Write Ebooks: Is it possible to write an ebook based on notes from other books?

I totally agree with you Jim. I am the author of two e-books with two more launching soon. You need to write from your experience as the primary source for your e-book. Quoting from other sources are great, but mostly to cite facts, surveys, etc as proof to backup your assertions in the book.

Excellent advice Jim – it’s important to be original and add great value for all those that read your products.

Hi,

I’m just wondering, in 2011 you were sending emails to us to say that we can write ebook from other people, written differently or taking the best and modifying, and now you say the opposite, what’s change?

Thank you
Isabelle

Your article applies to all areas of life—writing any type of article, book, paper, ebook . . . it doesn’t matter. Gathering facts is how we all do it. But then it’s putting all the facts into our own words–showing our own take on things. Then it’s legal. Ideas cannot be copyrighted, therefore, we’re all entitled. So it’s a matter of telling things in your own words.

Back in the day, while in school, when we had homework, didn’t we all copy answers directly from the textbooks? I don’t think one kid didn’t. Kind of interesting, when you think about it.

Thanks for this post! Apart from the plagiarism issue, we’re supposed to be marketers! Our readers want original content. If you want to use someone else’s, then get permission and run a complete article with your affiliate link! I can’t imagine anybody who would object. I’m thinking of using some of *your* articles, Jim, in future ebooks, but I want you to send me some money when people buy.

I think you addressed this issue fairly and honestly. Research shows that college undergraduates and veterinary students often don’t have a clear concept of intellectual property and don’t cite sources when they should. Maybe it stems from all the ‘free’ information available on the internet. If you are sharing information that is someone else’s original work then you should cite the original author. I think the best answer is if you don’t know enough about the subject to have you own first hand knowledge and experience then that should be a sign to pick another topic. Unless you position the work as a review paper whose purpose is to review what’s out there and then add your own take on the subject.
Sorry for the long answer – this is a subject near and dear to my heart, as a person whose work has been ‘copied’ without proper credit.

Jim, as a former newspaper editor I could not agree more with your number one and number two advice options. But let’s call this what it really is if someone takes something from someone else… it is THEFT, pure and simple. As an Internet Marketing consultant for the past 12 years, it just “chaps my hide” to see individuals who would never think of walking into a store and stealing a loaf of bread, think nothing of stealing the stories, words, concepts, and hard work of someone else.

Let’s all do our part to be honest first, and then get to the hard work of creative writing! It will ultimately pay off in the end…

Unlike much of writing for the online world, when you write an ebook, the way you learned to write in school still applies:
1. Don’t plagiarize. Share your own ideas, not someone else’s.
2. When quoting from other sources, cite the reference.
3. Back up your opinion with facts.

So, think about those teachers when you are unsure what to include in your ebook: would this have earned me an A or an F? If it wouldn’t have helped you get an A, you probably shouldn’t do it.

It amazes me how often people think nothing of copying articles, excerpts from books, songs, etc and “share” with others. It takes effort to educate the masses on what is and is not acceptable. I took a good class on copyright issues at my last writer’s conference and learned a lot. I was very hesitant for years to sell my pattern books without teaching the accompanying class. I could sit right there and watch people cut out my patterns knowing that few would be brash enough to pop the cut out patterns on a copy machine once they were not in a page form.

But I’ve now created the My Quiet Doll ebook sampler. Hopefully honesty will prevail.

Jim,

I’ve just finished a book (in the self help arena) that was mostly “What to do” and really light on “How to do it” to get the desired results – something that’s not uncommon in many self-help books. I’m strongly considering creating an ebook “companion guide” sort of thing that goes into much more depth on the “How to” aspects – almost as a workbook adjunct to the original book.

The author basically says you need to “release the junk that’s holding you back” and names some modalities that could be used, like the Sedona Method, but that’s the end of it. I’d like to get into depth on the clearing aspects which are left as gaping holes in the original book.

What are your thoughts about this kind of scenario?

Thanks!
Brad

Hi Jim
I take ideas and write in my owm style based on what I have done.
I don’t believe in copying from someone else, and agree that it can et you in a great deal of trouble.
Dee

Bravo, Jim, you are sooo right.

Same thing goes for “autoblogging”. I don’t care how many people are touting the benefits, it is outright theft as well as NOT contributing to the global dialogue.

I find that when I write about what I DO, there is little chance I will be challenged on copyright issues, simply because it is my experience, not theirs, and “in my own voice” oh oh I think I borrowed that one. I used one of your e-books, to sell my house, so if I write about selling my house, it is possible I did some things you wrote about, but you would be hard pressed to sue me over what I did if I document my journey.

Really, why are people writing about stuff they have not done? Money greed, certainly not to help others. I suppose theory is fine if you are involved in some type of research, but most of it is simply blowing smoke.

Nice thought provoking post Jim

Dale

It’s funny I received this e-mail from you at this time. I’ve written 7 eBooks since 2002, all from passion, intense studying to learn for self-improvement, personal trial and error, etc. I still do all my writing myself. I’ve never outsourced my writing.

About 7 months ago I was networking trying to get backlinks. This one person I contacted didn’t respond to my e-mail, but she bought my eBook. A month later she bought a domain name and “somehow” wrote an eBook in a month and launched it. She used the same title as my eBook with the exception of one word.

