I’ve written many articles on plagiarism and personally warned thousands of individuals over the years about hiring pseudo-professional “writers” for their books. To help drive the point home, if there were ever a good example of why the importance of choosing a truly professional ghostwriter to write your book, it’s George W. Bush and his book, Decision Points.
He’s not the only one to suffer such consequences. There are countless others who don’t make the headlines, yet still have to endure substantial hardship in their own fields. The embarrassment, the unprofessionalism, the irreparable damage…. How does one overcome such an incident of being found out plagiarizing their book? The fact is, you can’t.
Without a doubt, having a book and being an author is the most effective means for creating immense success on a large scale. But with the same magnitude, the antithesis-immense failure-can ensue for those who choose to seek out “cheap prices” or try to take the “quick” route.
Plagiarism is the #1 most damaging factor authors can cause for themselves for so many reasons. Just to name a few: It is made perfectly clear that one is not a professional, one is not serious about their work or sincere with their cause, s/he is dishonest, they are disloyal, can’t be trusted…the list goes on.
And even if these “qualities” are not true about the author, it is most certainly still the indelible message one brands for themselves, right on their foreheads. If only by the sheer ignorance of their deeds, which led to such an unacceptable outcome of being found out of committing plagiarism in one’s book, one has committed self-sabotage and destroyed their reputation.
Yes, President Bush can point fingers at his main book writer or the team of ghost writers that were put together for the task, but that is in no way a valid or acceptable excuse that anyone will ever buy. Why? Because, as I have also preached over the years, IT IS THE AUTHOR WHO IS ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR BOOK’S CONTENTS-NO ONE ELSE! And if one doesn’t know how to spot it, it is just one more reason a reliable professional is needed for any and all book writing projects.
Plagiarism speaks volumes of negativity even better than any major black PR campaign from some opposing enemy could bring about in 10 years of costly campaigning. Such SELF-sabotage implies too much incompetence or irresponsibility in which, that alone, buries one’s reputation. Getting shot in the foot in a hunting accident looks bad, but it’s not nearly as damaging to one’s reputation of competence as if one were to shoot their own foot by mistake.
For people to say, “What an idiot!” or “What a lying crook!” Either one is an erosion that happens so fast, it is actually an implosion of one’s career.
The lesson to learn here has not changed: DO NOT HIRE JUST ANYONE TO WRITE YOUR BOOK.
To seek a bargain in writing, to take the first low-priced book writer who comes along, to seek out an inexpensive ghostwriter, as President Bush likely must have done in putting together his team of ghostwriters, is NOT the way to go. Yes, it is difficult to know. But the answer is to go with a reputable company with very favorable statistics.
Don’t even allow the possibility of sabotaging yourself and your career with a $50-per-page ghostwriter! Plagiarism is not tolerated in the reading, book-buying world. People feel betrayed when it happens. And what are you trying to do after all but build confidence and loyalty with your followers. You can have years of platform-building come tumbling down with just one bad ghostwriter.
The law that should be ingrained in everyone’s head: Hire only true professional ghostwriters, never seek a bargain in book writing.
