Why Big Publishers Need to Compete with Amazon

FORBES writer Jeremy Greenfield:
“A decade ago, the only way to have a book published and sold on store shelves was to sell it to a book publisher that would help edit, design and distribute it.

Today, anyone who can type and has an internet connection can have her book for sale at the world’s largest bookstore — Amazon — in a matter of hours.

If an author can go to Kindle Direct Publishing or Barnes & Noble’s PubIt!, instantly publish their own book and then collect up to 70% of the sale price as a royalty as opposed to the 15% to 25% that many traditional publishers offer on e-books, why wouldn’t they?

That’s a question that many authors are asking themselves in the e-book era. And publishers are answering it.

Several major book publishers have recently come out with aggressive statements asserting what they do and all the work that goes into publishing a successful book. Publishers are now openly competing for author talent with self-publishing sites.

So, what do publishers do?” Read more here:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremygreenfield/2012/06/27/what-publishing-companies-do-in-a-world-where-anyone-can-publish-a-book/

.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

Amazon Calls for Submissions from Script Writers

Amazon Studios invites film script writers for submissions.
They will have a chance to earn either $10 000 or $200,000 with their scripts.

Amazon Movie Studios?

Yes, Amazon is accepting scripts and full-length movies from amateur filmmakers, with Amazon intending on producing theatrical films from the winning ideas.

By submitting a script to the program, the writer grants Amazon Studios a free 45 days option on the script (down from 18 months, a steep reduction). If the script is deemed interesting by Amazon, they might then buy an 18 months option for $10 000. If they then decide to turn it into a movie, they buy the rights to a movie for $200 000. All money resulting from prizes won by the movie goes to the writer and if the movie makes over $60 million in US box office, the writer gets an additional $400 000.

If a revised script is selected, the writer keeps the initial $10 000 or $200 000 fee for his script and shares any prize money with the reviser on a 50-50 basis.

For scripts passing the first hurdle, Amazon Studios will run tests with the public to find out it the script generates interest. Based on the feedback from the public, Amazon Studios will decide whether or not to turn it into a movie. The rational behind their system is to create a crowd base selection system for script as opposed to the current selection system through agents and production companies.

For a book writer, this means that they retain all rights on the book and are only selling the rights to the script. When looking for a publisher, being in a position to say that the script based on the book has been shortlisted by Amazon Studios catapults the chances for a lucrative book contract to the top.

But that’s not all:  Amazon is calling artists too!

You could get paid up to $3,000 to design characters for an animated test movie of For Sale By Superhero.
Submit your portfolio to apply.

Read more

.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

Writer Beware, Beware and Beware Even More!

This morning I received an email from Attorney and Writer Mark Levine who created an outstanding book, every author should read:  “Book Publishers Compared”.   He sent me
“The Author’s Bill of Rights”.  

It starts with: “ All author’s have the right to expect certain things from a self-publishing company.  Only choose a publisher that …”

I am totally disagreeing with him in calling publishing services  “Publishers” (which are in fact printers or agents for printers or e-book formatters or agents for formatters). They are absolutely NOT!  The term “publisher” is unfortunately not regulated by law and it takes a long time to get this oxymoron out of people’s mind and writing.

Anyway, he wrote a very fine book (and e-book) that involved a lot of research and will help to save hopefully many writers in the future from signing unfavorable, unethical or right-out criminal contracts.  Please read also these articles I wrote in the past about POD or Vanity publishers:

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/victims-of-vanity-publishers/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/easy-to-lose-money-a-lot/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/author-beware-its-a-long-post/

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/how-to-choose-an-ebook-publisher-or-diy/

and this one about a description of Dan Poynters book,  how you can publish completely independent  – he does it since the 70s:
http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/12/06/dozens-of-helpful-self-publishing-tips/

As Victoria Strauss wrote: “There are sharks out there in the literary waters. Literary deceptions abound, from fee-charging agents to dishonest editors to …”  

Hopefully you check out these advises and get a lawyers’ opinion before you sign your rights away – not like a friend of mine years ago when she signed a contract for all of her books, not even worldwide but through the whole universe – and for a term 70, in words: seventy years!!! after her dead.  She had to pay more than CAN $5,000 to get her book “published”, by a Renfrew, Ontario, Canada, print shop who keeps his machines busy by unaware writers, who want their manuscripts seen on book store shelves.
.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

Why You Should Split Your Book Apart

 

…. and sell each piece separately.  This advice gave me a very successful writer.  Here in a nutshell his ideas:  Think of your writing like baking a cake.  And what do bakeries and confiseries do with a cake?  They divide it into tiny slices and sell each piece separately.

In your case, your book is like the cake and has a secret ingredient that is called “Copyright.”  Every story you write, every novel, is a cake full of copyright.

