idea. I thought about it the day things happened. My issue is how much of a hassle it'll become. If I notice people on ScribbleHub are more attentive in reading the novel, I don't mind working with this idea. Not gonna bother promoting other sites to read it on (except my Patreon, of course), but will try and mock their system with your advice.