SiteYou ask, we answer: My published article was lifted by another writer
Kate asks, “I’ve been trying to break a certain section of a particular national magazine for a few months now, and have been considering re-packaging a nutrition article I did for [Magazine X] over the summer. When my subscription of the other national mag [Magazine Y] arrived in the mail yesterday, I saw that another freelancer had already done so. Her article follows exactly the same format and uses exactly the same idea as my published article. It’s identical, short of being the same words. I have little doubt that the freelancer saw my article and lifted it — without even having the creativity to change the angle or the format. Needless to say, I’m angry! Do I have any recourse, or am I left to wallow, shouting, “She stole my idea!”?
Ooof. I can sympathize, Kate. A couple years ago, I wrote a high-concept article about a common parenting problem. Another freelance writer I know had actually talked to me about the structure I’d come up with for this story when we were discussing the magazine. Flash forward a year: I’m at our local bookstore, checking out magazines, and I see a very familiar coverline — almost the exact coverline that had been on my story — but on a competing publication’s cover. My mouth dropped open when I flipped the magazine open and see that the whole structure of my article has been lifted and applied to a similar parenting problem by the very same freelancer I’d been talking to a year before. Seriously … lifted right down to the very bones!
Your situation is a little different: it sounds like you found the very same structure applied to the same idea you wrote about in Magazine X last summer — and that’s got to smart. Can you do anything about it? Very little, I’m afraid, unless this writer also appropriated your phrasing for his or her piece — and it doesn’t sound like this happened. Story ideas can’t be copyrighted, which means other writers are free to look at your article in Magazine X and say, “Wow, that would be a perfect story for Magazine Y!” and put their own stamp on it.
Some other possibilities: the writer could have come up with the idea on her own and it’s just bad luck for you that the other writer got to your new market first. Or, an editor at Magazine Y could have seen your article in Magazine X and asked the writer to develop something similar — or, she could have edited the copy to fit the structure, which happens a lot, especially with consumer mags. The bottom line? You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what happened here because I doubt you’ll find the answer. The consolation is that at least you know your ideas are perfect for Magazine Y. In fact, you could send an editor at Magazine Y a new pitch, attach your clip from Magazine X, and say, “I saw the story you did on probiotics in the May issue; here’s something I did for Magazine X on the same subject last year. It sounds like we’re a good fit, idea wise. I have a new idea in mind for you, a story on the surprising benefits of caffeine …” In short, try to make lemonade from this lemon of a situation!
Blog readers, any other suggestions for Kate? Post them below. And if you have a writing-related question of your own, please send it to questions[at]therenegadewriter[dot]com . [dianaburrell]
3 Responses to “You ask, we answer: My published article was lifted by another writer”
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Tei - Rogue Ink
Said this on May 9th, 2008 at 12:06pm:Oof. Is it really bad that I’m slowly getting into print media and that I look around all the time for inspiration in other people’s work? I’d never swipe a story in the blatant (and thoroughly EVIL) way described here, but I am totally constantly on the lookout for ideas that I could use in completely different contexts.
Is that still evil?
Oh, man, it is, isn’t it. I’m a flawed human being.
Melody
Said this on May 9th, 2008 at 1:48pm:It’s a crappy situation, but you can’t just assume that the writer wholesale lifted your copy. I actually pitched a parenting article to a magazine that I write for often. It had a really specific format that I thought was quite creative, then two days later I cracked open that month’s issue and saw THE EXACT SAME STORY. Seriously, exact. I immediately emailed the editor and gave her another idea, and it all worked out. But if that story had been published a few months later I would have sworn they had ripped me off.
At any rate, yes, not much you can do about it except find another magazine that might go for your story.
Melissa
Said this on May 10th, 2008 at 9:32am:Tei, you’re not evil. Getting ideas from other people’s articles is fine, as long as you spin them with your own angle. If you’re using the ideas in completely different contexts, there’s nothing wrong with that.
If getting ideas from others were taboo, there wouldn’t be many magazines.