You can sell parts of your book to:

• one publisher
• other parts to another publisher
• some parts to overseas markets
• other parts to audio
• others as e-Books or Singles
• to game companies
• maybe to Hollywood’s film industry
• use parts of it to submit to contests
• divide it in chapters and sell to magazines
• or to web publishers …

The list goes on and on and on. But what you need to do:

• learn all about copyright to really understand this
• realize that each piece can be a cash stream for you
• you don’t even have to use your name, get a pen name or even several

You can sell these rights or uses in several ways:

First Serial Rights
They can be print or electronic and mean that you are selling a publisher the right to publish your article once for the first time. In the case of print rights – you may immediately sell the piece to an e-publisher before print publication and, after the print magazine containing your article hits the newsstand, you are free to sell it again as a reprint to other print markets.

First Serial Right Electronic
Most Canadian and US freelance authors sell North American first serial rights, reserving the right to sell in other world markets (e.g. Great Britain, Australia or Asia). Specify what type of rights you are selling: First North American Electronic Rights Only.

Second Serial Right
These are reprint rights and apply to print and electronic markets. Never sell reprint rights, keep them at all costs. Even you will earn less money for each reprint, yet you can sell your work over and over again.

Subsidiary Rights
Other rights that authors and freelancers hold are subsidiary rights, including, but not limited to movie rights, TV and radio rights, audio and other media rights.

Each story, each novel is a piece of your writing business.  If you spread them out over a number of pen names you have a pretty consistent cash flow streams working. You just need to offer them to people who will buy them.

For example:  You sold German Translation Rights, and your contract with the German publisher limited your book to trade paper only.  Now you can sell:

• German hardback rights
• German audio rights
• German mass market rights
• German film rights

Your German publisher will pay advances like your Canadian or American publisher, and there will be royalties (against advances).  And then maybe can sell it to Spanish publishing houses.  Or Russian, Italian…Dozens and dozens of pieces of your work can be sold. Each piece is a cash stream. You just need to sell it. You create the inventory, your book, just once, but you can sell it for your entire life and even your heirs can keep selling these pieces.

Wring maximum value out of your “book” by spinning off audios, videos, magazine excerpts, foreign-language editions, and more.  Multipurpose your book into downloadable CD’s and e-book versions.  Wring maximum value out of your work by creating audiotapes, videotapes, magazine excerpts, foreign language editions and more.

You might have written articles and submitted them to e-zines or “content farms” for free, adding your web links and hoped that readers would click on these links and come to your website to buy books or whatever you offer there.
e-Zines and all these content farms, such as 101, Answers.com, All About…, are a really profitable businesses – alas not for the writers that create all the content there, but for the owners of these websites…

But not anymore:
Now it is possible to write 5,000 (better 10,000) to 30,000 word articles, Amazon calls them “Kindle Singles” and sells them online. A prominent author of these Kindle Singles is Stephen King, with his Single “Mile 81” the current top seller (as of this writing). So, instead of submitting your work for free to content farms, you sell those articles at the internet giant Amazon website and receive 70% royalties, even for Singles priced under Dollar 2.99.  To be precise for Singles priced between 99 cents and $4.99

Other criteria’s for Amazon Singles are:
• Original work, not previously published in other formats or publications
• Self-contained work, not chapters excerpted from a longer work
• Not published on any public website in its entirety
• But Amazon is are currently not accepting how-to manuals, public domain works, reference books, travel guides, or children’s books!

Split your book in single articles
Very few emerging writers realize that they can sell their magazine articles over and over again. As long as the markets don’t overlap, you can sell exactly the same article as many times as you like and, in this globally connected marketplace, it is easier than you think.

However, you can only sell first rights, either print or electronic, once for the same piece. After that, unless you change the article significantly, you must offer it as a reprint for a lower fee.

If you change the article, you can sell it again for first rights. For example, you can turn a 500 word piece for a grade seven market, into a similar length article for a regional Catholic newspaper and an Anglican website (e-rights) in Canada.

Then tweak it into an 800 word article for a national US daily. Subsequently, you make some minor changes to slant the piece for a travel magazine. Each time, you are able to sell it for first rights. Continue to sell it, however look out for new markets in other English language markets overseas.

This practice should be your standard operating procedure if you write and sell articles to print periodicals and e-zines. Reselling your work makes good business and time management sense – it reduces the energy you expend and increases your revenue. Unless you routinely sell a single article for several thousands of dollars, and perhaps even if you do, you should be squeezing every dollar out of every single piece you write.
.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

What Literary Agents Want to Know From You

Choosing the Right Publishing Path

There are some questions agents frequently ask writers before they sign them. The problem is most writers are caught off guard by these questions and don’t always answer them the way they would’ve liked. I’ll let you in on the secret so you can prepare ahead of time.

Question: Why do you want to be published?
Seems like a simple enough question, right? Wrong. Well, sort of. The agent isn’t just interested in your answer but your attitude. Let’s take a look as how some of your answers COULD be perceived…

Answer #1: I just want to get my story on paper.
Agent’s reaction:  Then you don’t need me. If you’re not going to take this seriously and consider writing your new career, I’m not interested.

