It’s every writer’s worst nightmare. You pour out your blood, energy, sweat and tears into your new book, only to find out that another author has published the same book as yours. In some cases, even down to having the same character names.
What would you do?
I haven’t got all the answers, so I asked the Universal Mind (also known as Facebook) for answers:
First, the art of the snarky:
Then, people started sharing their stories:
I’m sure that this happens a LOT:
Interesting points of view on the value of researching your book idea:
Although, sometimes, doing your research is not enough:
Still thinking about writing your first book? Here’s what Jacqueline had to say about leaving it too long:
A beautiful story of how authors should be gracious and kind to one another:
When you’re more of a futurist than an author:
And there you have it: there are no right or wrong ways to react when you discover that another author has published a book with pretty much the same idea as yours. Some people soldier on while others abandon ship completely.
Whatever your decision, know that, like all things, ‘This too shall pass’.
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Also published on Medium.
