How to Handle an Editing Client Who Plagiarized
It all started so normally.
A client messaged me on Fiverr (more on Fiverr at a later date because I have a lotta thoughts) to developmentally edit their non-fiction manuscript.
I went through my usual rigamarole: what’s the book about, how many words, what number draft, have you gotten others’ feedback on it, what’s your social security—kidding on that last one. But they answered and their answers felt really authentic to me.
They’d been working on their manuscript for years, so I’d gotten the impression that it was a heavily self-edited piece. I even edited the first chapter, and it felt really sound. And when I got it, it wasn’t. (First lesson learned: request the entire manuscript before agreeing to edit).
That’s fine. I’m used to manuscripts coming to me mangled. I thrive on it. That’s why I got into editing. I’m passionate about helping those passionate about their stories.
But this one was an amalgamation of topics that did not come together cohesively. Of the 30% I edited, over half of it was plagiarized.
Sniffing Out Plagiarism
There was a lot of work to do. But I took on the project knowing that.
I slogged through the first 35 pages. The biggest red flag for me was that there were no citations at all—not even haphazardly inserted ones being that it was still a draft.
Then, at the end of page 35, I noticed that the writing style shifted. So, I copied and pasted a paragraph that felt very different from what I had been reading.
BOOM!
Clicked on the very top site and found the exact paragraph from the manuscript. Word for word. Not a single word was changed.
What did I do? Gently linked the article into a marginal comment highlighting the ‘copied’ words and instructed them on the importance of using citations.
I continued on with the edit with my guard up.
Once that trust is broken, it’s broken forever. And I couldn’t stop copying and pasting pieces of the manuscript into Google—I became obsessed. From pages 35 to 71, I found over 30 instances of plagiarism.
That’s a lot, babez.
I had to do something more than link the article into a marginal comment with a polite little note on how to proceed.
Turning To My Editing Community
This was my first time dealing with a client who plagiarized, and I didn’t know how to approach it. My gut was telling me to stop editing. My head was telling me to push through because I needed to cash that check.
Ultimately, I stopped the edit. I knew I needed to bounce ideas off more experienced people in the editing community and talk this through.
First, I turned to an editing Facebook group, and they all replied with advice and resources to educate the client on the importance of citations in non-fiction work. One even sent a court case of an author who plagiarized a fiction novel and had to pay out a majority of their sales profits.
The most actionable advice came from my editing mentor.
She laid out exactly how she’s approached this situation with clients in the past. And I’ll lay them out here for you, my fellow editors, so that if you ever encounter a client who plagiarizes you know exactly how to handle it.
3 Ways to Handle an Editing Client Who Plagiarized
I want to preface this by saying, contact the client first. How they decide to respond (e.g., anger, fear, agreeable, etc.) will inform the options you give them moving forward.
END THE EDIT + EAT YOUR LOSSES. This is the harshest option for you as a freelance editor since you lose out on some income. Tell the client why you’re ending it and don’t worry about sending what you’ve already edited. The positives of this option are that the client is informed they plagiarized, and you no longer have to work with them. Just make sure you’re clear that you do not want your name on this project.
OFFER TO CONTINUE. With this option, you’ll continue slogging through the manuscript, but you’ll flag the areas where citations are needed at an increased per-word rate. Because sniffing out plagiarism and finding citations is out of the scope of developmental editing.
END THE EDIT + GET PAID FOR TIME SPENT EDITING. This one is the best of both worlds, really. End the edit, tell the client why, and ask them to pay a per-hour rate for the time you spend working on their manuscript (If you aren’t sure about your editing rates, visit the EFA website). You would send him back the edited manuscript, tell him you don’t want any credit whatsoever on his work, and then advise him on how to proceed.
A Happy Ending After All
I wrote a message to my client explaining that I found plagiarism throughout his manuscript and they took an excruciatingly long time to answer. Really, it was only one hour, but it felt like six.
They did admit to it. Which was a relief for me, I was expecting the worst: absolute denial and rage.
They even wanted to continue working with me, but it seemed like there was just too much taken straight from others’ work for me to do any proper editing on his manuscript.
Ultimately, we came to an agreement. We’d end the developmental edit, they would pay me upfront for the work I’ve done plus the extra hours I spent looking for citations, and they’d work on their manuscript and find the proper citations (and hopefully, rewrite it—I stressed that point, but I suppose we’ll see).
I’m thankful I went through this experience with a client who was honest with me and openly admitted to what he’d done. Even though this was the best-case scenario, it still leaves a funky taste in my mouth.
So…I don’t think I’ll be taking on any non-fiction editing clients for a while. But there was a second lesson learned: Revise my editing agreements to include a plagiarism clause.
Have you ever dealt with a client who plagiarized?