Answer #2: I want to share my stories with the world.
Agent’s reaction:  Why would anyone want to read your stories? What makes you more special than any other writer out there? If you don’t know what’s unique about you and you can’t sell yourself, how am I supposed to?

Answer #3: I want to become a bestseller and make a bundle.
Agent’s reaction: Get real.  Do you know how hard it is to become a bestseller? Do you understand how much work is involved? Why do I get the feeling you’re not interested in the writing, just the possible financial benefit.  Oh, did I mention you will make next to nothing with your first book and possibly every book after that? If you want to become a millionaire, buy a lottery ticket. Your odds are probably better.

Answer #4: I want to be famous.
Agent’s reaction:  Rolls eyes… That’s not going to happen overnight. Are you willing to put in the time and sweat?  What if you don’t amount to more than being a mid-lister?

So, what are the agents expecting to hear?
They want to know you’re committed, that you understand this journey is hard, long, and not always rewarding. They want you to dream and to set goals, but they need to believe you are willing to work to attain those goals. In reality, there is nothing wrong with the answers above as long as you explain them. Don’t give the agent a chance to react in the ways I described above.

Here’s another one—and it comes in many forms:
-What’s your next book about?
-What else are you working on?
-Where do you see this series going?

Regardless of how the agent asks the question, she’s looking for a certain answer. She wants to see that you are not a one-book-wonder. If you don’t know what you’re going to write next, that’s a red flag for her. Editors at publishing houses like to make a two or three book deal with an author if they truly believe in the writer’s ability and the marketability of her work. Knowing this, the agent will ask you to complete a plot outline or synopsis for your next TWO books. They don’t have to be a part of a series but should be in the same genre as the book the agent will pitch. She’s looking for material she can sell to the publisher, so she can convince the editor, during these very competitive times, to take a chance on you.

What’s even better is, if you can supply her with that second book and the outline for the next. This will show both the agent and publisher that you have the potential of becoming a career author. In fact, I have seen a big NY publisher have two of the three books at signing and wait for the author to finish the third so they could publish the novels one after another and heavily promote them. While it meant the author had to wait a little longer before seeing her book in print, she’s very fortunate. With three books on the line, the publisher will do everything possible to ensure these books sell well.

It’s also a good idea to have a sense of how long it takes you to write a book, including all of its editorial stages.  That way, you’ll know what kind of commitment you can make. Are you realistically able to write and edit three books a year or are you only able to produce one novel annually? It’s best to know this going in because giving the agent or publisher false expectations, by telling them what they wanted to hear, will only disappoint them in the end if you can’t deliver. Depending on how far you were from hitting your deadline, it could cost you the contract. So, start that timer now. Figure out how long it’ll take you to complete the first draft and every draft after that.

One last thing I’d like to mention is digital publishing. Before you talk to an agent, you need to have an idea where you stand on this issue. Some agents help authors self-publish. Others won’t. Some agents want you to do a combination of self-publishing and traditional publishing. Some don’t. Some agents will specifically target the big NY publishers’ digital lines because they’re more open to new authors. If you only want to see your book in print, you need to let the agent know before she starts shopping around. Plus, knowing how you feel about digital publishing will help you decide if the agent is a good fit for you. Even though the agent has to first want to take you on as a client, you are hiring her. If you don’t share the same vision for your career path, you may want to keep looking.

And be prepared when meeting for the first time with the publisher for another question that can make or brake your contract: “How are going to market your book?” or “What is your marketing platform”.

Blog post by Lynnette Labelle www.labelleseditorialservices.com

.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

Author Beware!

Found on the Internet: Angry POD customers

“I reply on this ‘publishers’ sponsored site !!! The only thing you will get from AH is the book printed, for this you will pay a great deal of money for publishing, which will not happen. In fact as soon as you have paid your money you will be told to sell the book yourself. When you pay people to Publish that is what they should do. It is the publishers responsibility to ensure the book is shown to the right audience group. AH do not do this!”

“Once you sign their complicated multi page contract they then allow other outlets to print and sell your book , and you have no control over this. If you are an author which only sells less that 50 copies, [94% of books] then you may think that is fine, if you have a good book which is appealing and in demand then AH still make the money,[or their nominated agents.] and this continues as long as the book sells.”

“I cancelled my contract with AH nearly 2 years ago. Copies of my book are still being sold at outlets in the world and the profit is still going to them. When I queried this I was informed that it is allowable in the contract !. I told AH that when you enter into a contract you dont expect to be cheated by slick and underhand wording hidden in a contract, but that is exactly what happens.”

“I have re published my book myself and now have a ‘bone fide ‘ publisher who pays me for publishing my book. Believe me – do not trust AH, they are there to scam you and they hide this fact in ‘contract jargon’. If you have a genuine complaint then do not bring it to an authorised AH site, where they set up stooges to say what AH want them to say. Go to other genuine comsumer sites who are unbiased and non manipulative. There is a huge movement out there which is gaining much momentum against what is percieved as a scam by AH. Get your facts right and join them.”

