Funny coincidence!

Ever worried that someone’s nicked your pitch?

Caroline Whiteley hears freelancers’ fears and editors’ explanations

Adele Walton had been a freelance journalist for about three years when she fred off an idea for a technologyfocused piece. She was excited. Her pitch included relevant case studies, her undergraduate degree was on the subject, and it was timely. She never heard back from the editor, but three months later, she stumbled upon an investigation on that exact topic by the publication she had pitched.

“It was heartbreaking,” recalls Walton. “As a freelancer, pitching and thinking of ideas is a huge part of the unpaid labour that goes into article writing. To see your pitch stolen rather than being commissioned isn’t only upsetting, it’s fnancially costly and takes away from your monthly earnings.”

XCity contacted the publication in question, which denied Walton’s claim, but most freelance writers will have had similar experiences over the course of their careers. The reality is that Twitter threads and writer’s ideas are turned into articles every day –whether they get commissioned to write it or not. But why does this happen?

“My guess is lack of time and staff,” says Amber Petty, a freelance writing coach industry”. Eventually though, things started to fall into place as his Substack became a hit, strengthening his brand. At the same time, he continued to forge connections with other writers and editors that he could trust.

One of the issues with the culture around stolen assignments or, “weird assignment coincidences”, says Ma with a smirk, is the risk that “it ultimately drives the quality of writing down.” When you read a major newspaper and magazine, “You can tell who’s been assigned a story and who’s done

Shivani Persad, a freelance writer for Teen Vogue, InStyle, and Cosmopolitan thinks editors have a responsibility to be more transparent. Responding to a freelancer’s pitch, even if it’s not the right ft at that time, goes a long way. “Just say: ‘We had a writer working on something similar, but we’re going to add you on our list of freelance writers because we really liked your idea.’”

Though there’s no inherent copyright on an idea, the best way to avoid it is to work with editors you trust, says Allen. “With Fabulous, we would always pay a tip fee for an idea we liked if we wanted it written in-house as it’s not fair on the freelancer.” based in Los Angeles. “I’m sure there are a few malicious editors out there, but for the most part, they’re very overworked and understaffed. With everything they have to do, they may occasionally see a pitch, not get back to the writer, then use that idea later, genuinely forgetting that it wasn’t their original idea.”

Kelly Allen, a celebrity editor at Fabulous, agrees.

“Freelancers often think their pitches are being pinched, but sometimes it’s just the idea that sparked that pitch, like a TV show or a news story, has been discussed in the offce.”

Whether accidental or not, it’s not just editors accused of nicking ideas. Nathan Ma, an American-born, Berlin-based interiors and architecture writer, previously shared a story idea with a journalist friend only to see it appear in a major newspaper months later.

Ma says the experience crushed his confdence, and he spent the next six months “desperately trying to leave the journalism the formulaic, ‘three is a trend’ Twitter callout story. I think we have a responsibility as writers to not challenge assignments but to make them into something worth writing,” he laughs.

Petty admits that while pitches get stolen – whether from editors or other writers –worrying about it isn’t the most helpful thing. “I’m not saying it doesn’t happen - it does! And it sucks!” she says. “But getting super precious about one pitch, in fear that it will be stolen, only makes it so much harder for you to build up a writing career.” Her advice? “If they take my idea, I’ve got 100 more. So... you’re welcome, jerks.”

Illustration by Gabby Colvin