This post by Victoria Strauss originally appeared on Writer Beware® on 3/31/14.
Every time I consider purging Writer Beware’s files to get rid of documentation on agents and others we haven’t heard anything about in years and years, I’m reminded of why I hold onto that old paper.
Last Friday, I received an email from successful independent editor Jodie Renner. Apparently, client testimonials from her website had been plagiarized by an outfit called WordWorks Publishing Consultants.
I hopped on over to WordWorks’ website, expecting to discover something on the order of faux publicist Mike Albee, who decorated his site with fake testimonials from known authors.
What I found was way more bizarre: plagiarism, plagiarism, and yet more plagiarism, plus a blast from Writer Beware’s past. (Bear with me; this is a long post with lots of images, but I wanted to capture them in case WordWorks attempts to hide the evidence.)
Based in Alabama, WordWorks is owned by Pamela Wray Biron, who provides “Expert and Innovative Content Solutions,” including editing, ghostwriting, graphic design, illustration, marketing, and web services. A veritable Renaissance woman. And, gosh, just look at Pamela’s clients! The US Justice Department! 20th Century Fox! The President of the United States! Check out the impressive names on Pamela’s Testimonials page! Steve Jobs! Bill Gates! Michael Eisner! Editorial and marketing staff from all the Big Five publishers!
There’s just one problem: most of the testimonials are plagiarized, and not just from Jodie Renner.