Category Archives: Guest Posts

5 WAYS RE-POSTING OTHER BLOGGERS’ CONTENT RIPS THEM OFF

This guest post is from Molly Greene who’s superb book ‘Blog It!‘ was instrumental to DyingWords success. I’m so pleased to have Molly’s permission to re-publish this serious advice on sharing blog content. She originally posted this on her blog-site www.Molly-Greene.com .

I’ve heard that imitation is the highest form of flattery, but that is definitely NOT true not when it comes to re-posting original content that is scraped (taken without permission) from someone else’s blog.

It’s happened to me, and eventually it will happen to you. I wish I could say I take it in stride, but that would be a stretch.

Yeah, it makes me mad.

Sadly, when I contact re-posters with a request that they take down my content, they always respond that they had no idea re-blogging complete posts was a no-no. Well, not only is it wrong to publish an entire article someone else has written – verbatim, in its entirety, without the originator’s explicit permission – it’s illegal. Even with an attribution crediting the original blogger and a link to the original post.

Copyright: know the law

All original works have a copyright the minute an individual creates it, and ownership does not require the © symbol or an official registration to be recognized. Copyright applies to all mediums, including print and digital, and protects the interests of the originator by preventing others from using their work without permission. Material posted on the Internet is also covered by copyright.

Under U.S. copyright law, a copyright owner can reproduce, distribute, sell, rent, lend, perform, display, communicate and/or adapt the work, and can authorize others to do the same. However, aside from specific circumstances, performing any of these acts without the copyright holder’s permission is an illegal infringement on their rights.

That means the verbiage in someone else’s site/handout/book/flyer/you name it belongs to them. It is THEIRS. Others cannot legally distribute, reproduce, or share it (that includes re-pasting into Google+) without the originator’s permission. If and when they do, it constitutes an act of plagiarism.

Exception

The doctrine of “fair use” allows restricted use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission under these established, specific circumstances: If the reproduction is used for comment, criticism, news reporting, scholarship, teaching, or research. So it’s okay to use a quote for educational purposes (as in your post is using the quote to teach readers something, and the other’s blog post helps explain it). Proper attribution and a link to the original article would still be nice. This publication explains the basics.

5 ways re-posting other bloggers’ content rips them off.

Bloggers who “borrow” content steal reputation, social authority, money, and time. And, if the perp gives attitude when contacted about it, they’re also stealing somebody’s zen. What else?

**1. The blogger doesn’t get credit for their hard work. “Credit” equals reputation, website traffic, social media shares, and enhanced social authority.**

**2. The blogger doesn’t get the page views that can help draw potential advertisers and popular guest bloggers. Maybe even literary agents, if they’re interested in going traditional.**

**3. The blogger (often) doesn’t get the SEO-enhancing benefit of a back link from the blog that’s re-posting.**

**4.The blogger doesn’t get the siphoned-away readers’ eyes on their books or products or affiliate sale links.**

**5. The blogger wastes valuable time tracking the culprit down and communicating that they’ve essentially ripped them off.**

Bottom line

Absolutely do not re-post someone else’s full blog post or other content without express permission from the creator. Re-posters should only proceed after they’ve been in contact with the originator, have asked for permission to run the entire piece, and have received the okay. Even then, it’s common courtesy to explain to readers that the article is a re-post, then link to the original blog. Clearly. Where it can be easily seen.

Note: Google no longer penalizes for duplicate content (in this situation); the search engine determines the post date and gives the originator credit by listing the original article in search results, and not the duplicator. In most instances, anyway.

The right way to link to someone’s post

When curating content, use only a couple of paragraphs from the original post. Below that, add the verbiage, “Link here to read the entire post,” or “link here to read Twitter Tips For Newbies.” When referring to a downloadable giveaway, direct people to the original blog to obtain the copy. The originator’s site gets the visitor traffic. They did the work, they deserve to reap the benefits.

When in doubt, ask. Message the blogger on Facebook, tweet them, cruise their blog and find an email address, or contact them/leave a comment on their blog. Some bloggers invite everyone to re-post content. Even then, give credit and a link to the post so they get the benefit of link-building.

Want to find out if people are re-posting your content?

Content Scrapers – How to Find Out Who is Stealing Your Content & What to Do About It. Quote: “Content scrapers are websites that steal your content for their own blogs without your permission.”

Approaching re-posters

My friend Tammy Salyer shared a generic letter she uses to contact re-posters. You can read it here.

