The “T” word- Theft of Ideas by Cindy Kirk
Today guest blogging on Naughty and Spice, we welcome author Cindy Kirk who writes for Harlequin, Silhouette and Avon! 
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This week on a writer’s loop, a woman (we’ll call her Jane) mentioned how an unpublished author she’d recently started mentoring was giving her fits and she was thinking of cutting her loose but worried how she’d react. The woman had been so difficult Jane was considering if she should continue to mentor anyone. One thing I mentioned to Jane was the fact that many authors refuse to read unpublished material because they’re concerned about being accused of stealing an idea. Even if the charge was unfounded, damage to the mentor’s reputation could still be done.
This got me to thinking….can you really steal someone’s idea? I use to think you couldn’t, because even if each of us got a brief story idea, we’d all develop it differently. And even if we got a detailed outline, our “voice” would be different and the way we’d write the scene would vary.
On the other hand, I think of Janet Evanovitch and how she researched the market before she came up with the idea of quirky bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. What if during this research phase Janet participated in a brainstorming session (that is so popular among writers)…and what if she discussed her idea–maybe even took it a step further and outlined her vision for the book? What if another writer (who’d listened intently during the brainstorming session) saw the possibilities and proposed that same story before Janet had a chance to go forward with her own proposal? To me that would definitely be theft of an idea.
I’m not overly paranoid, but if I had a great idea for a story that I hadn’t yet proposed to my editor, I don’t think I’d participate in a brainstorming session or even mention the idea to anyone other than my two critique partners (who I trust implicitly).
What do you think? Can you really steal another writer’s story?
September 28th, 2007 at 2:50 am
Hi, Cindy! Thanks for guest blogging today!
You know, realistically isn’t there only a certain amount of ‘original plots’ just rewritten with different twists and the author’s voice? Sure, there’s some original stuff coming out. But I think it probably has roots in another standard plot.
But I do agree, when I feel I’m onto something, I keep it under wraps. Especially when I don’t have an agent yet. While I’m waiting on NY, someone could get in twice as fast and sell (maybe even on proposal!) my idea while I’m still in the slush pile.
Though I have to say I’d have a hard time imagining any of those in the writing community that I’ve grown to know could do that. But… like you said you just never know.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:26 am
What a great post!
I’m cautious too… although I never have ‘high concept’ ideas so nobody would particularly want to steal mine! Most of my notions are pretty general type storylines that can be interpreted in any number of ways.
September 28th, 2007 at 9:12 am
I think it’s all in the execution. I’ve listened to agents and editors in panels. They’ve said over and over how often they’ve read a promising query or heard a promising pitch and were *really* excited about a concept. But when it came down to the execution, it just wasn’t there. They ultimately rejected the manuscript.
So even if someone had stolen Janet’s Stephanie Plum story, it wouldn’t have been Janet’s voice and thus, even if it had sold, it wouldn’t have been Janet’s story. I’d be willing to bet there’s room in the literary world for more than one quirky female bounty hunter.
September 28th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Hi Cindy
I have to say that I’ve always been cautious in sharing my ideas as well. One story in particular is on my “to write” list and is different from most things out there right now. I wouldn’t want someone to scoop me on the idea, because then it wouldn’t be original anymore. Even if the voice is different, even if the scenes are different, I wouldn’t want my manuscript to be thought of as a knock off of someone else. Then again, think of all the people out there writing vampire romances. It takes a lot of work and vision to come up with something different. And some of them are really good. So I guess it can be done. Still, best to exercise caution, right?
September 28th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Funny enough I’ve seen stories published by other writers on ideas that I’ve never shared with anyone…talk about freaking you OUT! LOL
That said, I’m VERY superstitious about sharing and only share with my CP’s, if for no other reason than negative feedback from someone can really derail a work in progress.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Exactly, Amie. I have a core group of people I share with *cough* mainly NAS girls.
Tawny that is so true about the voice making each project different, even if the concept is similar. A voice is really what makes an author I think.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
September 28th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Oh yes you can steal someone’s story ideas. It happened to me on at least two occasions. One was a published book with a first chapter so much like mine, four people told me about it. I ended up pulling my story from submission, even though I knew my story had been written first because I knew if I published it, people would believe I was the one who stole the idea.
On another occasion I was judging a contest entry which so closely paralleled my own unpublished manuscript, I thought it was eerie. The characters were different, the scene was different, but it felt like my story wearing a disguise.
Then I reached the “hero takes over the castle” speech. Holy cow. I got out my own manuscript and compared. The whole thing was a word-for-word synonym substitution, with all the of’s, and’s and the’s left in place. I contacted the coordinator and the author was disqualified, but that was all I could do. She hadn’t actually done anything illegal.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
[…] Harlequin and Avon author Cindy Kirk has a great post up on stealing ideas. Ya’ll stop by and check it […]
September 28th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Oh Delle that’s scary! How did she even do that? See that’s a little too eerie. I’d cry if someone snagged my two ‘original’ stories. Sigh.
September 28th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
*By the way, everyone, Cindy’s at work and won’t be able to check in and reply until later tonight!*
September 28th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Oh, I’m about to take a different stance here, ladies…
Ideas are a dime a dozen. That’s the reason ideas can’t be copyrighted. That’s why there are generally 8-10 basic plotlines that keep getting rewritten.
It’s not the idea, it’s the writing.
And there’s a HUGE difference in stealing someone’s written word and writing a story in your own words from an idea.
Two of us could have the exact same story idea and the story will come out entirely different because our voices are not the same. Our styles are not the same.
I don’t subscribe to the thought that ideas can be stolen. I think people are plagiarized, but if people discuss ideas and someone takes one of those ideas and writes their own book from it, and it gets pubbed, but mine with the same storyline doesn’t, then it’s probably one of two things: I was too late with my story or her voice/style/story was just better than mine. It sux, but it’s true.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
I have a similiar issue to Amie’s. I subbed my first story last September when I wasnt online and didnt know another writer. Not a one personally. A month after I subbed I read a story whose first 3 chapters freaked me out completely. It was set in the same, never used as far as I knew artsy section of the same city-there were several scenes that just totally weirded me out they were so similiar. It got fairly different after that but I freaked out for a few days anyway. Its enough to make you paranoid.
But I agree that execution is incredibly important. There are stories out there in the ether, waiting to be told-some people may get the same vibe and tell it at the same time-but hopefully not in the same way.
September 28th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
First of all, Hi Cindy!
Great topic - I have to agree with everyone here. Yes there are only so many ideas in the world and it’s devastating when you think you’ve come up with an “original” (ha!) idea and someone beats you to the punch. Yes, it’s definitely all in the execution, but man it hurts when you think your idea is not “original” anymore.
And I only put original in quotes cos like Mel said, there are no original ideas anymore. Just original WRITING.
September 28th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
But if you have a very original idea you might want to keep it under wraps.
September 29th, 2007 at 12:59 am
Thanks for all the great responses!! It’s so interesting to read everyone’s opinions.
This is a great blogsite and I appreciate Shelli giving me the opportunity to post!!