Editors and clients come and go who want too much for too little, have never before hired a writer, do not pay, or are otherwise too difficult for you to waste your time. By quickly recognizing and rejecting these people, you can move quickly on to customers who will pay handsomely and are a pleasure to work with.
I have about a contract I’m contemplating signing. The publication is in print and online, and I’ll be doing blog posts initially, with the potential to do features in the future. I really want to write for this pub, but when they sent me the contract, the paragraph below scared me:
“(The Publisher) will retain the copyrights to all stories, works or photographs published. (The Publisher) may at its discretion resell or republish any stories, works or photographs. (Contributor) will agree that all stories, and works of authorship, including photos, will be considered works made for hire and shall be owned exclusively by (The Publisher).”
My question is this: Is it standard to deprive the writer of all copyright rights from the get-go? I’m inclined to ask for a one-year reversion clause.
As writers, we tend to be polite. We do not like to pick fights or burn bridges or ruin contacts that we may need in the future. If we feel that we have been hard done by, it is all too easy to just let it go in order to keep everyone sweet. But we work hard for our writing, and we need to fight for our worth.
22nd AND 23rd COMPLAINTS AND SOME WRITERS RECEIVE PARTIAL OR FULL PAYMENTS – Kim Kleeman / Shakespeare Squared / ShakespeareSquared.com / The Shakespeare Squared Foundation – Will this one ever end?!
COMPLAINT about Ava Ross / YPNI Weekly Newspaper / YPNI News / ypninews.com – Writer alleges she’s owed $540.
SECOND COMPLAINT ABOUT Writershire.com / Writershire / Princeton Commercial Holdings LLC / theprincetonguide.com – Writer alleges she’s owed $120.
Richard is feeling a bit better but he’s terribly bored. If I could just get him out to the van and take him for a spin, I know that would cheer him up but he has no desire to do anything that might jar one of his ankle screws loose before the bones are finished healing. Can’t say I blame him.
On Sunday, we decided to celebrate Father’s Day instead of Mother’s Day. Richard needed pampering far more than I and all the kids thought it was a great idea. We were supposed to spend the summer building on our land so Zach and I went to Borders, looking specifically for a book on Yurts and we found one!
If any of you have any experience with yurts (building, living in, staying in, or just knowledge of), please contact me. Richard would LOVE to exchange a couple of emails with you. We’re really leaning toward a yurt instead of a cabin.
For those of you who don’t know, a yurt is cylindrical, tent-like dwelling…but people use different types of materials for construction (not just cloth). No, we’re not going to build a teepee. If we were, it would already be done! You can see pictures of yurts HERE.
Many companies sell yurt kits. We’d like to try to build one ourselves but since Richard will be relegated to the sidelines during his four-month recovery, telling us what to do with construction, maybe a kit is the way to go. Some yurts look like ultra-chic, round, modern homes but we want something far more modest. Then again, if we build our own, we could save thousands of dollars…or maybe not. I’m going to buy Richard a bullhorn so he won’t feel so powerless while sitting with his foot propped up, watching us work. I’ll see if I can find one with a push-button horn in it so he use that if somebody hammers a nail crooked or something. Heh…
This week’s Maxism:
“Next time we go camping, can we build a bombfire?”
Hugs to all!
Angela
P.S. QUERY LETTERS THAT WORKED! Real Queries That Landed $2K+ Writing Assignments – Want to read real query letters that landed these contracts? Woman’s Day – $2,800; Redbook – $3,500; Ladies Home Journal – $3,000; DiscoveryHealth.com – $2,000; Lifetime Magazine – $3,000; Life Extension Magazine – $6,480; Natural Remedies – $11,300; and many more! See: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/1409.html
BOOK PROPOSALS THAT WORKED! Real Book Proposals That Landed $10K – $100K Publishing Contracts – Want to read real book proposals that landed these contracts? Simon and Schuster – $100,000; Berkeley Books – $25,000; Osborne-McGraw-Hill – $19,500; Random House $15,000; and many more! See a complete list here: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/3332.html
It is SO entertaining to us at WritersWeekly when someone who owes one, two or a few writers money tries to scare us into silence. I could wallpaper my upstairs bathroom with all the cease and desist letters we’ve received over the years. In my opinion, cease and desists are form letters designed to intimidate victims, advocates for the victims, or the press…
Angela,
I’m glad Richard is on the road to recovery. He’ll find that using a walker will use muscles he didn’t know he had.
Your mentioning of a gurney brought to my mind a time when I had to have some serious surgery. A large assistant nurse was pulling me down the hall and singing an old gospel song, “Jesus, I’m Coming Home.” I asked her to sing something else, please. She apologized profusely and told me not to take it as an omen.
Everything turned out fine. It’s a story I’ve told to many others and it usually gets a good laugh.
Keep a stiff upper lip, girl.
Stan
~~~~~
Wow! Ang, I learn so much from your narratives. I felt like I was there. You should take your material and create ANOTHER book for how mom’s deal with emergencies at home! So many of the things you did were so important (like mentioning about his first experience with anesthesia so the nurse knew to double-monitor him later).
Like anything else where humans are concerned, lack of communication is a frequent side-effect of dealing with emergencies and having a million things happening at once. We all want to believe that these professionals KNOW they should transfer all relevant details on to the “next dept.”, but it doesn’t always happen – and sometimes a concerned spouse or parent can make him/ herself a pain to the nurses and doctors, but better that than not having all the information available to caregivers who need it so the patient gets proper supervision! Good for you!!
I’ve got you and Richard on my prayer list!
Hugs,
Marie
Warm Fuzzies
Hi Angela,
I just wanted to let you know I read a lot, but the articles on WritersWeekly are by far the best. I mean that sincerely. I have gotten good ideas and they also give websites that are helpful. I wanted to say thank you for all the hard work you put into the newsletter. I know what it’s like I had a Christian newsletter for five years and it is a lot of time and hard work. That’s why I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate all you put into your newsletter, I have gotten so much help from your articles and the warnings and the markets. Thanks for giving us the best!
ang dee
Some construction magazines are benefiting from the federal government economic stimulus package. This is resulting in more opportunities for freelance writers. Government funding includes large sums for repairing and expanding the nation’s infrastructure. Projects include repairing bridges and roads plus building new high-speed rail lines between cities and light rail commuter lines. Much of this activity is just starting.
My first book was published by (a large POD publisher). I paid a few hundred dollars to have the book “returnable” for 2 years. I was told by (their marketing department) that bookstores would readily shelve my book if I did this. However, B&N and Borders will still not carry my book.
Like all of you, I’ve been following Angela’s recent battles against people who’ve been illegally printing her writing markets in their own publications. As I read what she was going through, I felt sympathy, as well as anger on her behalf.
