Author's Essay Explaining Plagiarism In Novel Also Pulled For Plagiarism

The book was set for publication, but was pulled before its scheduled July release. The book's publisher, Riverhead Books, opted to cancel the release after finding that portions of the book were taken from other sources.

Bello wrote an essay, "I Plagiarized Part of My Debut Novel. Here's Why," to discuss what happened. The essay was published on lithub.com, but was quickly pulled after it was found that the essay on plagiarism contained even more plagiarism.

To her credit, Bello acknowledges her plagiarism.

"I tell myself I'm just borrowing and changing the language," she wrote. "I tell myself I will rewrite these parts later during the editorial phase. I will make this story mine again."

"I just want to get through it, to a place where I can sleep again," she wrote. "Looking back on this moment, I ignored my instincts. I ignored the voice inside that said quietly, this is wrong wrong wrong."

After commenters noticed similarities between Bello's essay — which delved into the history of plagiarism — and other previously published works, Lit Hub pulled the piece and offered an explanation.

"Earlier this morning Lit Hub published a very personal essay by Jumi Bello about her experience writing a debut novel, her struggles with severe mental illness, the self-imposed pressures a young writer can feel to publish, and her own acts of plagiarism," wrote Lit Hub editor Jonny Diamond.

"Because of inconsistencies in the story and, crucially, a further incident of plagiarism in the published piece, we decided to pull the essay."

Bello certainly seems sincere in her writing, and her non-plagiarized passages show promise. But for whatever reason, it seems like she can't stop herself from lifting passages from other pieces and passing it off as her own work.

Writers know how difficult it can be to put words to page (or screen) at times. It can also be difficult to absorb new ideas and incorporate them into your own work without ripping off the source material.

It appears that Bello was perhaps over-stressed and overworked, and did one of the worst things an author can do: plagiarize material. When she tried to explain it, there was more plagiarism.

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h/t: ABC News