Comments

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  Max Pesling October 19, 2009 at 4:51pm

  Me too Elyse. Remember as others have said in so many words, karma is a boomerang. They'll get theirs in the end.... and maybe reincarnate as toads or something. Seriously, if you live a good clean life and do your best, in the end, things will sort themselves out. Just that it takes a while to get there, and it ain't easy.
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  Elyse Jessica Glickman October 19, 2009 at 4:44pm

  Max, you're so right..usually writers --especially where I live--are clique-y and competitive. It was a community in "better times," but now it is really a bloodbath out there.
  
  Ed--Anthony said no and just wished me "good luck" (which in LA translates to "drop dead" or "get lost--but he's not from LA so I will take it at face value.) so I guess I will have to be guilty until proven "innocent" with some of these publicists.
  
  Max..there is not a union because that would give us power, and the people with the power do not want us to have it. So we just need to be resourceful and find a community where we can...I am very happy this site exists.
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  Max Pesling October 19, 2009 at 4:37pm

  Thank you all for your support. I have to say, it's great to be part of a community like this, I haven't found this sense of us-writers-banding-together anywhere else. I see what you guys are saying about "not writing again" if I call them on their sleazy practices, but the catch is that sometimes they DO accept a story. And a lot of times they don't. So we live with that perpetual carrot dangling in front of us. Which is no way to live. Too bad there isn't a real union, like WGA for example, for travel writers. That would put the fear of G-d, or at least a real lawsuit, into these outfits.
  
  Anyway, Marcia, you may be write (I actually typed that! Freudian slip!). Maybe pitching just isn't the way to go anymore. Obviously the industry is in major convulsions, and we have to find a new paradigm to survive. At least forums or whatever you call what we're doing here in this group are a great place to start bouncing ideas back and forth and share tales from the trenches.
  
  Have a great Monday, all! Happy writing!
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  Ed Wetschler October 18, 2009 at 11:00pm

  In answer to your question, Elyse, this may be more an issue about defamation of character than intellectual property rights, but sure -- send an email to Elia. Worst case scenario, he tells you that it isn't his kind of case. Good luck, and I hope you, as well as Max, will keep us posted if something good comes of this.
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  Marcia Frost October 18, 2009 at 10:09pm

  I have been the victim more than once on pitching an idea, having it turned down (or not responded to) and then I see my idea written by someone else. Honestly, I'm doing very little pitching these days. It's just not a practical use of my time when I can write and article that I know will go on the web. Yes, it's a lot less pay, but I always get paid from the web. With the magazine work I'm taking a chance, they will take months to pay (most of what I've done), or don't pay (two in the last year), or fold (just last week)!
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  Elyse Jessica Glickman October 18, 2009 at 8:39pm

  Here are my thoughts on Gourmet...I was sad to see it go, as it was a standard bearer for writers on many fronts. But sadly, it is indicative of where publishing is going. I think the way to survive is to push forward and come up with how to use your writing skills to adapt to a new climate.
  
  I was on a wonderful FAM trip this weekend in Yosemite, and it was interesting to trade notes on how the changes in the industry are affecting freelancers and people who were full-timers. I am helping start a new magazine with a unique way of distribution not dependent on subscriptions or newsstand sales...because it reaches out to people at all economic levels, we think it could do well. If not, I am already developing plans B and C. On a pragmatic level, I am grateful for what I have achieved in the last seven years of travel and food writing.
  
  Back on the conversation about idea stealing, it seems like desperate times bring out some very bad behavior. While I have suffered at the hands of the a "writing partner" who gets ahead on charisma and planting bad stories about me on tabloid web sites, "established" publications are stealing from those of us who rely on pitching. Sad to say, but closed shops are not honest ones, and they prey upon ambitious working people like us. If I had a dime for every fancy L.A. operation who feigned interest in me, hired a trust-fund baby over me for the job at hand and stole my ideas, I could buy a really nice property in the Hollywood Hills and retire. That said, I have licked my wounds and pushed forward successfully, until the recession really hit and that tabloid thing appeared on me. Some fickle publicists who once introduced me to peers as "this amazing writer" suddenly treat me like a criminal. Meanwhile, the "writer/friend" I suspected, who I helped in MANY personal and professional situations benefited immensely when I got attacked, in getting jobs and FAM trips--never mind I proofread MANY of her stories before she sent them in.
  
  Bottom line-these are mean times, and we need to use a little less trust and a little more common sense instinct.If something doesn't seem right--run! I am just doing what I can to survive and move forward, and take on what I can to bounce back. I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel, but it will take a very long time.
  
  By the way, Ed, would Anthony hear out my case or give me advice on the article defaming me on that tabloid web site?
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  Ed Wetschler October 18, 2009 at 7:31pm

  Buzzy, you're absolutely right about the "writing again" concern. But don't count Anthony Elia out; he's representing a whole bunch of us in a suit against Glenn Harris (Caribbean Escapes and Yachting Escapes), and I can't fault him.
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  Buzzy Gordon October 18, 2009 at 5:06pm

  I have never found anyone at SATW responsive. Has anyone else had a better experience, with the lawyer or anyone else in the office?
  
  As for the original question, I have been victimized by this kind of thievery more than once. I would certainly be in favor of putting periodicals on notice with lawyers' letters and whatever other means could be employed, if there are indeed are any. As for the worry about "writing again" -- if that publication stole your pitch once, what ever makes you think they have any interest in hiring you to write for them in the future? They will simply continue to rip your ideas off in order to keep their own staff writers or pet freelancers busy.
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  Max Pesling October 18, 2009 at 3:50pm

  Thanks for the lead, Ed... but it's a tough call, isn't it? I mean, if the paper gets a letter from a lawyer, whether or not I "win," will I ever write again in this town? That's the conundrum here, I just don't see the way out... But I should get in touch with him, anyway...
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  Meryl Pearlstein October 18, 2009 at 8:22am

  I just got back from SATW in Guadalajara and I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts about the conference, the PR opportunities, the writers, the professional development. Any good writing opportunities or trips are welcome.