.
From: PissedConsumer.com  -  ComplaintsBoard.com  -  RipOffReport.com  -  ComplaintNow.com

Peter Bowerman wrote a great article about POD’S http://writedirections.com/printondemand2.php

.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

Part 2 – Great Opportunity for Authors: Foreign Right Sales

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

 

see also Part 1 here

 

How does a foreign rights contract work?
The agent usually has a standard contract which she prepares and sends to both parties for signatures, so the foreign contracts you will see are generally quite similar. The key factors, of course, are the amount of the non-refundable advance and the royalty rate, generally minimum of 7-8% on foreign rights, which should be applied to the retail price.

Royalties are deducted from the advance. Once the advance is paid back, the publisher makes royalty payments. Most publishers calculate royalties following the end of each calendar year, though some do so semi-annually. Payments are due a quarter later. The contract should have a finite term, usually five years. If the book proves to be big with good longevity, it can go back on the market at the end of the term for much better terms.

One thing that is absolutely critical is that the publisher provides a computerized statement showing sales, returns, etc. via postal mail to the author for each period. If figures are provided any other way (i.e. via email), it is too easy to fudge them. The language and geographic territory licensed should be specified. And the number of complimentary books provided to the author should be specified. The agent’s commission should be identified. Another thing is to limit rights to book publishing only. Always retain all other rights or sell them for top dollar advances.

Be aware: You are dealing with international countries.
Don’t email the manuscript file until you received the advance in full. But for royalties, once the advance is paid back, it can be dicey, depending upon the quality of the agents and size of the publishers you are working with. Publishers in Asia and Eastern Europe can be more problematic, depending on their size and reputation and how they treat international copyright agreements.

Even if the publisher does comply, they send the money to the agent, who is supposed to send it on to you, so there’s an extra layer of opportunity for graft. They know that you have no leverage; who’s going to spend thousands of dollars hiring lawyers in a country halfway around the world unless there are clearly large royalties at stake? The only leverage you have is if you have an American co-agent involved because the foreign co-agent’s reputation is at stake within the international agent community. Even then, many American co-agents expect only to receive their share of the advance and spend little, if any effort to collect royalties unless they are substantial. The moral of the story: The larger and more established the agency and publisher, the better chance you have of getting paid royalties when your advance is depleted. Try to get the highest advance possible and rather lower royalties.

Before you sign the publishing contract:
Morris Rosenthal gave in his guest blogging article “Publisher Book Contracts” at Fonerbooks.com the following advice:

“Most new authors fail to retain legal counsel before signing their first book contract, and actually depend on the acquisitions editor to tell them what’s fair and normal for the publisher to request. This creates an excellent negotiating position for the publisher and a horrible one for the author. Unfortunately, publishers really take advantage.

Author advocacy organizations can be a good source for publishing contract advice, but the catch is you usually have to be a published writer before you can join. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of joining a prestigious author guild after publishing a trade book, sending them the publisher’s book contract for your next edition for free legal review, and hearing something like, “Oh, you never should have signed the first contract. Now you’re stuck with it forever.”

“The contractual relationship between the author and the publisher is based on what’s written in the signed book contract, not on implicit understandings. Even experienced authors and agents sometime make the mistake of concentrating on the money and not paying enough attention to the clauses that protect the author’s rights. All contract terms are negotiable, though acquisitions editors like to pretend they have a standard publishing contract that all their authors are happy to sign. A brief summary of standard trade publisher contract terms follows, but it’s by no means all-inclusive: I advise everyone who is looking at a contract signing to consult a lawyer.”

There are some things to watch when negotiating foreign rights deals – hopefully an agent will keep an eye on these, but it’s worth having some idea yourself:

• Term of the deal.
  Five years is most common, anything longer then you should be expecting a premium from the publisher.
• Country / Territory for the contract
  You might sign away Portuguese language rights without realising that it will include publication in Brazil (and Mozambique, Angola, Macau, Cape Verde etc). Also, giving worldwide Spanish language rights could cause friction with any United States publishing deal, as there is a large Spanish reading audience there.
• Tax situation in your and the potential publishers country.
  While there are now many treaties which allow for uninhibited flow of monies between nations, you could be badly caught out in some cases, and lose most of your advance to a foreign government’s tax.

John Kremer has a bunch of helpful lists and reports for authors, first of all an e-book for an extensive list of foreign book agents (300+) as well as more than a thousand literary agents in the U.S. and Canada. It’s an immediately downloadable report covering 1,400 agents (with address, phone, email, website, notes on some books they’ve sold rights to, etc.).  Instead of spending time researching foreign rights agents, you can order it for only $6.00, download it right away, and go to work, contacting the best agents in every country.

Foreign Book Distributors, Wholesalers, & Sales Reps — This report features more than 345 companies that provide foreign distribution or sales representation and also includes a sample of a foreign distribution contract.

