Because at the end of the day they’ll just steal it!
I recently listened to a podcast by Valerie Khoo and Alison Tait and they read out a listener’s letter that was about just this.
The woman had showed several people her book and later at a venue where she was giving a talk she was told by a woman the idea she’d had for her book. The listener said it was the exact idea she’d had and later found out the woman who had spoken to her was good friends with one of the people she’d told about her book. She said she felt like her idea had been stolen but she didn’t say or do anything about it.
You can read the full text here or listen to the podcast.
Personally, I would have told the woman that it sounded like my idea and asked her if she knew the people I’d told. I would have had it out with both of them and unfriended them. How dare the so-called friend pass on her idea to someone else to write. That’s just bullshit.
It also reminds me of Justin Herald, the guy who started the Attitude clothing brand.
I read one of his books, and since he was doing seminars and helping people out, he was at a dinner party one night with friends, and this couple couldn’t help themselves. They blurted out their idea for something they had come up with, it was in the making process, they had everything set up but were baulking on finalising it all. Someone else at that dinner party worked for a company and told them. The company had a cheap version made in China and released it while the couple was still waiting for something to come through. They missed out on the opportunity and lost a lot of money. Justin’s advice, DO NOT TELL PEOPLE YOUR IDEAS UNTIL THEY ARE COMPLETE AND OUT IN PUBLIC.
Because people will steal your ideas!
That’s why I NEVER tell people my titles or ideas until they are ready for release or I’m finalising covers. A few years back I did ask everyone what they thought of the original idea for Her Secret Island. It ended up quite different from what I started with so it has no significance to the overall idea. The same for Dream It, Write It, Publish It! Turned out completely different to what I had blogged about.
Personally, with the fact my family can’t help themselves from copying me, I really just want to keep my ideas to myself until they are up for pre-sale. That way, NO ONE can steal my ideas. Until they’re out of course…
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