I couldn't believe it! All those months of work, and someone had beat me to it.
So, what should I do? Carry on and hope that no one notices? Start the sequel, but write it as the first book? Give the whole thing up as a bad job and write something new?
In the end, I decide to carry on with the WIP. I was aiming at the YA market, and the existing book was for adults. Having made the decision, I finished the revisions, but the knowledge that this book was out there kept niggling away at me.
Yesterday, I read an article in Writing Magazine that put the nagging doubts in their place. Apparently, what happened to me is not uncommon. For example, how many stories are there about the Titanic? We all know how the story is going to end, but it still doesn't stop new books being published about it. That's because it's about the characters, and the different angles that the event is approached, that makes the books so different, and therefore unique. Providing your work isn't a facsimile of the published work, then it will be of interest to third parties.
Having read the published book, I can categorically state that other than the main event, it's nothing like my book. (Cue big sighs of relief!) Realising this has lifted a weight of my mind, and restored my
Have any of you guys found yourself in this situation?
(Thank you Carrie for the awards. I'll tackle them during the week)
Early on in working on my current manuscript I found myself in a similar situation. The plot point wasn't essential to telling the story and I wasn't very far into the writing, so I changed it. It actually led the story in more interesting directions, so I'm not sad about it. To be in final revisions and find something very central to the story in another book must have been nerve rattling! Still, as you mentioned there is room for many books with a similar theme as long as each author gives it his or her unique spin.
ReplyDeleteIt's good that you turned your situation into a positive thing and gained from it.
DeleteI have to admit, the bottom dropped out of my writing world for a short while when I saw the book.
Thanks for visiting :o)
Great decision to carry on! I think if you handed an entire plot to two different people to write, their books would still be vastly different. It's what YOU bring to the table in your book that makes it worth reading.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the vote of confidence Peggy. Hopefully my interpretation of the idea will be good enough :o)
DeleteI would carry on as well. You've worked so hard, and if that one plot similarity is all there is, you should proceed toward publishing. I don't think the other story taints yours in any way. (But be ready to be sued someday when you make a billion dollars on your book and the other author finds out you share one plot element and decides to sue you for copyright infringement. Wouldn't that be a nice problem to have?) :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm in court defending my billions, I'll think of this comment :o)
DeleteIt bothered me for quite a while that this was a key plot element, and couldn't be changed. But now, I'm a lot more comfortable with it.