Additional resources

Content Curation: Copyright, Ethics & Fair Use. Quote: “Best Practice #1: Reproduce only those portions of the headline or article that are necessary to make your point or to identify the story. Do not reproduce the story in its entirety.”
How To Copyright A Blog in 3 Easy Steps
The Copyright Symbol, Misunderstood: 4 Common Myths That Hurt Your Blog

Molly Greene is a writer, blogger, and author with over two decades experience in the marketing departments of high-profile national mortgage companies. She’s been published in local and national Association of Realtors® magazines, Scotsman Guide, and Reader’s Digest. Her nonfiction titles include *Blog It!**, The author’s guide to building a successful online brand,* and Buy Your Own Roses and other essays (2015).

Molly’s Gen Delacourt Mystery series, Mark of the Loon, The Last Fairytale, Paint Me Gone, and A Thousand Tombs are available as ebooks on Amazon.

Molly blogs about indie author issues, what she’s learned during the self-publishing process, and a bit about her life.

**Thanks so much for the guest post, Molly. Your awesome book Blog It! was the turning point in making DyingWords a success. I’m forever grateful and I highly recommend Molly’s work!**

WHY CORPSES STINK – THE SCIENCE OF SMELL

This great guest post is by Andy Brunning, a UK Chemistry Teacher who hosts the fascinating website Compound Interest at www.compoundchem.com .

Decomposition is an incredibly complicated process, but we do know a little about the chemical culprits behind some of the terrible smells as the body breaks down.

Before we look at specific compounds, it’s worth taking a look at the decomposition process as a whole.

Decomposition, or ‘Decomp’ as it’s called in the death business, can be roughly divided into four stages: the fresh stage, the bloated stage, the active decay stage, and the advanced decay stage. Some overviews of the process also add in a final stage when all that is left of the corpse is dried remains. This can be skeletal, mummification, or fossilization.

The fresh stage of decay kicks off about four minutes after death.

Once the heart has stopped beating, the cells in the body are deprived of oxygen. As carbon dioxide and waste products build up, the cells start to break down as a result of enzymatic processes – these are known as autolysis. Initial visual signs of decomposition are minimal, although as autolysis progresses blisters and sloughing of skin may occur.

The second stage of decay occurs as a result of the action of micro-organisms.

The actions of bacteria on the soft tissue of the body produces a variety of gases which cause the carcass to become bloated and swell in size. It’s claimed that the body can as much as double in size during this stage of decomposition. The sulfur-containing compounds that the bacteria release also cause discolouration of the skin, giving it a yellow-green hue.

As a result of the bloating, the increased pressure causes bodily fluids to be forced out of natural orifices, as well as potentially causing ruptures in the skin. This can cause a formidable odour; at this stage, if insects are able to access the body, flies will lay eggs in exposed orifices, which will in turn hatch into maggots which then devour the flesh.

The third stage is that of active decay.

At this stage, the ongoing action of bacteria activity and decomposition leads to the liquefaction of tissues, and the persistence of the strong odour. It is during this stage that the cadaver loses the greatest mass.

The final stage, advanced decay, occurs once most of the cadaveric material has already decomposed.

A wide range of factors can affect the decomposition process, including whether the body is buried, and the ambient temperature.

These factors also have an effect on the large number of compounds produced during the decomp process. Considering that, as a species, we’ve been dying and decomposing for thousands of years, we know surprisingly little about the specifics of the process and the chemicals involved.

What we do know is that there are several key compounds that contribute towards the characteristic odours of decay.

Two of these are pretty much named for this contribution: cadaverine and putrescine. The aroma of both is loosely described as ‘rotting flesh’, and they have relatively low odour thresholds – meaning that not a lot is required in order for them to make their presence felt by your nostrils. Oddly enough, their presence in your body isn’t limited until after you die, however. Both crop up in cases of oral halitosis (i.e. bad breath), as well as in urine and semen, contributing to their odours.

Two other key compounds are skatole and indole.

Skatole, as you may have already guessed from the name, has a strong odour of faeces, whilst indole has a mustier, mothball-like smell. Both compounds are found in human and animal faeces, so it’s little surprise that they can contribute unpleasantness to the odour of a decomposing corpse. The strange thing about both is that, at low concentrations, they actually have quite pleasant, flowery aromas, leading to an array of unexpected uses. Indole is found in jasmine oil, which is used in many perfumes, whilst synthetic skatole is used in small amounts as a flavouring in ice creams, as well as also being found in perfumes.

