Is This Project Original Enough For Me To Sell It?

EvanJ · Apr 17, 2017

In addition to not being able plagiarize, it's also illegal to sell somebody else's work. For example, it's illegal to record a game, put it on many DVDs, and sell it. It is legal to do use research to make one's own arguments in a book or article and sell it. I'm using http://www.270towin.com/1860_Election/ and equivalent sites for other years to make a spreadsheet with electoral college results for all 58 elections. I'm not making my own arguments, but I am doing calculations and presenting the information in a way that people could not get online without doing their own work. For example, I will be able to say:

How many electoral votes for winning and losing candidates each state has cast
What state has had the highest percent of the electoral votes in any election and for all elections combined
What state has had the most consecutive elections voting for the winner?
What state has had the most elections with at least X electoral votes?
Out of all the electoral votes for winners, what percent came from each state?
When a state had a higher percentage of the electoral votes, did the state vote for the winner more often?

Am I doing enough original work for this to be something I can try to sell?

Jacen McCullough · Jun 4, 2017

I think it would depend on how you were marketing and presenting it. If you pitched it as one of those "facts about a year/topic/concept" books, and added a short introduction and conclusion on either side of the number crunching sections, my sense is that you should be fine as long as you cite the source for your raw numbers. Your theoretical publisher would know more definitively, though.

EvanJ said: ↑

In addition to not being able plagiarize, it's also illegal to sell somebody else's work. For example, it's illegal to record a game, put it on many DVDs, and sell it. It is legal to do use research to make one's own arguments in a book or article and sell it. I'm using http://www.270towin.com/1860_Election/ and equivalent sites for other years to make a spreadsheet with electoral college results for all 58 elections. I'm not making my own arguments, but I am doing calculations and presenting the information in a way that people could not get online without doing their own work. For example, I will be able to say:

How many electoral votes for winning and losing candidates each state has cast
What state has had the highest percent of the electoral votes in any election and for all elections combined
What state has had the most consecutive elections voting for the winner?
What state has had the most elections with at least X electoral votes?
Out of all the electoral votes for winners, what percent came from each state?
When a state had a higher percentage of the electoral votes, did the state vote for the winner more often?

Am I doing enough original work for this to be something I can try to sell?
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EvanJ · Jun 5, 2017

I wasn't thinking about making it long enough to be a book.

MorenoF · Feb 28, 2018

I believe that it is normal to do your research based on other sources. During my studies at the university, I did the same when I took info from https://answershark.com/writing/essay-writing/reflective-essay/how-to-write-reflective-essay.html as a basis and then I tried to write an essay, although it is possible to do this with the help of a specialist. In my case, it was better, because I myself processed the material and set out my thoughts the way I wanted, and the article only gave me useful advice.