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Dear “Lilly”

Posted in Uncategorized

Hello, Lilly. I don’t know who you are. I hope very much that we have never and will never meet. I don’t know why you did what you did, but I do know that “your” book, Submitting To My Boss is a word-for-word copy of my book, The Boss. Come to think of it, maybe you should also hope very much that we never meet. Because I don’t take too kindly to frauds and cheats.

The thing is, you didn’t just steal from me. You also stole Ava Violet’s She’s With Me from Wattpad and released it as “your” book. You didn’t even bother to change the title. And in what is perhaps the cruelest move of all, you used another author’s name to create brand confusion as a cover for your crime and to sell the books you stole. You named yourself Lilly Kate, just one letter off from legitimate author Lily Kate. You set her up to take the fall for you when you got caught. You even stole her bio and claimed to be a USA Today bestseller.

You’re not. You didn’t earn it. Lily Kate earned it with her novel, Delivery GirlI earned it with my first novel. We are USA Today bestselling authors. Not you.

Again, I don’t know who you are. All I know is that you stole from me, you stole from Lily Kate, and you stole from Ava Violet. You took books that Violet and I offered for free and decided that you were entitled to make money off them. You decided that you deserved to profit off intellectual property that you had no claim to and that we weren’t profiting from, ourselves. You’re not a real author. You’re a con artist. You not only stole from all three of us, you charged readers 99¢ for books they didn’t have to pay for.

I hope that one of the companies you published “your” books through will provide me with the information I need to take legal action against you. So, I take it back. I hope very much that we do meet. When I see you in court.

Sincerely,
The wrong author to try this on

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31 Comments

  1. Sushi
    Sushi

    Make them pay.

    April 10, 2017
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  2. Good luck with tracking her down. Must be awful to have your creative work stolen like this.

    April 10, 2017
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  3. Will Amazon give you the money that she earned from these sales?

    April 10, 2017
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  4. *thunderous applause* I’m sickened someone did this to you. I hope you do take her to court and utterly wipe the floor with her.

    April 10, 2017
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  5. So sorry you have to go through this but good on you for fighting! Both on behalf of yourself and the other authors who were robbed. Everyone here is supporting you, and if there’s anything Trout Nation can do to help, just say the word and we will be there.

    April 10, 2017
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    • ViolettaD
      ViolettaD

      A-freakin’-MEN! We would be GLAD to be your posse!

      April 10, 2017
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    • Sarah Jane
      Sarah Jane

      I second this motion!

      April 11, 2017
      |Reply
  6. Tez Miller
    Tez Miller

    (Typo: It’s “Submission” – not “Submitting” in the title for her copy of your book.)

    If anyone’s good at reporting stuff to seller sites, here are the remaining links I’ve found. Some of the websites aren’t in English, so hopefully there are some German-, French-, and Japanese-speaking members of Trout Nation:

    Books on Google Play: https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Submission_To_My_Boss.html?id=V15IDgAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y (May be geo-restricted – this is the Australian version.)

    Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/submission-to-my-boss-lilly-kate/1125922804?type=eBook

    Weltbid: https://www.weltbild.de/artikel/ebook/submission-to-my-boss_22714277-1 (German website)

    24symbols: https://www.24symbols.com/book/english/lilly-kate/submission-to-my-boss?id=2048936 (Never heard of this site. Are they pirates?)

    Rakuten: http://books.rakuten.co.jp/rk/fd16812640b236e6bab4386bdb869387/ (Japanese website)

    fnac: http://recherche.fnac.com/ia4613039/Lilly-Kate (French website)

    Pass on this info to anyone who’s good at reporting to bookseller sites. Thanks, everyone!

    April 10, 2017
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    • GS
      GS

      Not good at that kind of stuff, but I wrote to Weltbild.de and hope I get something back on it.

      April 10, 2017
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      • Tez Miller
        Tez Miller

        Thank you.

        April 10, 2017
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        • GS
          GS

          The book was taken down on Weltbild.de even though they wrote me back that they couldn’t open my link and could I please send them a screenshot. Guess they can use Google after all 😉

          April 11, 2017
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    • Nellie
      Nellie

      Instead of writing to Weltbild, I commented on the book for all (readers and Weltbild’s customer service team alike) to see/read.
      I didn’t simply write, that it was plagiarized but about the original series, too.
      A little advertising can’t hurt, especially as it doesn’t read as advertising per se.
      I hope it helps to get this book taken off Weltbild.

      April 10, 2017
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      • Tez Miller
        Tez Miller

        Thanks for alerting consumers of the site, Nellie, but could you contact the site’s staff, too, please? Contacting the staff has a better chance of getting the book off the site. Many thanks.