A range of sulfur-containing compounds also contribute to the smell of decomposition.

Produced by the action of bacteria, compounds such as hydrogen sulfide (which smells of rotten eggs), methanethiol (rotting cabbage), dimethyl disulfide (garlic-like) and dimethyl trisulfide (foul/garlic) all add to the unpleasant scent. A whole range of other compounds are also produced as the tissues of the body decompose – some studies have identified over 400 different compounds, although not all of these will be contributors to the odour.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about decomposition.

Using human corpses in research on decomp is limited in many countries for ethical reasons, so in many studies pigs are used as models. In the USA, however, there are a number of ‘body farms’ – facilities set up in a several states to study decomposition of human remains. The bodies they study are those who have chosen to donate their remains; these are then allowed to decay in a range of conditions and studied as they do so. This can help researchers determine the appearance and chemical emissions of bodies at various stages of decay, which can then inform police investigations where bodies are discovered, helping to determine a more accurate time of death.

Our knowledge about decomposition will develop over the coming years as more studies are carried out.

A particular area of development is looking at producing a method of determining time of death from volatile compound emissions, as the different groups of organic compounds are emitted in varying levels at different stages of the decay process.

Compound Interest is a blog by Andy Brunning, a chemistry teacher in the UK, creating graphics looking at the chemistry and chemical reactions we come across on a day-to-day basis.

Check out Andy’s fascinating site at www.compoundchem.com

7 TIPS FOR WRITING FIRST DRAFTS

This guest post is by Dr. Kim Foster who is a practising physician, a published author, and a mom. She’s also an active health blogger.

Just in time for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) I thought I’d do a post about how to write a first draft.

Because let’s face it, first drafts are hard.

It’s no secret, it’s not my favorite part of the process. I love the outlining / dreaming / planning stages, and I love the revising / shaping / polishing stages. The first draft stage? Not so much.

But it’s okay. It has to get done. Here are my seven tips for conquering that first draft.

1. Carve out the time.

Seems obvious, right? If you want to write a novel, you’re going to have to find the time in your schedule…somewhere. It just won’t get done otherwise. The world is filled with people who dream of writing a novel, someday, when they find the time. Don’t be one of those people.

We all have time challenges, and the solution will be different for everyone.

That said, I have lots of thoughts on how to find the time to write. It’s something I have wrestled with, and found many solutions for (and continue to find solutions for, in this ever-changing life).

During my blog tour a few months ago I wrote a guest post on how to find the time to write. If you’re struggling with this issue, start there.

2. Forget about quality, just get it done.

To get your first draft finished, you simply have to write. You have to get it down. Why? Because, as Nora Roberts wisely said, “You can’t edit a blank page.”

My first drafts are absolutely horrible. They’re barely literate, filled with little notes and reminders to myself—stuff I know I’ll tackle in subsequent drafts (like: “describe sights and smells of the market here…”). I do that because speed is important to me in a first draft. I think there’s a certain momentum you need to achieve when writing a first draft, because it’s so easy to get sidetracked and distracted. Writing a first draft is a whole lot harder than, say, binge watching Game of Thrones.

So first drafts should be pretty bad. I’m not alone in thinking this.

“The first draft of anything is shit.” -Ernest Hemingway

“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.” -Anne Lamott

Cut yourself some slack and just get those words down. You will have plenty of time to rewrite and hack it apart and flesh out the sensory descriptions of markets…but that will come later. First, just get the story down.

3. Don’t worry about balancing the elements of fiction.

Here I’m referring to all the weaving and layering that needs to occur in a finished novel. Your polished novel needs to contain a balance of character stuff, dialogue, narrative, flashbacks, backstory…and much more.

But trying to keep all that in mind while you’re throwing down the first draft is making it harder than it needs to be.

Just keep telling the story, and worry about those things later.

If you get to a spot where you know you want a certain element—a little bit of character development, say—but you don’t want to slow down, just jot a note to yourself to flesh out that bit on a subsequent draft.

Especially if you’re a pantser, once you’ve got the first draft down, and you know how it all shakes out, you’ll be able to go back and add those elements much more effectively.

Now, it should be said that some people have the ability to do the balance thing in their first draft. And if you’re one of those people, well—go, you! My critique partner, Karma Brown (whose debut comes out in May 2015, by the way) has an amazing ability to get all those components down in her first draft. I actually don’t know how she does it.

When I went to New York this summer for Thrillerfest I listened in shock as Lee Child said “I’m a one-draft writer.”

