Self-interest vs. self-plagiarism

One of the "gatekeeping" responsibilities I have for the online article editing I do is to look out for writers who self-plagiarize and report them to the company.

When I first started this work, I took that responsibility seriously. And then I realized how much time it took, and the extent to which it could impact my hourly earnings.

Therefore, I never pick two very similar titles within roughly 24 hours. No doubt that writers grab them to make their work easier, and any self-respecting self-plagiarist would be a fool not to do the same.

I'm more interested in maximizing my income than I am in wasting time to determine whether someone appears to be guilty of S-P, and then having an internal debate about morality and my responsibilities.

A First in My 27 Years of Editing

As I approach the end of my first proofing pass through a horribly written book, I am struck by what a struggle it must have been for this poor schnook of an author to complete the book.

He reached down deep and employed redundancy and wordiness almost at will to reach the finish line.

And I almost wish I had been there to cheer him on. Almost.

After all these years, could I be mellowing? I hope not—too much empathy will destroy the gatekeeper.