Will an Editor Steal Your Ideas?

When working in the acquisitions department of a publishing house, I often received letters from aspiring authors who wondered if we would "steal" their ideas. For months, I couldn't think of a way to respond, when finally the proverbial clouds parted and I realized why they felt that way and why they honestly didn't know the answers. In reality, an editor would never steal your ideas, but there isn't any way to prove as much.

You will often hear stories from writers who claim that they submitted a manuscript to an editor and were rejected only to read the exact same story in print six months later. I always ask to see a copy of their original story as proof, and I have yet to be given it, regardless of the circumstances. Writers like to feel as though their work is so valuable that it is worth "ripping off" when in reality editors simply don't think that way.

For one thing, you can't copyright an idea. If I wanted to rewrite a book and put my own spin on it with my own characters, I couldn't be sued for stealing the idea. You can only copyright a tangible work, which means that the actual words must be the same in both pieces. If you were to submit a story to an editor and she really liked the premise but didn't want to buy the book, she could write her own version of the story without harming you in any way. She wouldn't need to steal your work because she can create her own.

Another thing that you might not realize is that the publishing industry is incredibly close-knit. Editors, publishers, literary agents and even book sellers know one another, and even if they haven't met personally, they know someone who knows someone. If an editor were in the business of stealing authors' ideas, it would quickly become known and she wouldn't be employed in the business much longer.

Furthermore, editors value their reputations among all else. It's what gets them contacts for incredible manuscripts and it's what pays their bills. If they were to earn a reputation as a thief, they would jeopardize their careers.