Yeah ... so that Happened

 

Literary Protection When Self-Publishing 

Writing can be a very lonely and isolated endeavor. It takes time to develop and form a story written from the heart, giving passion to the narrative and voice to the characters. It’s a labor of love that a writer feels they’ve “birthed” into the world, figuratively speaking. A baby all their own, whom no one else can take, use, or share. That is, without their permission, of course. 

Or can they?

From my research, I’ve found that the fear of literary theft secretly exists for many authors. No matter how stoic or unconcerned they may speak about this fear or lack thereof—it’s there all the same. This fear is one of the reasons many authors will not share what they’ve written to strangers, aside from editors and publishers, until it’s published. 

Especially their debut novel! 

It used to be that an author would only share with trusted literary friends or family members. But with the rise in self-publishing, the need for beta readers, critique partners, and writing groups has increased. It’s also getting increasingly dicey to entrust your manuscript to strangers. On the flip side are those magnanimous souls who don’t seem to care if their work is lifted or not and say something like, “Let them take what they want. What’s the point of writing if you can’t share with others? We all grow from sharing, right? What’s the big deal? I don’t care.”

Well, I do.

In my humble opinion, this attitude speaks of someone not quite serious about their writing endeavors. I suppose this writing philosophy can be effectively applied in a creative writing class, but outside of that, it begs unethical behavior at best. At this juncture, I must clarify that I think writing groups, critique partners, and beta readers are fabulous! I belong to a few. They are an excellent resource for aspiring authors to gravitate toward and utilize. What is said about them is true in that they can provide tremendous support, camaraderie, feedback, and fun. They also help improve writing skills and techniques. 

However, there can be a dark, not-so-pleasant side lurking within. Although rare*, it was something I never thought I would encounter. I’ll spare the gory details, but in reflection, I’d like to share what I’ve found to be some effective measures any writer can adopt to protect unpublished manuscripts from the unscrupulous.  

I read an article recently about some unscrupulous writers and the behaviors they use in the literary world of fiction writing groups. One such behavior is called “lazy writing.” That is to say that some people don’t have any original ideas and “borrow” from others or take ideas or events from another author’s work to recreate something of their own. These authors are not very imaginative, and even though their story is viable, it is mediocre at best. It’s lazy.

Ouch!

Some may ask, “But isn’t it true that writing is automatically copyrighted when words are put to paper?” Yes. But, registration is another matter altogether. Ideas cannot be copyrighted, nor can an unpublished manuscript be copyrighted and registered with the Library of Congress prematurely (too early in the writing process). Also, there are some laws that exist to deal with the worst-case offenses, but they are only employed after the fact. That is to say, after the manuscript has obtained a copyright registration number giving legal ownership to the author. Only then can it be used in court if copyright infringement occurs. 

Writing tropes exist; yes, they do, i.e., boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets the girl in the end. We can all do another take on Cinderella or Romeo and Juliet. It’s done all the time. But the author’s execution, writing style, and narrative of events are unique to their re-telling of the story. 

There’s the rub. 

In this day of self-publishing frenzy, some people get desperate. They think nothing of borrowing strikingly similar events from another manuscript to incorporate into their own storyline to capitalize on a successful narrative. Some will downright steal the entire manuscript outright (see disclaimer below). Substantial similarities of events are a “thing.” It is easy to be influenced by another writer’s narrative and incorporate it into your next story. It is mainly done subconsciously due to proximity or access to the creative work. Think of song lyrics, music riffs, or melodies, and you understand. This happens in the music industry more often than not, and lawsuits have been won and lost because of it. We’re only human, after all, and melodies or themes subconsciously rise in our minds without thinking of where they came from, only to find out that it’s been done before. This also happens in writing. As innocently as this may occur, it’s best to be aware and avoided at all times.

However, doing this intentionally shows a lack of respect for the writer and for the craft of writing itself. This despicable and insidious behavior is the ultimate form of betrayal and trust, and there’s not much the unpublished author/writer can do about it. More on that later. To call it out is something a writer shouldn’t do either unless they want to be labeled a troublemaker or a paranoid lunatic. Poisoned pens, anyone? “How dare you!” They yell.

How dare I? How dare you!  

So what’s a writer to do? Especially after handing over an unpublished manuscript to a stranger(s) only to discover that fair and honest practices have fallen short of expectations? Before facing that calamity, there are protective measures to protect a work in progress (WIP). One such measure is the use of an Informal Agreement. It is an agreement drawn up for beta readers and can serve other useful purposes as well. It makes clear that the manuscript, and the words contained therein, belong to that of the original writer. Please click here to learn more.  These and other protections are great and give some level of comfort. As stated earlier, the more severe protections can only be employed after the manuscript has been published and a copyright registration number assigned. Aside from that, not much else. 

In summary: 

I would encourage any writer to join a healthy and productive writing group. Especially if they want to improve their writing skills or get an honest assessment of the story they’ve written. It was never my intention to paint a doom and gloom scenario when submitting an unpublished manuscript for review, particularly to a writing group. Far be it. This post is written to bring awareness to the dangers of unethical behavior among some members in the writing community, especially in the world we live in today. More importantly, how to protect your writing endeavors going forward. As stated earlier, most writing group members are lovely, honest, supportive, and respectful people. However, there is no harm in protecting unpublished work and being discerning when sharing it with others—or theirs with you, for that matter. That last could go unspoken, but I include it for what it’s worth. As the disclaimer states, the instances I’ve described are rare, and the perpetrator rarely benefits from their actions if caught. That’s some consolation.

Fortunately, in my case, I was able to address this head-on with a favorable outcome. Any “labels” placed on me for airing my concerns afterward are of no consequence when protecting my completed manuscript. 

So well … yeah, that happened. 

~ DaMarie

©Copyright applied. All Rights Reserved.

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Photo Courtesy of Elisa Ventur

*Disclaimer: This kind of behavior is very uncommon in writing groups and the literary community. However, although rare, it has been known to occur.