.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

Don’t be fooled by POD Services

 

POD Service companies are by no means publishers! Even if they call this themselves – many others don’t get it too. The expression “publisher” is unfortunately not protected. However, all of them cash in on your publishing success:
You have to pay for e-book formatting or printing, for cover & interior book design, for editing and for the ISBN number of your book - beware of this especially, as the one who ordered the ISBN number, is the publisher!  If your book sells, which you hope and what you work for with your marketing efforts, they get royalties. In the best case (for you) only 5-10% of the list price, in most cases way more.

You ask why? Well, they do some paperwork for you – which you could as well learn to do yourself. It is not a big deal to find an e-book format-er or a digital printer/binder, a cover designer and editor. This way you would hold total control about your book. Think about it.

This is a snippet from Mark Levin’s book “The Fine Print of Self-Publishing”. He is a lawyer and compiled data from POD Service companies. He also had a very close look at their “publishing” contracts. See also my blog: “Comparison of Vanity Presses” from December 29, 2011.

BookLocker: $517 (Deduct $200 if submitting your own cover)
Rated “Outstanding” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
No hidden fees or upselling. Books are usually on the market within a month. No extra charge to include graphics, tables, footnotes, etc. 35% royalties based on list price for public sales; 15% royalties based on list price on wholesale/bookstore orders. Authors own all rights to their production files. Added Bonus: Returning authors are only charged $149 setup fees on their second and subsequent books.

CreateSpace: $1022.00 (Deduct $299 if submitting your own cover)
Rated “Just OK” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
Add $500 to price above if you want more than one color and image featured on your cover. Limit of 10 interior images; charges $15 per image and $25 per chart/table/graph thereafter. Does NOT publish hardcover books (all others here do). IMPORTANT: BookSurge was rolled into CreateSpace in November, 2009 but they kept employees, equipment, etc.

Lulu: $1131.00 (Deduct $450 if submitting your own cover)
Rated “Pretty Good” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
Lulu now charges directly for many services they previously farmed out to other companies. Lulu appears to be having customer service problems and authors are upset about their high shipping costs.

Trafford: $1324.00
Rated “Publisher to Avoid” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
Warning: Has a variety of “extra” charges like $2 per page if your manuscript is submitted with incorrect headers/footers, page breaks, line and paragraph formatting, etc. Charges $5 extra per image. Expedite service available for the $2199 “Elite” package.

iUniverse: $999.00 (includes 5 “free” copies)
Rated “Publisher to Avoid” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
Warning: Has a variety of “extra” charges like $2.00 per page! if your manuscript is submitted with incorrect headers/footers, page breaks, line and paragraph formatting, more than 25 photos/graphics, more than 2 images on your cover, tables, etc. They own your files after creation and you have to pay $150-$750 to get them if you leave their service! No expedite service. Turnaround is 3-4 months.

AuthorHouse: $1517.00
Rated “Publisher to Avoid” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
Charges extra for photos/graphics ($5 per image after first 10 – included in cost above). Expedite fee ($500) is for publication in 30 days instead of 6 months (included above). Claims ownership of files you pay them to create…meaning you can’t use the edited/formatted files if you want to move your book later.

Xlibris: $1972.00 – (includes 5 “free” copies)
Rated “Publisher to Avoid” by Mark Levine, attorney and author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing.
Charges expedite fee of $349 (included above) for publication in 2 months instead of 4-6 months. Charges $10 per image (included above); $20 per table. Limit of 1 cover image.

***Prices above based on least expensive package offered by each publisher on similar offers targeting U.S. authors. Fees include interior formatting (based on a 200-page book), original cover design with up to 5 images, print proof, ebook creation, up to 25 interior photos/graphics, an ISBN, barcode, a listing on the publisher’s website and distribution by Ingram, all within 6 weeks.

NOTE: Some companies claim ownership of files the author has paid them to create. Study each publisher and contract carefully before making your choice. See article: “Why POD Contracts Could Be Bad For Authors” from March 3, 2012

NOTE: All publishers offer distribution through Ingram (book distributor), as well as inclusion of their titles in the major online (amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, etc.) and physical bookstore systems – also POD books will be ordered by bookstores only if customers special-order them.

NOTE: AuthorHouse is owned by Author Solutions, a holding company that also owns Xlibris, iUniverse and Trafford. 

.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

Which Literary Agent is Right for You?

Smaller, independent publishers will still accept queries and read manuscripts from new writers. But if your goal is to sell your book to one of the six big publishers, you better search for an agent. How and where do you find literary agents?

Start with the current Writers Market. Their listing contains all members of the AAR (Association of Authors Representatives), who do not charge for reading, critiquing and editing.  Authors in Canada find literary agents in an online listing of the Association of Canadian Publishers.  A listing of 239 literary agents in Europe, North America and other parts of the world can be found at Publishers Global, one of the most comprehensive resource for all things publishing.

