What to do when your follower writes a hub a day before you..

1. 95

   peeplesposted 13 years ago

   What to do when your follower writes a hub a day before you..
   
   plan on publishing one on the same topic? Do you post it anyway or let the days of research go to waste? Or hold it unpublished for a while?

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2. 96

   prairieprincessposted 13 years ago

   I know that can be frustrating because you don't want people to think you were copying them. However, as long as the subject is done in a different manner, it's okay to have similar articles on Hubpages. I have heard of other writers writing a note to the first writer and just asking if it's okay with them.
   
   The other thing to do is just modify yours a bit to make it stand out from the other one. OR let it sit for a month, if you want, so it doesn't look like it's coming out at the exact same time.
   
   I wish you all the best. I know that's a difficult situation.

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3. 61

   bell du jourposted 13 years ago

   Thats a really interesting question!  ....personally I would go ahead and publish, its very unlikely that the two hubs will have identical content :-)

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4. 61

   MickSposted 13 years ago

   Scrap it and write another  one.  Really, take no notice of what others write, you will spend all your time checking and subsequently, producing no writing.
   I once sent some copy off to a print publisher, alas, rejected, only to see a similar article in the same mag about a month late, there's nothing you can do about  it  It is a truism that ideas come in droves, and often writers are writing about the same things at the same time.  It's often a question of which copy the editor sees first.

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   1. 63

      Highvoltagewriterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Why even scrap it? Just publish it, just make it as original as possible

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      MickSposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I wrote'Scrap... Really, take no notice...' the second part is a rider suggesting not to scrap.

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5. 78

   Seeker7posted 13 years ago

   I agree with the other commentators - don't let all your hard work go to waste. Maybe a couple of tweaks is all that is needed and then publish it.

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6. 63

   Highvoltagewriterposted 13 years ago

   This happens all time here, that is why it is a good idea to do a site search on the subject  you wish to write about. Go ahead and publish it, just make it somewhat different than the other ones on the same subject.

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7. 79

   spartucusjonesposted 13 years ago

   The other option is when you publish it you can link the other hub to yours as well. Maybe when you comment on their hub you can provide the link to your hub. Or you may get the other hubber to agree to edit their hub, to add a link to your hub. This will help promote your hub as well.
   
   Also if individuals are interested in finding info on certain topics, there is a good chance they are going to want to read more than one article on the same topic. Just make sure it is different enough that the reader will get a sightly different slant from reading yours.

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      Highvoltagewriterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      That is another smart thing to do that I have done in the past...if you can't beat them join them!

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8. 70

   SmartAndFunposted 13 years ago

   This happened to me. I searched HP before I wrote the article and didn't find much. By the time I finished the article, another hubber had written something very similar and published hers just a few hours before I did. I didn't realize it until after I had published mine. I contacted her through HP and apologized, and she was very gracious about it. I went ahead and left mine up because A) it was an honest coincidence. B) there is no rule saying hubbers can't write on the same topic and C) although our articles are very similar, our titles are quite different, so I figure she will get traffic from those who search her title and I will get traffic from those who search mine.

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9. 83

   Becky Katzposted 13 years ago

   I had that happen once and we just linked the articles. They had different things emphasized in them and were quite different really. Both on taking care of cast iron.

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10. 69

    Sherry Hewinsposted 13 years ago

    I recently published a hub on Rust and Yard Art. A Hubpages friend of mine commented that she had one on the same subject all ready to go, and she'd have to shelve it. I encouraged her to go ahead, as I think there's plenty of room for both. I have not seen her hub on Rust yet, but I hope to soon. I can understand the feeling of wanting to hold back, not "steal the thunder" so to speak, but I think after a week or two, when that initial surge is most likely over, and as long as it's not a copy of the other one, most people would say to their followers and those they follow, go ahead and post.

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11. 60

    FatFreddysCatposted 13 years ago

    Fortunately I've never had this problem as I tend to Hub about stuff that nobody cares about, like weird, bizarre films and forgotten bands/musicians.
    
    ...but if it did happen, I'd probably say "Ahhh, screw it" and publish my Hub anyway. Let the best man (or Hub) win!!!

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12. 39

    sonnysposted 13 years ago

    Who cares. They're not making money for you.

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