A self-published author doesn’t need to copyright their work before publishing, do they? Copyright is assigned the moment you write the words.

Thanks in advance

This, for me, sums up this whole issue. I read the blog post you linked to and had a look at the artist’s various websites and honestly, I think simple-minded is the word here (although that’s obviously speculation and probably a bit unfair). The whole situation is just awful. There’s never an excuse for bullying and harassment.

I can’t for the life of me remember who said it, but I remember reading something about how working creative people know that ideas are a dime a dozen. I’m always suspicious of anyone who puts a high premium on an idea for a book/film/whatever… it makes me think they very rarely actually *have* ideas of their own. For most creative professionals I know, it’s pretty much a constant trickle.