The moment has come, fellow unagented writer, where a publishing contracts is actually in your hands! Years and years of struggling, querying agents, submitting to publishers, revising, disheartening comments (though helpful in the long run), editing, stress, and God knows what else have finally paid off. An actual and no-longer-imaginary contract is in your hands. You probably consider never washing those hands again so you may always have that feel of the contract on them (though I strongly advise you against it). A publisher has finally recognised your worth. How awesome is that! Chances are you’re jumping up and down with glee and excitement, the edges of your mouth almost touching your ears. You’re singing, and with the pen in your hand you’re about to –

STOP!

aha2

Read that contract again. You owe it to yourself, to your career.

There are things all writers, who don’t have an agent or a publishing attorney or an in-depth knowledge of publishing law, should look out for.

Susan Spann, who specialises in intellectual property, business and publishing contracts, has a few things to say about what to look out for. In her post How to Spot–and Avoid–Predatory “Pay to Play” Publishing Contracts, she explains in brief some of the things you should consider as red flags in the contract you hold in your hands. Yes, publishing contracts are precious to us, but how certain are you that you’re as precious to the publisher who offered you that contract?

smeagol-my-precious-funny-shoes

Susan Spann (@SusanSpann) often tweets publishing-related advice under the hashtag #publaw. Ever since I joined Twitter, her posts on publishing law are the ones I read several times over. I think you’ll also find her advice helpful.

Posted on by Chris Sarantopoulos

Inspirational prompt 35

Let’s see what paths this takes you 🙂 Lots of things to play with here. Characters, setting, backstory, conflict. Take your pick.

———

“Go on, open the umbrella, Richard. Now’s a good a time as any.”
“No.”
“Open it.”
“I said, no.”
“open the umbrella, or I’ll smack you in the head with it, you old geezer.”
Henry puffed and huffed and rolled his eyes. “Who you’re calling old, you, you, you overripe prune? Your senility makes you forget I’m the youngest. Four moon turns. Y-O-U-N-G-E-S-T. Youngest.
“You’re older than me. Four moon turns OLDER! Father mixed us up at first, remember? I’m the youngest.”
Richard harrumphed and turned his back, one leg over the other, foot bouncing up and down irritably.
Henry rolled his eyes and kept drumming his thigh with his fingers.
“Open the umbrella.”
“Huh-uh.”
“You stubborn old fool. He’ll die with everyone else in less than five minutes. What difference does it make if we claim him now? Open the damn umbrella.”
“Oh, no. I’m not getting the blame again for another early reset.”

Posted on by Chris Sarantopoulos · 2 Comments

Publishing contracts – Tips regarding the Grant of Rights clause, by Sidebar Saturdays

So you’ve chosen which publishing path is the right one for you, you’ve weighed the pros and cons of each, and are now faced with the legal technicalities. If you can afford a lawyer who specialises on publishing contracts, or if you have an agent to back you up, kudos! Agents are there to support writers and deal, among others, with the legal stuff. The rest of us, who struggle for traditional publishing, envy you, turn makeshift dummies of you into pincushions cackling in the gloom, and covet what you have.

But what about those who opted for traditional publishing without an agent or a lawyer to back them up? How many of you can honestly say they have a solid understanding of legal terms? Specifically, publishing legal terms? Chances are not many of you. It’s okay. In all my academic years, I only had to attend one legal class and I still don’t know how I passed that class.

I recently stumbled upon a website that covers many aspects of publishing law. Sidebar Saturdays is a blog where the practice of law meets the profession of writing, posted weekly by writers who are attorneys, and it’s designed to provide fellow writers with a general understanding of publishing law and help make their fictional legal scenarios realistic. One article in particular drew my attention, which had to do with the Grant of Rights clause. The writers of the article provide ten basic tips that should help those of you who are, or thinking of being, traditionally published without an agent or legal assistance, and want to have a better understanding of what happens when you grant certain rights to the publisher.

I hope you find it as helpful as I have 🙂

Posted on by Chris Sarantopoulos

Inspirational Prompt 34

sara

Today’s prompt will be short but, hopefully, sweet.

Left by the side of the bed of room 321 of Pineview Hotel, folded neatly, police officers found the following note in a flowing and elegant handwriting:
Dear humans,

I don’t know how you do it, but I’ve had enough pretending to be like you.
Officer Wallace was the first the wall sucked in.

 

Posted on by Chris Sarantopoulos

More about publishing books

I’ll be continuing with what turns out to be a series of posts related to the publishing industry. Why? Because I’m halfway through revising my second novel and when it’s ready (whenever that may be) I intend to approach agents for that as well. Which makes me curious about an industry I want to be a part of, but know very little about.

All compliments and credits go to the original writers of every post I’ve reblogged, who researched and wrote about the subject so we can read them and learn a thing or two.

Today I draw your attention to Kristen Lamb’s Blog. Some of you might read her blog. For those of you who don’t, click on the link and spend some time there. There’re are a lot of things to read and learn from her in almost every aspect of writing and publishing.

A while back, she wrote an article about the nuts and bolts of the traditional publishing business called The Ugly Truth of Publishing & How BEST to Support Writers. Once again, I was shocked after reading it. Shows how little I know about important things. For me (and perhaps for others like me) traditional publishing meant writing a book, editing it to the best possible shape, getting an agent (oh, how glorious moment that’ll be!), and then

photo credit: Sheng P. Hermione Granger via photopin (license)
photo credit: Sheng P. Hermione Granger via photopin (license)

magic would happen and it’d eventually reach a publisher who would love it, and I’d see it on shelves of bookstores. Then I’d write another novel, and another, and I’d get paid a percentage. Simple as that. After all, once we choose to publicise our art and feel good about earning some money from it, we become entrepreneurs.

So, hands up, how many of you have actually ever wondered how a writer gets paid once you buy one of their books? Ever heard of terms like “remainder copies” or “print runs” and how they affected the writer’s wallet? I sure didn’t. I still don’t, ’cause I have a feeling this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Okay, hands up then, how many of you believed (before you started writing or met one of those strange creatures called writers) that writers make a lot of money? If not a lot, then perhaps a decent amount of it.

photo credit: kevin dooley Hey teacher! I know the answer! via photopin (license)
photo credit: kevin dooley Hey teacher! I know the answer! via photopin (license)

Almost every friend I have who knows I write has the same misconception.

Read Kristen’s post and see how things really are. It’s a long read, but you’ll learn so much from it.