"Solo" is a Four-Letter Word

Authors have many choices in the modern publishing world. Choices about publication methods. Choices about marketing. Choices about everything from genre, to business partners, to whether or not it's appropriate to drink scotch before 10am (it is...especially if you haven't been to bed yet).

But there's one choice no author should make alone: the choice to sign a contract.

In the days when traditional publication was king--and by "king" I mean "the only way to do it"--authors always had a contract-savvy agent (or an attorney, or both) reviewing the contract before the author signed. The author's representatives negotiated with publishers to obtain the best possible deal, or at least tried to make sure the contract didn't take unfair advantage. (It did happen, but not as often as it does today.)

The huge expansion in publishing options (many legitimate, some less so) has resulted in more author freedom than ever before. Authors can choose to work with an agent or not. A big publisher, a small publisher ... or to become a publisher. Everything's an option.

But, to mutilate a familiar proverb, with great choice comes great responsibility - and not all authors exercise that power with proper regard.

Don't go it alone where your contracts are concerned.

I'll say that again, in case you spilled your scotch and missed it the first time:

DO NOT SIGN A CONTRACT - any contract - WITHOUT PROPER HELP AND REVIEW.

If you're a publishing attorney you might ... might ... be able to handle your contracts alone. Perhaps. That is, if you're capable of setting aside your emotions and treating yourself like a client who isn't a relative or a friend. In the interests of full disclosure: I didn't go it alone myself, and I AM such an attorney. I have a contract-savvy agent and I listened to her opinions as well as my own.

If you're not an attorney, you need someone to review your contracts for you. That person could be an agent or an attorney. Some authors have both. But at a minimum you need one or the other. It's not just a matter of reading the contract, either ... reviewing a contract requires an understanding of what's on the page and also what isn't there.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen an author in despair because the contract (s)he signed had no termination language and no out-of-print clause allowing him (or her) to cancel the contract if the book didn't sell. In almost every case, the author reviewed the contract alone and just didn't notice the problem.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg where contract issues are concerned. Many contract issues lurk between the lines where you might not notice. It takes a professional eye to spot the issues and to ensure you're getting the deal that you--and your work--deserve.

Starting this fall, I'll be taking a look at some common contract pitfalls here on Chiseled in Rock. Knowledge is power, and I'm here to help you grow some legal muscles. But at the end of the day, remember that it's worth a little money up front to protect both you and your work once the contract is signed. Most publishing contracts last for the length of copyright - life of the author plus 70 years - which means that unless the contract allows you early termination for some other reason, you and your work are bound until Kingdom Come (for you at least). Don't take a chance with "forever."

Get some help.

You'll be glad you did.

Posted by Susan Spann

Susan Spann is a transactional attorney whose practice focuses on publishing and business law. She is also author of the Shinobi Mystery series, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori. The first book, CLAWS OF THECAT, released in July 2013 from Minotaur Books. You can find more from Susan at her website, or on Twitter @SusanSpann, where she founded the #PubLaw hashtag to provide legal and business information to authors. 

 

Let's do launch! TRAIL WINDS by Janet Fogg is now available!

Hey! Where's the champagne? On the counter next to the glasses? Okay then, let's pop the cork and launch Trail Winds, five etiological tales presented in this (very short) ebook.

From Splitwing, the first Red-winged blackbird, to HeCoYa, a massive gray coyote, in Trail Winds you'll find fanciful tales of how five natural phenomena came to be.

A recent 5 star review stated: "Heroic metaphors told in the language of conversant animals, reminding adults of how truly clear was the world when we were young. Suggest you share outloud with children at the campfire... just to hear them in the right air." ~ J. J. Wilson

If you enjoy book trailers...

 



 

 

 

Trail Winds is available from numerous online ebooksellers, including Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony, Smashwords, and others!

 

I hope you enjoy Trail Winds.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Janet Fogg

Janet is the author of Soliloquy, an award-winning historical romance, and co-author of the military history best seller, Fogg in the Cockpit.

 

 

 

 

Teaching my way through the Baltic - Part 2, by Karen Albright Lin

In March, Karen Albright Lin shared the beginning of her journey on how to teach writing on a cruise. If you didn't have the opportunity to read that blog, here's the link: Writers, Want a Free Cruise? The Secret is Revealed.

Yesterday, Karen shared the first installment on the results of her first trip. Today, we're visiting the Baltic again for the second installment.

In September we'll share subsequent installments!

