Even though I've been published for over six years, every time I attend one of my local writers' meetings, I'm reminded how much I have to learn yet. Not just about the mechanics of writing but pacing, plotting, planning a series, selecting titles, and well, I don't think I need to go on. I'm so fortunate to have all those writer friends I can rely.
One of our members brought her father along to our most recent meeting. He's a lawyer. Besides being a wonderfully entertaining speaker, he answered all our questions in easily understandable terms. But one question led to another and time ran out before even a small portion of the legal issues involved in a writer's life was answered.
When I first started writing, I knew nothing about contracts, little about copyrights or how royalties might be paid. I didn't think I had to know. Fortunately, there were avenues to educate myself when I recognized the necessity of learning. Where and how? Well, check out today's post at IWSG, and find a number of places where you can at least start or hone your understanding of the legal tapestry of being a writer.
As some of you know from my last week's post, I'll be doing a lot of driving today so I'll be checking comments later today. I hope the forecast of a snowstorm in Colorado is just a vicious rumor.
Are you self-taught in the legal issues of writing? Do you have someone look over your contracts or do you understand them all by yourself? What is one legal thing you had to learn as you started your writing journey? Ever worry about infringing on someone else's copyright? Did you check out the post on IWSG?
Showing posts with label ebook royalties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ebook royalties. Show all posts
Monday, May 12, 2014
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The Keepers of Sulbreth Release
Yesterday I came home from work and powered up my computer. Couldn't wait to check. And there it was. Kindle had my book up for sale with its new cover and new price. Nothing like seeing your book for sale to get you inspired to work on the next one. I am busy working on the edits for the second book, Beyond the Gate.
The Keepers of Sulbreth introduces the island kingdom of Futhark where a small group of sorceresses called, Keepers, have used their gifts to contain the denizens of hell behind a magical gate. But something is slowly going wrong and more and more of the demons escape into the human world. Working with the young king of Futhark, the Keepers find a gifted warrior foretold in prophecies to help them close the magical seals. Cage Stone reluctantly gets pulled into the dangers facing Futhark. The otherworldly foes force him to reveal his secrets and his heritage. As he bloodies his sword in demon blood, he slowly realizes the dark mind behind the troubles have been controlling his destiny from his birth. He vows to take back his life and save Futhark at the same time.
Keepers recieved many excellent reviews when it was first released, including from Publisher's Weekly and Booklist. Now my goal is to remind readers of this and restart my promotion.
I have a lot still to learn about self-publishing and the best way to promote the book. The price is another thing I've had to make decisions on. I priced the book at $2.99 to start. I've read JA Konrath's blog many times and absorbed his advice. It's a tough decision.
The price of ebooks is a controversial issue in and of itself. I buy lots of ebooks. Some of the reasonably priced ones written by my friends but I also purchase ebooks from 'famous' authors and I do resent paying the same price as for a mass market paperback. Why should an ebook cost that much when there is no shipping, no manufacturing or storage costs?
What do you think is a reasonable price for ebooks? What royalty rate should authors receive from ebooks? The same as print?
The Keepers of Sulbreth introduces the island kingdom of Futhark where a small group of sorceresses called, Keepers, have used their gifts to contain the denizens of hell behind a magical gate. But something is slowly going wrong and more and more of the demons escape into the human world. Working with the young king of Futhark, the Keepers find a gifted warrior foretold in prophecies to help them close the magical seals. Cage Stone reluctantly gets pulled into the dangers facing Futhark. The otherworldly foes force him to reveal his secrets and his heritage. As he bloodies his sword in demon blood, he slowly realizes the dark mind behind the troubles have been controlling his destiny from his birth. He vows to take back his life and save Futhark at the same time.
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| Cover art by Gayle Bower |
Keepers recieved many excellent reviews when it was first released, including from Publisher's Weekly and Booklist. Now my goal is to remind readers of this and restart my promotion.
I have a lot still to learn about self-publishing and the best way to promote the book. The price is another thing I've had to make decisions on. I priced the book at $2.99 to start. I've read JA Konrath's blog many times and absorbed his advice. It's a tough decision.
