I’ve been thinking for days about this bit from Miss Snark (courtesy of A Fuse #8 Production):
In this day and age it’s not only morally wrong to steal it’s STUPID. Eagle eyed librarians can summon up comparisons with the flick of a rhinestone crusted digit. Bloggers can sound the alarum far and wide.”
Rhinestone crusts or not, writers generally have all the same digits that librarians do, and many of the same resources. I’m coming at this from a nonfiction, “I’ve got a great idea for a book” angle, but why wouldn’t all writers perform at least a cursory check to make sure that their great idea hasn’t already been put to good use by someone else?
For me, that’s one of the first things I do when I come up with a topic or title that seems so impossibly perfect that surely — surely! — someone else has already beat me to it. A little Search Books at Amazon, a little Google Book Search, and I’ll know whether I need to come up with something else.
Granted, this would be onerous to the point of being unrealistic at the “I’ve come up with a great phrase!” level — if you come up with those more often than I do, anyway — but at least at some point in your work, how can you not do this? Where’s the payoff in not even making yourself aware of books with similar topics or titles, even if you ultimately choose to press forward with your own take on that idea?
True dat. Though, for the sake of my impression, I would like to point out that the best authors would be the ones to also ask their local children’s librarians to do some research of their own. You may have Google and Amazon but we have WorldCat. Ho ho!
True dat. Though, for the sake of my impression, I would like to point out that the best authors would be the ones to also ask their local children’s librarians to do some research of their own. You may have Google and Amazon but we have WorldCat. Ho ho!
True dat. Though, for the sake of my impression, I would like to point out that the best authors would be the ones to also ask their local children’s librarians to do some research of their own. You may have Google and Amazon but we have WorldCat. Ho ho!
Remember, though, that it’s the execution, not the idea that’s protected. There may be room, for example, for more than one wonderful book about the Wright Brothers or the Holocaust or dealing with divorcing parents. It’s all about the angle/reinvention/etc.
That said, there are topics that don’t have as broad or deep an audience appeal. I don’t know how many, say, books on how to build a baseball bat the market could sustain.
Also, titles can’t be copyrighted, but it probably makes marketing sense to vary if at all possible.
Remember, though, that it’s the execution, not the idea that’s protected. There may be room, for example, for more than one wonderful book about the Wright Brothers or the Holocaust or dealing with divorcing parents. It’s all about the angle/reinvention/etc.
That said, there are topics that don’t have as broad or deep an audience appeal. I don’t know how many, say, books on how to build a baseball bat the market could sustain.
Also, titles can’t be copyrighted, but it probably makes marketing sense to vary if at all possible.
Remember, though, that it’s the execution, not the idea that’s protected. There may be room, for example, for more than one wonderful book about the Wright Brothers or the Holocaust or dealing with divorcing parents. It’s all about the angle/reinvention/etc.
That said, there are topics that don’t have as broad or deep an audience appeal. I don’t know how many, say, books on how to build a baseball bat the market could sustain.
Also, titles can’t be copyrighted, but it probably makes marketing sense to vary if at all possible.
I think you make a good point that you, the author, should take the personal responsibility of checking, to see how original your idea is. The defense “how should I know that someone else wrote a book with this exact title and a very similar topic five years ago?” is pretty weak in this day and age. Especially with the oh-so-gifted librarians out there to help.
I think you make a good point that you, the author, should take the personal responsibility of checking, to see how original your idea is. The defense “how should I know that someone else wrote a book with this exact title and a very similar topic five years ago?” is pretty weak in this day and age. Especially with the oh-so-gifted librarians out there to help.
I think you make a good point that you, the author, should take the personal responsibility of checking, to see how original your idea is. The defense “how should I know that someone else wrote a book with this exact title and a very similar topic five years ago?” is pretty weak in this day and age. Especially with the oh-so-gifted librarians out there to help.
I agree with Cynthia that the “take” is very important here. Sure, I always do research when I start a new story, be it picturebook, screenplay, or novel. But if I think I have a great TAKE on the material, I’ll press on even if others have been in similar areas. Ideas often seem to be in the ether somehow, however, so even doing a check doesn’t necessarily help you. Look at the two recent picturebook bios of the man who invented the potato chip, for instance. It just plain old happens.
I agree with Cynthia that the “take” is very important here. Sure, I always do research when I start a new story, be it picturebook, screenplay, or novel. But if I think I have a great TAKE on the material, I’ll press on even if others have been in similar areas. Ideas often seem to be in the ether somehow, however, so even doing a check doesn’t necessarily help you. Look at the two recent picturebook bios of the man who invented the potato chip, for instance. It just plain old happens.
I agree with Cynthia that the “take” is very important here. Sure, I always do research when I start a new story, be it picturebook, screenplay, or novel. But if I think I have a great TAKE on the material, I’ll press on even if others have been in similar areas. Ideas often seem to be in the ether somehow, however, so even doing a check doesn’t necessarily help you. Look at the two recent picturebook bios of the man who invented the potato chip, for instance. It just plain old happens.