When you check out the agent, you’ll want to contact “Writer Beware”
They explain: “Time-crunched editors, who must devote their days to administrative tasks and have to shunt their actual editing work to nights and weekends, simply have no time to sift through submissions. More and more, they rely on agents as a filtering mechanism.

Most first novel sales, at least to the larger publishers, occur through agents.  Verify that this agent has a substantial, verifiable track record of selling books to commercial publishers, or, if new, a professional background in publishing or with another reputable agency.”

Before you contact an agent, read and follow:

• Submission Guidelines
• Query Policy
• What (genre) is the agent is currently looking for
• How to submit (email, online form or snail mail)

To get to know your future literary agent better, take your time to study carefully their websites / blogs to get an idea of their personality – as you will have many consultations during your writing career with this person. You should feel comfortable with the way they approach their clients. Going through some of the websites and blogs you will realize the huge spectrum of personalities among agents.

In the meantime edit, and then self-publish your manuscript as an e-book.  Who knows, maybe through professional social media marketing and your terrific platform it is such a success that agents will contact you!

BookEnds  http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/

Nadia Cornier  http://agentobvious.livejournal.com/

DHS Literary  http://dhsliterary.blogspot.com/

Dystel & Goderich  http://www.dystel.com

Full Circle Lit  http://fullcirclelit.blogspot.com/

Barry Goldblatt  http://bgliterary.livejournal.com/

Jennifer Jackson  http://arcaedia.livejournal.com/

John Jarrold (UK agent)  http://jjarrold.livejournal.com/

Knight Agency  http://knightagency.net/blog/

Lucienne Diver of The Knight Agency http://luciennediver.wordpress.com/

Colleen Lindsay: http://theswivet.blogspot.com/

Jonathan Lyons (Lyons Literary)  http://lyonsliterary.blogspot.com/

Laurie McLean (Larson Pomada Agency)  http://www.agentsavant.com/

Kristin Nelson  http://pubrants.blogspot.com/

Anna McDermid & Assoc.  http://mcdermidagency.blogspot.com/

Lori Perkins  http://agentinthemiddle.blogspot.com/

Janet Reid (of FinePrint)  http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/

Kate Schafer  http://ktliterary.com/archives.html

Agent Sydney (Australian agent)  http://callmyagent.blogspot.com/

Andrew Zack  http://www.zackcompany.blogspot.com/

Rachelle Gardner  http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/

Carolyn Swayze http://www.swayzeagency.com/aboutus.html

Gabriela Lessa  http://gabrielalessa.com/

Scott Waxman  http://waxmanagency.wordpress.com/

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents

.

.

Hyper Smash

 

Do You Know Your Rights As An Author?

As an author you own the copyright, and you own all the rights to your work. You can sell – or give away these rights or use  in several ways:

First Serial Rights
They can be print or electronic and mean you are selling a publisher the right to publish your article once for the first time. In the case of print rights you are free to immediately sell the piece to an e-magazine or e-zine before print publication and, after the print magazine containing your article hits the newsstand, you are free to sell it again as a reprint to other print markets.

First Serial Rights Electronic
However, first serial electronic rights are different – for sample e-magazines or e-zines buy first rights for an exclusive time period, usually one year (often for the laughable amount of $5 or $10), and at the same time, ask for non-exclusive rights after that. While you can immediately sell the same piece to a print market as a “first print right,” you cannot even post the article on your own website until the year is up. After that you are free to sell the article to other electronic markets as a reprint and post it yourself online everywhere you want.

North American first serial rights
Most Canadian and US freelance authors sell North American first serial rights, reserving the right to sell in other world markets (e.g. Great Britain, Australia, Asia). Specify what type of rights you are selling: First North American Electronic Rights Only.

Second Serial Rights
These are reprint rights and apply to print and electronic markets. Never sell reprint rights, keep them at all costs. Even you will earn less money for each reprint, you can sell your work over and over again.

Subsidiary Rights
Other rights that authors and freelancers hold are subsidiary rights, including, but not limited to movie rights, dramatic, TV and radio rights, audio and other media rights.
However, don’t give up or sell your electronic rights to a traditional book publisher without receiving a large lump sum or at least 50% royalty from the retail price. Most publishing houses are not really experts in e-publishing and often don’t use the electronic rights to your book. But it would prevent you from e-publishing your own work or selling it to a high-royalty-paying e-publisher.

All Rights
In this case the author gives up all future income from the article or book and only retains the copyright. Giving up all your rights should be only considered if a tremendous sum is paid for.

Copyright Protection in the USA and Canada
Copyright protection in Canada is automatic upon the creation of a given work, regardless of the medium of its creation, and it lasts until fifty years after the creator’s death – in the USA seventy years.

Before You Sign Any Contracts:
Always first contact your national authors’ or writers’ associations for further information and get legal advice from a lawyer who is specialized in copyright. This can save you ten thousands of dollars.