To refresh your memory, Karen Albright Lin consults and edits for published and yet-to-be published writers of fiction, nonfiction, and book proposals. She writes in a number of genres and conducts writing workshops in various venues. Her website is www.karenalbrightlin.com.

And now, let's all set sail, and again join Karen in the Baltic!

Janet Fogg

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I never would have thought I’d end up cruising through the Baltic, let alone have it be free for my husband and me.  This post is part two of my report on the experience.  

We’d visited London for a few days before hopping on the ship, meandered through Belgium for the beer and Rostock in former East Germany. I’d already taught “Have a Great Story to Tell?” and “Writing Your Life” to eager cruise guests. My husband and I had taken up daily Zumba, become regulars on the ballroom and pop dance floors, and had gotten used to the norovirus-restrictive dining. It was DAY SIX, time to visit Stockholm.

We saw cathedrals that all became a blur, a palace, and the building where the Nobel Prizes are awarded. Then we lucked into a prized spot to watch the changing of the guards. 

DAY SEVEN we docked in Helsinki. We had little time to do much beyond taking photos of Senate Square, the Rock Church, cathedrals, and museums. But we found time to taste their famous rye-battered tiny fish and reindeer meat accompanied by horrendous room-temp 2% local beer. From Belgium forward we’d decided try a local beer at every stop. Exploring the nooks and crannies of new cities is more fun with a bit of a buzz. Starting our search for souvenirs, we skipped over reindeer pelts Wen had eyed, figuring hometown Boulderites would sniff it out. Every thing was very expensive when converted to Euros. And many of the smaller items were made in China.

We’d barely caught our breath when we woke too early on DAY EIGHT and DAY NINE to join a large group on our VERY EXPENSIVE 2-day excursion to Russia’s St. Petersburg.  If you arrange for a visa yourself ahead of time it is $300.  If you take a $370 excursion it is tucked inside that cost.  So double that and you can see that it was the biggest cost of our trip – since frequent flyer miles got us to and from the ship in Southampton.  It was worth every penny. 

Though our guide was painfully political, bashing Germany every other step, she knew all the hot places to go and got us great spots standing before two DaVincis in the Hermitage – the largest museum collection in the world. Then there was the remarkable Church of Spilled Blood.

 

One of my favorite indoor places of the whole trip was the amber room in Catherine’s otherwise gold-gaudy baroque palace.

  In honor of that amazing room, I brought back amber souvenirs.  After all, the ubiquitous nestling dolls were mostly made in China.       

Another must-see was the Peterhof with its grand fountains overlooking the Gulf of Finland.     Looking back, that excursion was eye opening. The USSR was enemy number one when I was little, one reason we learned to file down to the basement of our schools then duck-and-cover… not only for the Missouri tornados. The Cold War made me fear all things Russian.

I no longer fear it.

I’ll continue with my writer’s journey through the Baltic next month.  Stay tuned!

~ Karen Albright Lin



 

What Would You Do With the Wealth?

Surely, you’ve dreamt of creating something that becomes so successful you slide into the company of luminaries—or maybe they should be called enterprise moguls—like JK Rowling, Stephen King, Stephanie Meyer, James Patterson, Dan Brown and so on (being a writer and with my novel Tattoo Rampage being shopped around in Hollywood, I think of author success stories). Whereas all the writers I know are buttoned-down, hard working raconteurs, I’m still pretty sure the trappings of fame cross their minds every once in a while.

So let’s have some fun. What would you do if you hit it big?

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m definitely not a materialistic kind of guy. I like food, parties, and adventure. Beyond that, I don’t spend much money. I’m a tight wad. But I conjured up 10 things. For the life of me, I couldn’t come up with more gotta-haves than that. So, since I’ve instigated this, I’ll go first.

1. Start a foundation that pays teachers (perhaps some that have been laid off in the recent economic downturn) to help dropouts learn to read and do math. The teachers could also help students who are still in school but might be in jeopardy. And I’d pay them more than state salary.

2. Hire a guy or gal for a full time position to: drive so I can go have a few beers with the boys without fear of the cops pulling me over, cut my hair, cook and clean. This isn’t really a butler/chef kind of gig. No fancy cars or exotic foods. If you’d like to apply for the job, you better have a sense of humor.

3. Buy a swimming pool so instead of running, I could swim the rest of my life and never have to share the lap lane with those showoffs at the recreation center.

4. Oh yeah, that guy or gal I hired would have to maintain the pool.

5. I’d build a Godfathers Pizza close by and have one of my friends run it. But they’d have to open it any time I called. They serve beer don’t they?

