Book proposal/query "borrowed" by publisher

[syrone]

Hi!

I know this topic has probably been addressed already so forgive me for venting a little.  Several years ago, my twin sister and I developed a proposal for Chicken Soup for the Soul.  Being totally naive, we shipped everything to the person who handles incoming queries and proposals.  Approximately 6 months later, we received a nice rejection letter explaining that our concept was not of interest to them at this time.  Since everything was shipped via email, they retained copies of our proposal.  Last week, I discovered that they've "borrowed" our proposal and are working with another author.  There is no doubt that the concept is based on our original proposal since the wording is very similar to what was submitted.  After reading the release agreement from Chicken Soup, they brush things off by simply saying that sometimes similar ideas will  be accepted and produced etc...So, basically, we have no grounds to stand on.  It ticks me off that they rejected our proposal only to use it afterall.  Is this common?  What should we have done to secure our proposal idea?  Thanks for letting me fume about this.

Twin2

[tradergirl]

To be clear-- you submitted a proposal for a SPECIFIC title in the Chicken Soup series?  Like, chicken soup for the golfer's soul... or similar?

I totally feel your pain.  A west coast publisher rejected my cookbook.  My agent reported that "they feel the market is too small" for your concept.

Well, guess who's publishing a competing book this fall?  One year after mine came out.

There's nothing to be done.  I could never prove that they got the idea from me.  There's nothing new under the sun, unfortunately.  But I'm ticked off that their price is $5 cheaper per hardcover, although there's half as many recipes in it.

On the bright side-- even Chicken Soup books don't make their authors rich.  (Except for the first couple...)  And now it's a cliche.  Move on to a newer idea.  Next!

TG

[elknutswife]

What exactly was your proposal for? Like TG said, was it a story idea to be included in one of their books, or was it for a specific book (like you had the idea to do a Chicken Soup for the Teenager's Soul, etc?)

And, like TG said, the Chicken Soup authors don't get rich, mostly because the stories included are from many different authors who only get a couple hundred a piece for the one time use of their story. I've been published in 3 Chicken Soup books so I'm kind of familiar in dealing with them from a writer's standpoint, but have no idea how the "inner workings" go.

[syrone]

It was a specific concept, Chicken Soup for the Twins and Multiples Soul.  As required, we provided story samples, marketing and reader demographics as well as the names of groups, organizations and events that this title would not only be of interest, but also provide story and submission resources.  We also laid out a marketing and feasibility plan.  This was a nice size proposal.  I agree that at this point it's hard to prove, but it's a huge frustration.  I have to admit, I'm now a little leery about submitting proposals and queries.  How do you know your book idea won't be used by the publisher for other authors?  I also agree that Chicken Soup is not at all like it used to be.  It's so overdone.  Thanks for responding.  I can see this is something that happens pretty often.

Twin2

[elknutswife]

I know there are a few threads on these boards about this topic. One thing you can do to help protect yourself is to copyright your work once it's complete. But aside from that, I don't think there is any foolproof way to prevent idea theft - and like you said is unfortunately almost impossible to prove or do anything about.

One thing to keep in mind is that fiction and non fiction are two totally different worlds so sending a proposal for a non fiction project like the Chicken Soup book, or sending a query to an agent for a fiction book are really different ball games. When you send a query for a fiction book, the book should be already written, polished, and ready to publish. Someone may copy your idea, but there is no way for them to copy it exactly as your book should already be complete and if you are sending queries, it is already being submitted. So the person who copied your idea will be several months behind you because they would have to take your idea and write their own spin on it.

The Chicken Soup situation sounds like a different scenario altogether, but in general, the agents and publishers you send them to really have no need to steal ideas because they get literally thousands of queries sent to them every year from thousands of authors. While stealing ideas does happen (and it might happen more in the non fiction world as proposals are generally sent to publishers before the book is actually finished) I think it is probably more of a case of authors stealing from each other - your Chicken Soup incident might be the exception to the rule, but for the most part, publishers don't have the time or necessity to steal ideas.

And again, I don't know how similar their book is to your original proposal, but I've heard it said that there are no real "original" ideas. People have been writing for thousands of years; pretty much every storyline has been thought of at least once - it's the original spin on the idea that makes ones book unique.

You've obviously been burned and I can see how it would make you wary but I hope it doesn't put you off trying new projects. I would just like to encourage you to continue to send proposals and queries to agents and editors. Like I said, if the stealing of ideas does occur, it will usually occur between writers. Agents and publishers just don't have the need to do something like that and you should feel safe sending them your ideas. I know this kind of thing does happen, but I think it is more the exception than the rule, with publishers at least.

[Nostrabuttus]

Anyone who steals my prose will have to do a lot of editing. Otherwise they would never be able to get it published. That is my secret weapon for prose thieves.

Built into my prose is a special code—The Nostra Code—that once broken by editing or any changes whatsoever results in readily identifying my stolen work.

I am hoping someone will steal my work and polish it to the point of getting it published. Once it hits the book shelfs, I will then reveal The Nostra Code, resulting in a big settlement for royalties and such.

So far my plan has not worked. Apparently my work needs more polishing than a tarnished silverware set.

[tradergirl]

You said it Nostra.  TAKE MINE!  TAKE IT!

 

TG

[yoshi97]

This is the problem with non-fiction submissions. As you have no finished product, the editor could always shuck off the idea to another writer. It's really difficult to prove, as the editor can easily say the other writer submitted a better proposal.

However, as you still have (I assume) your original submission package you could submit it as an original title elsewhere. That's the magic of this business ... you can always farm around for a different deal.

Sometimes, in this business, the best revenge for a stolen story is to market a competitive story that outsells the cheater. They then quickly learn what they could have had, if they had not decided to cheat the system.

[YukonMike]

I think you should submit a new proposal for a book called "Chicken Soup for the Soul For Writers Who've Been Ripped Off By The Chicken Soup For The Soul Publishers." 

[isinglass]

I agree about changing the title and changing the proposal around a little and then submitting it to another publisher.

(I wonder if you could market it as something like "Chocolate for the Twins' Souls"?)