Sources:

http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/
http://www.writing-world.com/links/rights.html
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/
http://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/ccl/aboutCopyright.html
http://www.cipo.gc.ca
http://www.writersunion.ca

.
.
Hyper Smash

 

Are You Attending The Frankfurt Book Fair?

Book Trade Show Representation
If you are wary of the cost for a booth at the world’s biggest book fairs, not to mention the travel cost, consider to have your book displayed there. Check out ForeWord who is one of the companies who offer this service.

They write:
By exhibiting in the ForeWord cooperative booth, your titles may potentially generate rights interest from foreign publishers (typically, a foreign rights deal includes a non-refundable advance and a royalty rate of 7 – 8%.) So, with no out-of-pocket expense – except for the $175 exhibit fee to have your title displayed at the ForeWord booth – you have a chance to earn an unexpected windfall – in the best scenario.

Among other International Book Fairs ForeWord exhibits at:
London International Book Fair April 16-18, 2012
BookExpo America June 5-7, 2012
both are $175 per title or  $600 shelf (5 books)
However the best option and the world leader in book contract sales is the
Frankfurt Book Fair October 10-14, 2012

To accurately describe the Frankfurt Book Fair, one word cannot be avoided: “overwhelming.” The numbers alone are daunting: nine show halls, more than 6700 exhibitors, publishers from over 100 countries, and a stunning 150,000 !!! attendees. Luckily, with excellent train / metro services, ample hotel space, and German efficiency, Frankfurt’s just the place to pull off such an event. Historically, ForeWord’s booth is across from Random House assuring fantastic traffic. Worldwide Audience.
$175 per title – $600 shelf (5 books)

Representatives from ForeWord direct visiting agents and reps to the appropriate shelves (books are arranged by genre), pass out literature, and collect business cards and contact information when interest in a certain title is expressed. ForeWord will then pass on the contact info to the corresponding publisher.

It is a chance for small publishers to sell foreign rights. In the worst scenario you loose $175.

.

.

.
Hyper Smash

 

Top 5 Most Common Query / Cover Letter Errors

Query and cover letters are not fun, but they are necessary evils. I don’t know of anyone who has ever gotten away without writing a single one. However, in order to avoid sounding inexperienced, naive, or just plain crazy, avoid these common mistakes:

• Address the letter to the correct person.
  Nothing is more annoying than getting a letter addressed to someone else, or addressed to the wrong agency / publishing house.
• Do not make unrealistic claims about your story.
  Your book might become a best-seller someday, but you have no way of knowing that. However, if you already have (in writing) a deal from a charity to purchase 10,000 copies or you self-published and sold 45,000 e-books or you’ve already sold the rights in 15 other countries – that information is worth including.
• Do not make demands.
  You can ask things politely, but don’t tell me that I have to print this, or that I have to respond by a certain date, or that I have to give you XXX royalty or … I don’t know about you, but nothing irks me more than a bossy letter from a stranger.

Read the whole post “The Poorly Written Query“

The author describes herself as “Editor/Publisher, Location: Texas, United States and: overworked, underpaid, with a teething tantrum-throwing toddler. What I Do: Talk about writing, submitting, publishing, and marketing children’s books and teen books.”

 

 

Read This: Open Letters To “Content Mills”

Just found on the Internet:: Open letters to media job boards everywhere

Laura Roberts writes: Here is the text of an email I just sent to Media Job Search Canada, and which I have forwarded to MediaBistro. It can equally well apply to any media job boards everywhere that uphold this offensive policy of posting scam “jobs” meant to trick and/or entrap young, inexperienced writers:

“Dear Media Job Search Canada
As a hard-working freelance writer, I’d like to make a suggestion for your media job-posting site: Don’t post ads from “pay-per-click” sites like Suite101!  To me, this is not a job. It is insulting to see these types of scam ads on media-friendly, media-focused job boards, as the “pay” depends on the writer’s constantly pimping links to friends, family and random strangers. You are only “paid” when you reach a certain number of views on your articles, and for most writers on the site, places like Suite101 never pay out. Period. How do I know this? I “worked” for them, and have never received a paycheck for any of the articles I wrote for their site.

This is not a job, it is a scam. To post ads from scammers like these demeans all media job-seekers, and suggests that we are not worth paying for our efforts. We ARE worth paying, and I would really like this ad—and others like it—banned from your site.”

My fellow writers, please do not apply for these types of “jobs.” They are not jobs, they are scams. Even if you are just starting out, you are a professional writer, and professional writers deserve payment for their work. If you must write on spec or for free in order to achieve clips for your portfolio, do it for a reputable company, one whose work you have read and admire. There are plenty of great magazines that are run by unpaid volunteers, and I would much rather see my friends and fellow freelancers contributing to these types of endeavours than getting scammed by scumbags like Suite101 and their ilk.

