Here’s the problem. When the author signed our contract, he didn’t tell us somebody else owned 10% of his rights. Thus, he lied when he completed our contract, stating he owned all rights to his work…
Regarding the article, Bigots Need Not Apply! 9 Offensive Ways To Lose A Publishing Contract, I can’t believe anyone would be so basically stupid, show such sheer ignorance, and act that unprofessional when contacting a publisher.
The statements featured in that article sounded utterly surreal to me. How do these people function when they have to shop at a grocery store? Do they treat every business with this mentality?
W. Jones
As I look back, I am stunned that the ignorant inquiries I made to my traditional publisher and literary agent did not create waves of guffaws and rollicking cackles. Upon the release of my first book by a traditional publisher, during a conference call, I queried the publisher and her henchmen about their promotional plans. Would there be some sort of tour maybe? A round of book signings in a few large cities perhaps? A few flights and hotel stays, at the publisher’s expense, of course, in the pursuit of boosting book sales? Silly me. The nerve! A publisher spending money promoting a new author’s book? Ha…
As I sat, ready to sign my very first traditional publishing contract, I took the time to look back…
We are looking forward to escaping Florida’s heat for few days…
There’s an outfit online that’s sending out emails, trying to get authors to “give away” the rights to their book manuscripts. They claim they’re a charity. Pshaw!!! Don’t give it away your hard work for free! That would be ludicrous…
Angela,
I hope this doesn’t put me in the “thank goodness I’m not like these” category, but I found myself laughing out loud at the bizarre requests you’ve received (quoted in WritersWeekly).
My favorite was wanting your personal cell-phone number in order to call you 24/7. Now why didn’t *I* think of that? Sure you won’t reconsider? Just for me? ;-D
Blessings as always — and THANKS for all your hard work!
Margaret
Your byline is important, not just in its frequency of appearance, but also in how it affects your income. Some writers operating writing businesses use a name other than their own if they pen web copy or advertising, for example. But for some types of writing, such as periodicals and books, your name is your brand identity…
I found some old photos on some websites. I want to use them in my book. From their aged appearance, it looks like they’re in the public domain. Can I use them without permission?
Maybe I should try to write about the things I loved most, and submit it to those companies and to those people…