The price of ebooks is a controversial issue in and of itself. I buy lots of ebooks. Some of the reasonably priced ones written by my friends but I also purchase ebooks from 'famous' authors and I do resent paying the same price as for a mass market paperback. Why should an ebook cost that much when there is no shipping, no manufacturing or storage costs?
What do you think is a reasonable price for ebooks? What royalty rate should authors receive from ebooks? The same as print?
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Conference Review: Contracts with Agent Jenny Bent
Jenny Bent, founder of The Bent Literary Agency, graced the Pennwriters Conference with her expertise and shared pages of information with us on contracts. Her presentation was the first I attended on Friday and it was dizzying.
I didn’t keep count but Jenny had a favorite phrase and used it repeatedly when asked a question. “It’s so complicated.”
And she was quite correct. Jenny has over 15 years experience in the publishing industry and has seen many changes but also some things that stay the same. She brought along two thick handouts to help us understand. One was a seven page checklist for contracts written in ‘everyman’ terms instead of legalese. The other was a 19 page sample contract from Simon & Schuster, Inc. That’s nineteen pages of six point font.
I have notes written all over the pages but let me hit the highlights. First off was the granting of rights. I learned publishers always want audio, first serial and a few others. These you can’t negotiate but some you can such as foreign rights and even foreign rights can be complicated by such distinctions as British Commonwealth or World English rights.
Then Jenny discussed separately the digital rights and the scramble of the publishing industry to keep up with expanding technology. As many of us already know or can guess, the publishers try to grab everything they can. Some of them also try to pay the same percentage royalties for ebooks as they do for print. Don’t let them do that. Also don’t let them ask for rights to any future technology that might be used to produce or sell your work.
The other contract item Jenny spent a lot of time on is the option clause. Usually publishers want some type of option to see the next work of an author. It is very important to make sure the wording is as specific as possible to include only one more book in the same genre and of the same length. Also the amount of time the publisher gets for its first look at a new work should be specific and limited.
Jenny briefly mentioned how more publishers are paying advances in three or four segments instead of the traditional two payments.
Many of us working with small publishers plow through the contracts as best as we can and fear to negotiate in terror of losing the sale. Jenny pointed out things we must all consider to make sure a tight contract doesn’t impede our career.
Have you ever negotiated a change in an offer without the help of an agent? Have you ever been stuck in a contract you regretted signing? Do you believe publishers are giving authors their fair share of ebook royalties?
I didn’t keep count but Jenny had a favorite phrase and used it repeatedly when asked a question. “It’s so complicated.”
And she was quite correct. Jenny has over 15 years experience in the publishing industry and has seen many changes but also some things that stay the same. She brought along two thick handouts to help us understand. One was a seven page checklist for contracts written in ‘everyman’ terms instead of legalese. The other was a 19 page sample contract from Simon & Schuster, Inc. That’s nineteen pages of six point font.
I have notes written all over the pages but let me hit the highlights. First off was the granting of rights. I learned publishers always want audio, first serial and a few others. These you can’t negotiate but some you can such as foreign rights and even foreign rights can be complicated by such distinctions as British Commonwealth or World English rights.
Then Jenny discussed separately the digital rights and the scramble of the publishing industry to keep up with expanding technology. As many of us already know or can guess, the publishers try to grab everything they can. Some of them also try to pay the same percentage royalties for ebooks as they do for print. Don’t let them do that. Also don’t let them ask for rights to any future technology that might be used to produce or sell your work.
The other contract item Jenny spent a lot of time on is the option clause. Usually publishers want some type of option to see the next work of an author. It is very important to make sure the wording is as specific as possible to include only one more book in the same genre and of the same length. Also the amount of time the publisher gets for its first look at a new work should be specific and limited.
Jenny briefly mentioned how more publishers are paying advances in three or four segments instead of the traditional two payments.
Many of us working with small publishers plow through the contracts as best as we can and fear to negotiate in terror of losing the sale. Jenny pointed out things we must all consider to make sure a tight contract doesn’t impede our career.
Have you ever negotiated a change in an offer without the help of an agent? Have you ever been stuck in a contract you regretted signing? Do you believe publishers are giving authors their fair share of ebook royalties?
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