P.S. To clarify, I do respect MediaBistro as an authority on media jobs, which is why I find it puzzling that they, too, are posting “jobs” from people like Suite101. Suite101 is perpetually “seeking writers.” Is it any wonder, given their lack of payment?  Also, if you’d like more comments/info on Suite101, WritersWeekly has a forum full of comments and complaints about them.”

Read more about this and view all the interesting comments ….
http://buttontapper.com/2009/09/17/an-open-letter-to-media-job-boards-everywhere/

Or this one from another author:
“First, for the pitiful pay they offer, they take ALL rights: “…with Demand Media being deemed the sole author of the contribution and the owner of all rights…”  That’s right.  You write it, you sell it to them, and you earn nothing more after the initial low fee, even if they syndicate it and sell it over and over again.  They can edit it, remove your name, and more.  Theirs is a work-for-hire contract. Let me tell you folks…$5 to $20 for all rights is, in our opinion, downright insulting, especially since resources and references must be cited, a free graphic must be chosen and included….”
http://www.writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/005650_10142009.html

Or this one:
Dear Mr. XYZ Startup,
Thank you for finally getting back to me, but I can’t live on “impact” and “possibly fame,” neither of which pays any bills. It is my opinion that if you can’t afford to pay the writers who will create content for your site, you shouldn’t start a business at all on the Internet. Professional writers need to be paid a professional rate for their work, just like any other skilled profession, such as doctors or dentists.
DeAnn Rossetti
Freelance Writer/Reporter
27 years of award-winning copy
http://writersweekly.com/this_weeks_article/007138_01112012.html

 .

.

.

.

<a href=”http://www.hypersmash.com”>Hyper Smash</a>

 

A Must-Have For Every Writer

 

Among other reasons, you work so hard on your manuscript to eventually get published and paid for your writing.  ”2012 Writers Market” can help you find success: Over 9,000 listings for book publishers, literary agents, magazines, online publications, contests, conferences and more!

What would you like to accomplish?
Find an agent for your fiction book, sell non-fiction articles to magazines or a film script to production companies, publish or make some money on the side?

In this annual “bible for writers” you will find places to sell your writing, whether you’ve got a book, manuscript, or an article idea. Make some money on the side and know how much to charge for these gigs with their popular pay rate chart. It includes topics from tackling content factories to negotiating contracts and from managing time and organization to make the most of the money writers earn. What it is not: a quality control of publishers. To be sure, go to “Writer Beware” or research for any complaints about certain publishers. Thank goodness they omitted some of the worst ones…

What’s more?

• Manage your submissions with easy-to-use record keeping tools
• Stay abreast of the latest publishing industry news
• Gain advanced publishing and marketing knowledge from Q & A’s with publishing experts
• Use information specific to your writing needs–whether you are interested in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children’s, script writing or agents.

What I like
Articles on freelancing, social media book marketing and the inclusion of some smaller, more genre specific markets. And a huge section of contests, grants and awards are a huge treasure trove for me. This book is a fantastic resource for every freelance writer, not matter what level. Whether you have never written anything and don’t know where to begin or if you are an experienced writer looking to sell a manuscript, you will find it here. And the valuable article “6 Ways to Protect Your Writing”. Then there are useful legal explanations, copyright and publishing contract tips.

However, nobody is perfect!  What I miss is a category index. If an author is looking for a publisher that accepts science fiction submissions she or he has literally to go through every publisher to find the handful they need. The text is sometimes hard to read due to the grey (instead of black) font. And then there are typos or grammar errors – dear editor!

How much is the “2012 Writer Market”?
Recently, I wrote an article about price comparison – and sure enough, there was a huge difference! (more than 100%) in e-book prices when I typed the title in at Luzme.com:

Google              $9.12      February 20

Amazon            $9.12      February 20

Sony                $11.99     February 20

Apple                $14.99    February 20

Kobo                 $18.59    February 20

B&N                  $19.49    February  18

The soft-cover version with over 1,000 pages is $18.25 at Amazon – one of the few books I prefer to have in paper instead of digital.
.
.
.

Hyper Smash

 

Are you aware of Apple’s “Distributorship”?

Apple Blossoms

The iLicense Agreement Books Author’s End User (EULA) stipulates that e-books created with the application cannot be sold anywhere but on the Apple iBookstore. 

More specifically, if you want to give your creation away free you can do that wherever you like and if you want to make money off it, you can sell it only from the iBookstore and Apple gets a 30% cut.

According to intellectual property lawyer Dan Booth, this will give Apple an exclusive “distributorship” of texts for sale:

“The most dangerous clause for authors is the distribution clause, which gives Apple the right to refuse to distribute anything created with the software.  Since sales and distribution go hand in hand, Apple could use that clause to prevent any sale, for any reason. This would apparently allow Apple to lock up with contract rights what it could never get through copyright, total control over all sales.”

Read more about “Howls of Outrage” by Ariel Bogle from Melville House Books.

My question is: Why does not anyone sue them?  Like it happened to Microsoft years ago.