Would An Editor Steal Your Idea?
Friday May 2, 2008
A reader with a huge story to pitch is wondering what's keeping an editor from stealing her idea and assigning it to a veteran writer. Would an editor really do such a thing? What do you think? Have you ever heard of this happening or had it happen to you?
Comments
Editors have stolen ideas I’ve pitched to them, and when I see that happen it’s very annoying. Of course, there’s no way to prove this, but the timing between my pitch and the appearance of an article on approximately the same topic is usually the giveaway. I used to pitch a few ideas at a time to an editor; now, after seeing some of those ideas rejected by the editor, only to appear in the magazine shortly thereafter, I am very careful to pitch them one at a time.
While I am on the topic of editors, I would say that in my recent experience (past 10 years) I consider only three out of about twenty I’ve worked with to be civilized and courteous. The best you can hope for is brusque. Consistently they behave as if they’re doing you a tremendous favor to allow you into their publication, they remind you constantly that they’re the world’s busiest people, and if the publication of your article is delayed, you are rarely informed.
I had an editor not only steal my idea, but send a request to another freelancer to write the article I suggested. I know this for a fact because with my rejection letter, the magazine indavertantly enclosed a copy of the letter to the other author asking him to write the article. Talk about a lack of ethics!! I wrote the editor a second letter challenging the tactic - but never received a reply.
I pitched an idea to the editor of a well known magazine. The query was rejected. Four months later, my exact article topic - down to the title - appeared in print, under her byline. It was obviously stolen. I could not believe how unethical this publication was.
I had this happen to me with a very well known and established magazine. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence (it happened about 6 times) because some of the topics were general. But I when I pitched a story about a very specialized investment product (so specialized many traders on Wall Street have only HEARD of it) I knew that she was definitely taking my ideas.
While it did upset me, I took it with a grain of salt. I must be doing something right if the editor keeps stealing my ideas.
Needless to say, I stopped pitching to that magazine.
You all, this is really most unfortunnate to hear.
Yes, unfortunately some editors do steal and they claim that they have so many ideas thrown at them, that they can’t tell the difference between what they think is their own idea (say, a few months later) and someone else’s.
Editors also steal style, for example if they weren’t doing a series of features with a particular theme and a writer pitches it, later they start giving similar assignments to their staffers, thus X’ing out the freelancer again.
Remember that many editors are simply writer/reporters with a promotion. They still have that competitive instinct but now they have the power as well.
Of course, not all editors are this way, thank God!
There’s stills some good ones out there.
there are a few ethical editors. but very few and far between. very few. fdrtunately the “stealers” get a reputation of “stealing” and their publication eventually suffers because the good writers go elsewhere.
Can anyone recommend publications whose editors they do trust? I know on this site it recommends sending in a complete draft but I’m guessing that wouldn’t work well if the above comments are true.
I think two of my ideas/mss were used in a city magazine. I sent mss; they were rejected, and a month later, the same topic and very similar format were used. This happened twice in the same year. Sucks.
I was on staff at a magazine group where one editor proposed in the middle of a staff meeting that someone on staff write this idea a freelancer had sent in. She was nearly tarred and feathered for the suggestion. And she should’ve known better. She ended up hiring the freelancer, but only because we’d all shamed her into acting responsibly.
Yes, it happens. If it does, send a note that says “Glad you liked my idea enough to develop it into your own piece! Shall I send you more ideas for a fee, or would you allow me to write one for you?” Who cares if you tick this person off? You don’t want to work with people who would knowingly steal your ideas.