She then began stealing my articles straight from my website, and credited herself for the information. I know what I write and how I write, and I can spot my information anywhere. I contacted her and told her that was plagiarism and she removed my information and replaced it with her own lame information, making the article much shorter and not very informative.

I then found where she sold the content from my eBook follow-up e-mails to put in her own follow-up e-mails!

This time I sent her cease and desist forms for her to sign and send back to me, which she did.

Just yesterday I discovered where she e-mailed her list about 2 weeks ago asking for them to submit her recipes and she’d put them into eBook format and send them a free recipe eBook. Low-and-behold my personal recipe was in there word-for-word with a member of her “list” given credit to. I know recipes have different copyright standards, but nothing was changed at all on it.

I contacted here again about the theft and she said her “subscriber” submitted the recipe so her “subscriber” will get the credit, and that I need to take it up with that “subscriber”. I think since she is the “owner” of that recipe eBook she should stand up and give me credit by correcting the eBook and sending a notice to her list. We had some words and I ended up telling her that if she’s going to relay on her list and her “virtual assistant” for information she needs to check the Net to make sure it’s not stolen content. She pretty much said f’ you to me.

Hi Jim

Fascinating article. Surely the whole concept of PLR is about copying the work of others with modifications and additions?

John Watson

Hi Jim

Well before the Internet, people were using text from others peoples books to write their own.
Back then, as it cost a fair bit to get published, writers were more professional and understood that this kind of use of other peoples work had to be acknowledged in their work. So the bibliography was born. Most printed books of fact have a bibliography section. Many are just rewritten compilations with added opinion and possibly a bit of new stuff anyway.

Suzanne is right. Most copying is done from ignorance and idleness rather than deliberate theft.

There are lots of things that are not taught at an early age and what constitutes intellectual theft is one of them. Getting people to change their ways later in life by legislation is not going to work too well. What will probably happen if this crazy law is passed is that the courts will clog up and the whole legal system will go crazy too. Accident chasing lawyers will look like kindergarten kids compared to the voracious lawyers that base their practices on intellectual property litigation cases.

There has now been so much written in so many ways on some subjects that do not have much scope for expansion, that it will not be too long before repetition is bound to happen no matter how careful a writer is.

Meanwhile, there is always Copyscape.

Good luck all

Tony

There?s a plethora of books and material out there on the subjects of ?How To?.

Pick about any subject and you will find books written on the subject. It is almost impossible to write another book without stepping on someone material. If you write as a Newbie or an Authoritative figure you can?t help covering some of the same material someone else has written.

That may sound like I?m for plagiarism but I?m not! But how can one know what has already been written. There not enough time in one?s lifetime to read them all.

It is perfectly Ok to write a book reviewing other people?s work that is out in the public domain, and even quoting freely from it. The vital thing is to quote the author and source (book, journal, internet article etc.)

This does two things

1. It makes it clear that you are giving credit where it is due. Definitely not ?stealing? from other authors.

2. It strengthens your position by making it clear that you didn?t pull ideas and information out of thin air, but from a published, verifiable, source.

There is a misconception that information, i.e. big chunks of text, from the internet is free. Sure, once it?s public it cannot possibly be considered confidential. But what is absolutely not free is the exact wording, which may contain huge journalistic or artistic content. That?s what made the original powerful.

Ernest Hemingway used to spend hours rewriting and revising critical paragraphs of his work. To pass of his work as your own would be obviously ridiculous ? and it?s just as ridiculous to do it to talented and hard working authors of today.

Andrew Tickle

This is an interesting point that you make about plagiarisim?..How does this reflect on what Carl Jung calls the Universal Conscious?..To make my point I make notes alot of the time, on my thoughts and I am also a poet?..I write and then very often I read something that somebody else
has written and it is almost the same as I have written ?.for me this seems to give validation
to my own internal process and guidance??. however, I have also noted that most of what is being written talked about, lectures and seminars that are given on Self Growth and Spirituality have all the same content and all are saying much of the same thing?..So who was the originator
?..AHH! HAA!?.. Fredrick Mann (I have Recordings) makes a good point when he says that
what he is saying is not his only, it is in the Universe he just had the ability to receive it ( words to that effect) From my experiences this would appear to be a correct statement.
There is a word that decribes this SYNCHRONIZATION?..and a phrase LAW OF ATTRACTION.
From what I can understand (copyright) it would appear that even if two people have the same Idea It?s the one who registers and copyrights 1st that is usualy the winner in any dispute.
Please Reply.

Hi Jim,
Pobably not the place to post this question — could not find anywhere else.

Some comments have the authors photo. How do you send a photo so that people know you are a human?

Andrew

Thanks Jim,

Very clear layout

If you copy someone else’s work, word for word, then that in my opinon is only time you could be accused of plagiarism. I consider “fair use” as nonsense, no one has a monoploy on words or ideas, if that were the case, then publishers of books like the Bible should be prosecuted for bladant plagiarising.

I retired last month from seventeen years of teaching Elementary, Middle, and college students. My present goal is to write a few #1 Best Selling books. I have never tried writing a book. So, I am a bit anxious.

I have purchased and am reading ebooks from the internet. The information seems to be very valuable. It is just a matter of getting started. My first book is going to be a “How To” ebook. I want to write this book, and publish it with as little expense as possible.

Who would I contact if I should have any questions or concerns?

Dr. Landry