Just a week ago, I met a young woman attempting to complete a novel. She was in a writer’s group, but leery of who was reading her work, fearful of someone stealing her work . . . and her idea.

I explained to her that very few people have the guts to steal someone’s work verbatim. It’s too easy these days to prove who was the first one to write it.

But as for the idea, you can have ten writers with the same idea and still wind up with ten entirely diverse books. Most of a story is not in the plotting or storyline but more about the storytelling voice of the author.

t’s HOW you tell a story that matters.

But the reality is that nobody thinks your story is very good until it is published and IS PROVEN to be good. People don’t want to copy what isn’t already popular. When you, as a writer, are on the same level as other writers attempting to break in, nobody sees each other’s work as good . . . yet.

Also, if someone steals your work, consider this:

1) It’s easy to prove you had it first.
2) The odds of them publishing it traditionally are slim.
3) The odds of them self-publishing it and doing anything with it are just as slim.
4) If they copy your idea, you can write it so much better.

Everyone has an idea for a story, and unless the story is brilliantly written, it won’t get published (and if self-published, won’t sell well). It’s the diligent writer who hammers away in desire of a serious career that breaks through.

And frankly, the riskier the topic, the more diverse the idea, the less change someone will steal it anyway They’ll be too afraid to dare be that different. You, however, have your heart in the piece and have that daring. That’s why you have to risk others seeing it. For feedback, for querying, for publication.

The chances are so miniscule of you losing your work to someone greedy that it’s insane that you’d risk not writing or publishing because of some low-odds fear. Just do it.