        April 11, 2017
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    • Catherine
      Catherine

      I didn’t see any formal report form on Fnac (except for the actual copyright holder), but I sent them a message and commented on the book to at least warn potential readers.

      In good news, Submission to my boss seems to have been removed from the Barnes & Noble.

      April 11, 2017
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    • Helene
      Helene

      I also left a comment on the FNAC website: http://www.fnac.com/livre-numerique/a10482128/Lilly-Kate-Submission-To-My-Boss#st=lilly%20kate&ct=&t=p
      Since they are moderated before publication, I hope someone will read them and report the problem. But it could take some time.
      I included the link to your book on their website, so they can check for themselves.

      As Catherine said, the correct way to report is for the copyright holder (you) to fill this form and to mail it to their customer service: http://multimedia.fnac.com/multimedia/fnacdirect/pdf/signalez-nous-un-abus.pdf#bl=footer
      I don’t know if it will have to come to that, maybe we could help you then by translating the form or something.

      April 12, 2017
      |Reply
      • Tez Miller
        Tez Miller

        Good work, Helene – thanks.

        April 12, 2017
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  7. Sushi
    Sushi

    I had a look at her Goodreads author page and she’s also apparently ripped off Me Myself & Her by Nica Swan too.

    April 10, 2017
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    • Jass
      Jass

      I can’t. I’ve been working for TWO years on my first novel, and the thought someone will just steal others work? It’s enraging.
      I can’t imagine how many hours all these authors spent on their work—to have it shamelessly taken from them? My heart breaks.

      April 10, 2017
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  8. ViolettaD
    ViolettaD

    Jenny, get a lawyer NOW if you don’t have one already, and let the lawyer’s staff track down the info. The company HAS to turn it over. This isn’t just about profits: this is your and everyone else’s professional reputations at stake.

    April 10, 2017
    |Reply
  9. Gutty, gutty, gutty. And she didn’t think she’d get caught? The writing/reading community is a close-knit group. We know who writes what and if we’ve seen it before, especially with a work as well known as yours.
    I’m so sorry this had to land on your lap, but I know you’ll fight for justice, not only for yourself, but the other authors involved. All writers, in fact.
    You have my backing as well as your legion of fans.
    I hope this ends in the best possible way for you and in shame for “Lilly”.

    April 10, 2017
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  10. Rachel Kaminski
    Rachel Kaminski

    This sucks! I hope you’re able to find her and take her to court for this!

    April 10, 2017
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  11. Jass
    Jass

    Wow… the levels of awful some people reach. I’m sorry this has happened to you Jenny, and I hope you’re able to find out who is responsible and put a stop to them.
    And by that I mean- lawyer up, get those other authors, who have been severely ripped off, on board, and go get them!
    If legal fees will be a problem, I, and I’m sure many others, would be happy to support you in a crowdfunding campaign.

    April 10, 2017
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  12. fluffy
    fluffy

    That’s so awful, I’m sorry 🙁

    April 11, 2017
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  13. Jane D
    Jane D

    Have you found her yet? If not, I believe I can point you in the right direction.

    April 13, 2017
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    • Tez Miller
      Tez Miller

      Oh, really? Great sleuthing 🙂

      April 13, 2017
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    • Jenny Trout
      Jenny Trout

      If you’d be so kind as to email me, I would very much appreciate it!

      April 14, 2017
      |Reply
  14. On the one hand, it says a lot about your skill as a writer that people are stealing your stuff in this way.

    On the other, this ‘Lilly’ has no idea of the wrath she’s unleashed upon herself.

    April 14, 2017
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    • ViolettaD
      ViolettaD

      She sure doesn’t. Not just the wrath of Jenny and the other writers she’s ripped off, but the wrath of the entire jennytrout.com extended dysfunctional family. We are LEGION.

      April 14, 2017
      |Reply
  15. Nyeh
    Nyeh

    Can’t you just contact the publisher(s) directly? The name of the publishing company is always listed when a book is for sale on Amazon, and most other sites. Just contact them and explain your case. They know her real identity. They have to in order to pay her and for tax purposes. If they won’t tell you who she is, I guarantee you they will confront her about the plagiarism AND they will investigate for themselves. They will not let her get away with it because it makes them look bad and it will cost them the longer they allow it. Also be sure to contact the authors or at least the publishers of the books she plagiarized from. Trust me, she won’t get away with it. I’ve seen plagiarists get taken down enough times to know. In this internet age, nobody can get away with shit like that anymore.

    April 15, 2017
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  16. Lauren
    Lauren

    Has she not read your blog??? I feel like you would be the last person anyone would dare rip off! You come back with RECEIPTS!

    April 22, 2017
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  17. Lauren
    Lauren

    Also, just checked goodreads, “lilly” isn’t there anymore.

    April 22, 2017
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