A Good Example of Simultaneous Submission Woes

I’m not sure the parameters of simultaneous submissions are the same in the music industry as they are in the writing field however, I thought this would be a good example as to why this can be such a sticky subject with editors and writers alike.

In my post Writing Tip of the Day: Simultaneous Query Submissions, I talked about the reasons for editors’ discomfort, why writers have issues with the “ban,” and what writers can do to work within both their editor’s and their own comfort zone.

This week former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson made news voicing her displeasure over her record company’s decision to release her latest album with a song that has the same “beats” as a recently released Beyonce song. Clarkson had received the music from music producer Ryan Tedder, wrote a song – “Already Gone” – around it and didn’t realize that Tedder had given the same music to Beyonce who wrote a song called “Halo.” By the time Clarkson realized the issue, her album was already to print and Beyonce’s had been released. Oops.

Clarkson was understandbly upset realizing that people are more likely to think she copied a successful song, rather than unknowingly used the same music. Editors feel the same way. A lot of work, thought, effort and money goes into producing a publication and if in the same month they release an article that same writer has basically the same piece in a competing magazine it’s a problem.

Check out the Writing Tip of the Day: Simultaneous Query Submissions column to get the ins and outs of the issue and avoid being on the stinging end of an editor’s angry email.

To see what the musical fuss is all about here’s Beyonce’s “Halo” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Already Gone.”

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• Press Releases – Where to Find Work
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• Making Great Transitions in Articles
• Query Challenge – Dear Random Editor: