Published on February 20, 2013
Hi Angela,
Back in November my son’s school sent me this form to sign and I refused. They wanted claim not only over my son’s work – but mine as well! Everyone laughed at me and called me paranoid, but then you posted your article. Not so paranoid anymore. Thank you!
Here is the language the district used:
“Consent to the use, release, and/or publication by the District of my and/or my child’s name, image (in any form) and creative work through any medium whatsoever, including but not limited to, the internet, written publication, and broadcast for any educational, editorial, promotional, business or other purpose without prior notice or compensation. The District may exercise its rights as it deems appropriate for its productions, for advertising, and for other purposes. By signing below, I intend for the District to rely upon this Release”
Scary stuff, huh?
Best regards,
Rissa
Published on February 20, 2013
If a writer writes and nobody reads it is he or she still a writer? On behalf of those who have written some remarkable diaries, stories or screenplays that have been neatly tucked away in drawers or saved in password protected files, writing can certainly be a self-fulfilling undertaking. But for many writers the next step is to invite others into their world, to read their work, explore their thoughts and possibly open the door to the wide range of responses, reactions and opinions that we collectively call feedback. It is from such feedback that we can re-think, re-shape and re-rewrite our work, unless of course we choose to simply reject it. Yes, as writers, we do have the power over feedback to accept it, question it, utilize some of it or simply ignore it…
Published on February 20, 2013
At different points in my life, many articles were written about me. I have them all scanned and ready for inclusion in my new book. Is that allowed?
Published on February 20, 2013
Five years ago, I resigned from my job as a kindergarten teacher. While I loved teaching, I longed to be a stay-at-home mom and try my hand at freelance writing. I’d been writing in my spare time for a few years, and I wanted to pursue the craft more seriously.
Although I’m not currently teaching in the classroom, I still use my teaching experience all the time in my writing career…
Published on February 13, 2013
We have relatives in town again. Seems everybody wants to come visit us in Florida when there’s lots of snow on the ground up north. 😉
Published on February 13, 2013
In case you missed it, there was a news item this week about a school district trying take copyrights from teachers AND students. It’s pretty disturbing. How can an employer or a school take ownership of someone’s copyrights? Easy. That person (or the parent of a student) would have to sign a contract granting ownership to the school district/employer. Parents could easily refuse to do so but, let’s face it, most people don’t read contracts and just blindly sign on the dotted line. For employees, it could be a problem…unless you approach it the right way…
Published on February 13, 2013
Hi Angela:
There is a New York Times report on how Michael Jackson fans who had not read a book by Randall Sullivan about Michael Jackson effectively sank the book’s sales by attacking it in Amazon’s so-called “Reviews.”
This once again illustrates my two biggest concerns about Amazon’s “reviews.”
1) If a retailer has accepted to partner with a publisher and author, then the retailer has a duty to both publisher and author to promote sales of the product. If the retailer thinks the product is not worthy of being sold, the retailer should not partner with the publisher.
2) Reviewing books is a professional activity. When Tom, Dick and Harry post online comments that are not professional reviews, Amazon should not call their comments “reviews.”
Scott Rose
Death in Hawaii
Mr. David Cooper’s Happy Suicide
Published on February 13, 2013
If you’ve looked at online ads for writing jobs or gigs lately, you’ve likely read headlines such as “Writing freelancer/intern…” The body of the ad stresses how much skill, talent and experience they seek, even “rock star” quality (which makes me muse why they want someone who dresses bizarrely and plays electric guitar).
But back to the headline. Do they mean freelancers are equivalent to interns, people who have little to no experience, working for free while they complete their education? Yet the ads usually demand top-quality, experienced writers…
Published on February 13, 2013
I want to repubish my out-of-print book but all I have is an old, printed copy of the book. What can I do?
Published on February 13, 2013
The very thought of dragging myself out of bed at 5 in the morning to drive across a traffic-congested city made me dread waking up, as my dead-end job with a poor salary left me lacking inspiration. However, when I suddenly took on the role of being a stepfather of four, it was time to get my act together…
