Wise Advice
with Andrea King Collier, Sam Greengard, Florence Isaacs and Minda Zetlin

A member asks, "Is it morally wrong (or unethical?) to pitch a book idea that directly competes with a colleague's book? A friend and I have been arguing this point. He says all's fair, especially in these economic times. I think it is not okay. What's your take?"

Minda Zetlin
Sorry, but I completely agree with your friend. When writing a book proposal it's important to try to demonstrate that your book won't directly compete with any existing or about-to-be-released book. So the very act of pitching the book requires you to find ways your book doesn't compete with your friend's. Even if they do target the same audience, most books have their most meaningful sales relatively soon after they appear, so unless they appear at the same time, there's little damage they can do each other.

Instead of focusing on the possibility that some people will buy your book instead of your friend's (or vice versa), look for ways that you can help each other, because two authors writing on related topics can be more powerful than one. For instance: Write blurbs for each other's books; interview each other when writing articles on your topic; mention each other in your blogs, and include links to each other's books; comment on each other's blogs, share contacts for speaking or media opportunities...there's more but, you get the idea. Writers support each other best by doing what we can to contribute to each others' success—not by stifling our own.

Andrea King Collier
If a colleague told me that he was writing a book on a very specific subject, then I wouldn't look at it and start working a proposal on that identical thing. But in the broader sense, if you are writing a book on say, men's health, I am not going to pull away from my book on women's health. If I am doing a book on relationships, I don't feel threatened by your book. On one hand I can say that the voice and tone of any two books will be different. Two memoirs on a person's experience with food are going to be different stories. Two books on a person's experience working in a newsroom are also going to be different. Nobody owns the market on a subject—tough economy or not. But if I am having coffee with you and tell you about my book proposal on a very specific thing and you turn around and rush out an identical proposal on the same thing, not good. It isn't that much different from two writers pitching the same subject to a magazine. It happens. But if I tell you my idea, and you do a pitch with my same subjects, I won't be talking about work with you any time soon.

Florence Isaacs
I think it depends largely on your relationship with the colleague (or lack of it). Is the person a very close friend? Or someone you know casually? Or maybe someone you know of, but haven't even met? You owe your best friend, but do you owe everyone in the world who happens to labor in the same occupation? I don't think so. I believe another issue is: Did you come up with the idea yourself and decide you wanted to pursue it? Or did an agent bring it to you and urge you to do it because the subject is sure to sell? If an agent (or a publisher) comes to you, and you like and want to do it, I don't see why not—especially if the colleague's book has been out for a long while. To my mind, that isn't immoral competition; it's life. You're presented with an opportunity—and at a time when projects are very scarce.

If you never compete with colleagues, you'll never publish a book. We all know there are only a certain number of subjects under the sun. Should any writer forever have a "lock" on any one of them?

Sam Greengard
Let's sort a few things out here. First of all, morality and ethics don't change based on the state of the economy. It's not as if it's okay to engage in a despicable act just because times are tough. Second, the word "fair" depends on the people involved and how they view things. Obviously, if both people in this case had the same outlook, we wouldn't be discussing this issue. Finally, and directly to the point, it is important to look at how these two book projects came about. If this is a case of two people coming up with the same idea independently (think Egyptian and Mayan pyramids), then who could possibly have a complaint? If, however, one person began discussing this idea with the other and then he runs with it, then we do have a problem. If this is the case, we're talking about stealing. But let's say the two people here have engaged in ongoing discussions on the topic over a period of weeks, months or years and suddenly there's a catalyst for writing a book. Well, then—unless there's some kind of agreement between the two—it seems reasonable for each person to explore the possibility of writing a book.