But most writers—me included—need to weave in those layers and threads during the revision process, and that’s completely okay. Revising in layers is the approach I take, and it’s what many of us do.

4. Don’t think about pacing.

Here I’m talking about both the pacing within a scene, and the overall pacing of the story. Neither issue needs to be dealt with during the first draft. That’s because it’s something best analyzed once you’ve got the whole story down. During the first draft, don’t sweat it.

As you’re writing the first draft, you may reach a scene you can clearly envision, so your descriptions will be deeper and your dialogue more fleshed out. You may not have other scenes figured out quite so fully, so your treatment of them—on first pass—will be more cursory at this point.

You may also have a string of slow, reflective scenes back to back, and then a run of action scenes…which may not be the pace you’re going for.

That’s okay; it will all get sorted out in subsequent drafts.

During revision, you’ll be able to consider the entire structure of the book and how each scene fits in. Pacing will be different for every book, of course, depending on genre and the particulars of your story.

5. Don’t worry about voice.

I consider the first draft to be about finding the voice for the story. And I don’t mean POV. That’s different. It’s probably a good idea to decide who is telling the story before you start—but depending on how much of a pantser you are, you may not even have that figured out yet.

No, when I say “voice” I mean that difficult-to-describe quality of…the sound of the story.

Is it spare and lean, or flowery? Sarcastic? Hard-boiled? Snappy? Poetic?

I read an article somewhere that listed the things you needed to have figured out before starting to write your first draft, and voice was one of the first. My palms grew sweaty at the idea. How can you possibly have the voice determined before writing the draft? I wondered.

There are many things I know (or think I know) before writing: the main characters, the climax, the ending, key scenes. But the voice? Nope. That evolves for me as I’m writing the first draft. It comes out of character as I’m telling the story.

Plus, I think if you worry too much about having a cohesive voice before you even start, it’s going to slow you down while you’re writing that first draft. You’re going to keep stopping and wondering if your voice is consistent, you know?

Ideally, by the time you’re finished your first draft, the voice has emerged. And then, cleaning up, honing, and polishing that voice becomes a revising layer.

6. Give yourself a deadline.

I think this is a big part of the success of NaNoWriMo. Because NaNo creates a clearly defined—but do-able—timeframe. And although it’s all completely voluntary, there’s something about the accountability to the community that applies needed pressure.

Without a deadline—whether self-imposed or detailed in a book contract—writing a first draft tends to stretch on and on.

Oh, I’ll finish my book…eventually.

A deadline lights a fire. If you’re organized, a deadline means you need to meet a word quota, whether it’s a daily or weekly quota. It keeps you from straying.

So, impose a deadline. Make yourself accountable. Create a pact with a writing partner or your critique group. Join NaNo or another writing challenge. Whatever it takes.

The pressure of a deadline can mean the difference between finishing that book and being one of those eventually people.

7. Keep moving forward.

Think of your first draft as a train going in one direction only. Don’t go backwards and re-do stuff while you’re in the middle of your first draft. That’s another good way to never finish a book. If you get caught up on tweaking and polishing and thinking about things too much, and you’ll never get the book written.

Keep moving forward and get the whole story out.

Have faith that you will go back and change many things. Resist the temptation to re-read what you’ve written. You will probably be horrified by what you see (refer to point number 2, above), and nobody needs that.

Keep your confidence intact, keep your head down…and just keep pushing forward.

* * *

Dr. Kim Foster is a practising physician, a writer, and a mom. She’s also an active health blogger.

After thirteen years of stitching people’s lacerations, treating their sore throats, and checking their blood pressure, Kim recently became a very successful, published author. She has a wonderful agent, Sandy Lu of L. Perkins Agency, and a 3-book deal with Kensington Books. Kim’s first novel A Beautiful Heist was published in June, 2013, and the sequel. A Magnificent Crime was released in June, 2014. She’s hard at work on her third book.

Dr. Kim obtained her BSc in Biology in 1994 from The University of Western Ontario. She then attended medical school at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, and graduated in 1997, followed by a two-year residency in family medicine. She holds an active license with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, and is a member of the Canadian Medical Association and the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

Born and raised in Oakville, Ontario, Kim has lived in Calgary, Vancouver, and London, England. She now happily calls Victoria, British Columbia, home and lives there with her husband and their two young boys. Kim maintains two websites – www.kimfoster.com which is her author presence and www.drkimfoster.com which is her professional medical site titled Savvy Health.