"Jose J. Ortiz-Carlo" wrote:
> According to JSM, the similarities between the two shows in question were,
> most likely, NOT accidental. He felt ripped off. I don't know if he chose to
> prosecute, or even if he had legal grounds to do so. From what I know, when
> submitting story ideas, you lose rights to what you pitch. A shaky
> argument, to say the least, but at least that's what they tell to those few
> and brave who pitch to Star Trek.
On a similar note, from the last I heard, do NOT try to submit to Texas
Monthly.
Last I heard, they didn't solicit articles; if you wanted to write an
article for them, they wanted an outline & what sources you intended to use.
An acquaintance of mine (whom I do not wish to name, but he is a published
author of Texas history) did that, and got back a letter indicating that the
article as suggested did not meet their needs. A few months later, he did
the same with another idea. Just before *that* rejection letter arrived in
the mail, the issue of Texas Monthly that came out right then had an article
that pretty much followed his outline and used his sources -- written by one
of their staff writers.
There wasn't enough for him to feel confident in taking any sort of legal
action against them.
The second article idea met the same fate. He never submitted an idea to
them after that.
A couple of months after the initial article came out, he heard a similar
story from a friend of his. So it wasn't just *him*.
So, if you're contemplating submitting to Texas Monthly as a free-lancer,
check their guidelines. If they still just want the outline & sources,
don't even bother.
Julia
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