The moment I reveal
a title, a cover, a premise,
a story,
someone is copying it.
The next day,
there are dozens
of books coming soon
that are similar.
Plagiarism is bad
and has to be fought.
The copying of ideas
might or might not be bad
and it can’t be stopped.
So I walk away
from that battle.
I merely assume
I will be copied.
Not completely
and often not well.
Copycats don’t understand
the nuances
of the product
they’re copying.
They don’t know why
I launched that product
and often the things
they change to avoid
plagiarism or copyright issues
are some of
the most important aspects
of the product.
But that’s THEIR problem.
I work
on the next idea,
an idea
at the moment
only I have.
Seth Godin
shares
“The internet is
a copying machine.
Ideas morph
and change
and spin
as they move
from one end to the other.
Ripping ideas off wholesale
and violating intellectual property rights
is nothing to be proud of
–each of us can do better
than that.
But holding ideas
too tightly
in fear
of the ripples and echoes
they’re going to cause
is the real problem.”
If you’re successful,
you WILL be copied.
Continue making products better
and
work on the next product.
That’s the best way
to stay original.