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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » The Publishing Life

The Publishing Life

Will Someone Steal My Book?

By Bob Hostetleron May 18, 2023
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It’s a common question I hear among writers, especially among those who are starting out in the long journey toward publication: “Will someone steal my book?” Or “my idea?” Or “my plot?” And so on.

Some writers are loath to show their work to a critique group or submit to an agent or editor, for fear that someone will take their title or idea or writing and pass it off as their own. Believe it or not, the estimable Steve Laube (He Who Insists I Call Him That) has had people slide a Nondisclosure Agreement across the table at a writers conference, saying, “Please sign this NDA before I pitch my idea to you.” (To which Steve responded by sliding it back, unsigned, saying, “If we can’t trust each other now, we never will.”)

Having someone snitch your pitch could happen, I suppose, if the people you’re dealing with are unprincipled lowlifes. But I’ve been writing, publishing, and hanging around writers a lot for more than four decades, and I’ve never had an unpublished work of mine—or anyone of my acquaintance—end up as someone else’s published work. I think this is true for several reasons:

First, you can’t copyright a title. Sure, some titles become so well-known that it might be unwise to try to sell a manuscript with the title Harvey Platter and the Philosopher’s Stone. But otherwise, you needn’t worry about someone stealing your title.

Second, ideas (that can’t be copyrighted either) are a dime a dozen. I once had an editor tell me that, and then explain, “What I need are writers who can execute great ideas.” Noted.

Third, though your idea or manuscript or title, etc., may be so brilliant that others are just waiting to snatch it up and skulk away, cackling maniacally, it’s a little more likely that you still have a few things to learn before your brilliance is irresistible to literary thieves, plunderers, and scalawags.

Fourth, reputable agents and editors are usually too busy to take your piece of work and—what, put their name on it? Assign it to someone else? Wouldn’t it be easier to sign you?

Now, having said all that, once your work is published (and therefore your ownership established by the copyright and publication date of the magazine or book publisher), it is incumbent upon you to become the curator of your own intellectual property. For example, I was once (in my four-plus decades) thumbing through a magazine and was surprised to see an article of mine—every word, including the title—published under someone else’s name. To make matters worse, I had not submitted nor been paid for that work; I assume the “someone else” had been. So I contacted the editor of the magazine, informed her of the situation, and was paid handsomely and a correction issued in a subsequent issue of the magazine.

I also have a friend (yes, I have friends) who once wrote an article that has often been presented in other people’s work as an “anonymous” story. But, of course, it’s his intellectual property. So, every time he finds such a reproduction of his story, he follows up, as he should.

So, don’t sweat too much about the possibility of someone stealing your idea, title, book, or plot. Go ahead and share your works-in-progress with your critique group and submit them (when ready) to reputable agents and editors who might recognize their value and publish them, possibly making you as rich and famous as me (though it might take a few acceptances for you to reach that lofty perch). Then you can start keeping an eye out for any unauthorized use.

 

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Category: Book Business, Career, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life

Who Decides to Publish Your Book?

By Steve Laubeon May 1, 2023
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The editor you met with at a writers conference liked your proposal and asked you to send it to her after the conference. She was already talking about format and promotional ideas. Or you submitted a proposal and received an enthusiastic response from the acquisitions editor. Four (or maybe six to eight) months later, a rejection letter showed up in your inbox. What happened? No matter how much …

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Category: Agents, Book Proposals, Career, Get Published, Pitching, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: book proposals, Get Published, Publishing Decision

Book Birthdays: 2023 Edition

By Dan Balowon March 9, 2023
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Significant books are published every year. Here’s a personally curated list that I hope sparks some good memories and honors the works of the past. Crazy Love, by Francis Chan (2008) – 15 years Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller (2003) – 20 years The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel (1998) – 25 years A Voice in the Wind, by Francine Rivers (1993) – 30 years Trusting God, by Jerry Bridges (1988) – 35 …

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Category: Historical, The Publishing Life

10 Reasons Bob Doesn’t “Close” Submissions

By Bob Hostetleron September 1, 2022
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Some literary agents “close” submissions periodically. That is, they announce that they won’t accept or respond to “over-the-transom” queries or proposals for a set period (usually a month or two, sometimes a quarter). For you young whippersnappers who don’t know what “over-the-transom” (or “whippersnapper”) means, it’s a throwback to the days before air conditioning, when offices were vented and …

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Category: Book Proposals, Pitching, The Publishing Life

The Mystery of Book Data

By Dan Balowon August 25, 2022
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The book-publishing market has an element of mystery to it, and not only in the category of books called mysteries. Many things are not as scientific as you might think. Prominent book-bestseller lists are based on data from a sampling of booksellers, rather than comprehensive information outputs from all channels. Industry-status reports from publishing trade associations use a similar sampling …

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Category: Book Business, Technology, The Publishing Life

When the Economic News Is Dire

By Steve Laubeon July 11, 2022
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Lately everyone seems to be talking about the economy (and not the pandemic). Inflation, the price of gas, supply-chain issues, a bear stock market, rent rates, health-care costs, unemployment, housing, etc. A common question within the writing community is how might this affect traditional publishing? I have a couple pennies to contribute to the conversation. (My two cents, which, due to …

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Category: Book Business, Publishing News, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life

Could You Translate Please?

By Dan Balowon June 2, 2022
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What many U.S. Christian authors write about today has little or no application outside of the U.S. It’s why the majority of Christian books are not exported or translated into other languages. Most often it is not the theology holding it back, but the theme of the book. A simple example would be homeschooling. It is illegal in quite a few countries of the world. (Germany, Sweden, and many other …

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Category: Book Business, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life

The Grand Canyon of Crossover Writing

By Dan Balowon January 27, 2022
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A number of Christian writers desire to write a book published by a large publisher focused beyond the Christian market. The motivation and focus are well-intentioned, amplifying a Christian message to the larger world. But while the author has this desire to reach a broader audience with a message of hope, companies that publish to the general population have an entirely different agenda, which …

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Category: Book Business, Marketing, The Publishing Life

A Year in Review: A Look at 2021

By Steve Laubeon January 10, 2022
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Every year at this time it can be strange to reflect on all that has happened over the past 12 months. I suspect that we all have a bit of selective memory and often forget to count our blessings. Instead, we target the difficult times. Why is that? I’ll do my best to recite a bit of both in this review of the past year. The IndustryWe spent the first quarter of 2021 waiting for things to “open …

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Category: Awards, Book Business, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life

The Purpose of Christian Books

By Dan Balowon October 28, 2021
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A number of years ago, I recall listening to a sermon when the preacher spoke about all the problems the Israelites had while traveling through the wilderness for forty years after leaving Egypt. He was semiapologetic for the simplicity of the morning’s lesson. The Israelites kept forgetting God. Next time you read the book of Exodus, think about how the Israelites could have walked from Egypt to …

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Category: Inspiration, The Publishing Life, Theology
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