Should you ask your editor to sign an NDA?
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legally binding document that specifies how sensitive information can be used or disclosed. They’re common in business negotiations and employment contracts, but what about when working with freelance novel editors?
You’ll find that NDAs are a rarity for those involved in publishing. Most freelance editors will have a clause in their contract which specifies how they’ll use your personal information, which includes not sharing your novel with anyone, but it’s rare to see a standalone NDA and you’ll find that most editors will refuse to sign one.
What are writers trying to protect with an NDA?
Before we discuss why most editors will refuse to sign an NDA, it’s important to understand the motivation of writers when they ask an editor to sign an NDA. From my personal experience, most of these writers are worried that someone will:
1) steal the novel itself, or
2) they will steal the concept of the novel and use it for their own personal gain.
Protecting a novel through copyright
The former concern is easy to address: your novel is already protected without an NDA through copyright, and the good news is you’re granted copyright automatically when you create your work! For example, in the United States, copyright is automatic and you only need to register this copyright if you want to bring a lawsuit for infringement.
Copyright protects the expression of your idea or the word-by-word sentences that make up your novel, but not the concept of your idea itself.
So pasting this blog post word for word on your website would breach copyright, but writing an article exploring if you should ask your editor to sign an NDA is not, even if the article covers the exact same ideas as this one.
Protecting the concept of a novel
The same applies to your novel: you can’t stop someone from writing a book with a similar premise to yours but you are protected if someone copies your work word-for-word. The concept of your novel is harder to protect and there’s a good reason for that.
My guilty pleasure when I’m not editing is reading Cinderella adaptations. Despite them all following the exact same concept, a young woman is enslaved by her stepmother until she meets a handsome prince, I’ve read dozens and I will undoubtedly read dozens more because each of these books executes the idea so differently it is a whole new story every time. In some adaptations, the prince is the star quarterback of the local high school football team. In others, they’re mermaids who live underwater!
Imagine if we could only have one Cinderella novel and no adaptations. No more young women can be enslaved by their stepmothers or meet their princes at a ball! Apart from my to-be-read pile being instantly halved, this would have a devastating impact on writers who’d quickly run out of ideas. Soon I’d be reading about young women enslaved by their ex’s mother’s cousin’s landlord’s dog walker.
Why writers shouldn’t ask their editor to sign an NDA
It’s this concern that stops most editors from signing NDAs. Let’s say you want to protect the concept of your romantic fantasy novel, which features dragon riders. You particularly want to ensure that no one copies the plot twist at the end where it’s revealed this novel was nothing but a dream.
In your NDA, you state that the editor can’t use this concept for themselves, or share with anyone else, your book’s concept or the plot twist. Depending on the wording of the NDA, this could stop your editor from writing or even editing another novel involving dragon riders or where they wake up and find it was nothing but a dream.
What happens if your editor is already writing their own dragon rider romantic fantasy novel, or the next book they edit has the same plot twist as yours, but in a contemporary romance? It can put your editor in a very tricky position. That’s a big risk for just one client and after a couple of NDAs, your editor wouldn’t be able to edit much.
What will happen if a writer asks an editor to sign an NDA?
The majority of editors will turn down signing an NDA for the reasons stated above. Remember, your novel itself is already protected by copyright and you can’t realistically protect the concept of your novel.
I’m not a lawyer and I don’t understand legal mumble jumble. I would ask my lawyer to review any NDA that I’m asked to sign so I know what I am getting myself into. Remember, signing an NDA I don’t understand could be career-limiting for me. Furthermore, if your editor works for a company, they can’t enter into an NDA without passing this by the company’s lawyers.
In both of these scenarios, asking your editor to sign an NDA will slow down the editing process and raise the cost significantly, as your editor will incorporate the lawyer’s fees into the cost of your edit.
While this may be the least of your concerns, your editor might be offended you think they will steal their work because why would they? Editing is how they pay their bills and there’s a clear email trail which proves you sent them your novel. I like to think editors are a smart bunch and none of us would commit such a silly, career-ending crime that can be so easily discovered when there are more lucrative crimes out there (just kidding).
When should a writer ask an editor to sign an NDA?
If your novel contains the most secret of secrets, such as evidence the New Zealand Government has plans to turn Auckland into a real-life Jurassic Park by genetically engineering chickens to return their dinosaur glory, you’ve probably got a whole legal team involved who would advise you on how to best protect your secrets.
In a more realistic scenario, your book might contain defamatory information about a third-party, confidential data about individuals or sensitive business information which isn’t publicly available. While most of this information will be covered by a general contract, I understand there are times when extra protection is needed. If this applies to you, you would be seeking robust legal advice before handing your work off to an editor and you’d expect your editor to do the same so both parties are protected in this situation.
How can authors protect their work when working with editors?
Your editor should have a clause in their contract, which states they won’t share your novel or personal information with anyone. This, along with copyright, protects your work in the vast majority of cases. So instead of asking your editor to sign an NDA, find a reputable editor who you trust.
If you don’t trust your editor, ask yourself why. You can ask them about their experience in the industry, their editing style, and how they would approach certain issues. Like most editors, I’m more than happy to explain the editing process to a first-time author so we can build mutual trust.
Remember, at the end of the day, no one can execute your ideas in the way you have. That’s what makes your novel special.