6. Harley Davidson. Cliché I know, but I’ve always wanted one. I’d probably buy some for friends as well.

7. See if I can buy some time. Seems I never have any to spare.

8. Start a T shirt business.

9. Go to a different country at least once a year for the next 10 years.

10. At last, I suppose if I had that much money, I’d be invited to hang out with big stars like: Peyton Manning, Kathy Sabine, Governor Hickenlooper, Robert Redford, Bugs Bunny, Willie Nelson, Mayor Hancock, John Elway, Hippie Man, that bear that always wanders into a foothill town and scares the residents, Susan Spann, Anne Trujillo, Phil Anschutz, Pete Coors, Burger King (the one with the creepy mask), Jim Tracy, Janet Fogg, Chauncey Billips, Steven Spielberg, leprechauns, Joe Sakic, The Fray, Chuck Palahniuk, Johnny Depp—he supposedly has a house in Evergreen, Duffman, Garrison Keillor, Rick Steves, Elvira, Alfred E. Neuman, Esri Allbritten, Condalisa Rice (I just love saying her name), Morgan Freeman, the giant bronco at DIA, Sophia Vergara, Olympians from the training center in the Springs, Conan O’brien, the Hulk, George Lucas, Seth Macfarlane, Daven Anderson, the tooth fairy—he owes me money, Lady Gaga, Tina Fey, tattoos come-to-life, my agents Sharon Belcastro and Ella Marie Shupe, Stephen King, Animal…you know...the drummer from Dr. Teeth’s Electric Mayhem on the Muppets, Pecos Bill, that ventriloquist dummy that always tries to jump out and scare me, Disco Duck…

Somehow I lost track of what this was about. Oh yeah, what would do with your riches?

Gusto Dave Jackson

Teaching my way through the Baltic, by Karen Albright Lin

In March, Karen Albright Lin shared the beginning of her journey on how to teach writing on a cruise. If you didn't have the opportunity to read that blog, here's the link: Writers, Want a Free Cruise? The Secret is Revealed.

Below you'll find Karen's first installment on the results of her first trip. Join us tomorrow for Part Two, with subsequent installments in September!

To refresh your memory, Karen Albright Lin consults and edits for published and yet-to-be published writers of fiction, nonfiction, and book proposals. She writes in a number of genres and conducts writing workshops in various venues. Her website is www.karenalbrightlin.com.

And now, let's all set sail, and join Karen in the Baltic!

Janet Fogg

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In June I had the pleasure of teaching on a cruise through the Baltic. I’m back and would love to tell you about the experience: the good, the bad and the wonderful. 

My husband, Wen, and I adjusted to the mid-June BST time zone by staying in London for a few days before taking a bus to Southampton then a taxi to the port. My special boarding letter allowed us into the VIP short line but before we could get into it, we discovered that the port personnel had no idea how to mark our bags. As a guest speaker, my state room wasn’t on the manifest. We were asked to leave them abandoned, isolated from the others. We could only hope they’d make their way onto the ship.

Once aboard, it took a trip to the guest relations desk to find out that our mystery room was just past the “crew only” door. When the bags didn’t arrive, we went searching. We soon found one of them outside another state room door and grabbed it. After informing someone who appeared to be a bag delivery man, we later got the other two.

The first meal was a bit chaotic, as they implemented new server rules after the last trip included a norovirus outbreak. That also explained the obsessive sanitizer guy at the dining room door.

I donned my spiffy blazer and met the activities director and the cruise director to film a teaser for the classes. It would air on the stateroom TVs. We filmed in what would become Wen’s and my afternoon Zumba/karaoke/pop dancing hangout the rest of the trip. In one quick take I gave a brief bio and a general idea of what I would teach. I never turned the in-house TV station on to see it or the subsequent 5 classes I taught.

We spent DAY TWO wandering and sampling terrific beers in Zeebrugge, Belgium.

When the next day’s itinerary was delivered, I discovered that my classes were scheduled parallel to a quiz game modeled on a popular British TV show as well as talks about coming ports. The competition was akin to teaching at a writers’ conference parallel to Donald Maass, Deb Dixon and Robert Crais.

After the luggage SNAFU and the clogged up dining hall, I worried about whether there would be an AV assistant helping me get hooked up to the screen when I was to teach the next day.

DAY THREE, Sea Day, 10:15am, first class: Have a Great Story to Tell? I was relieved that the AV guy was there and a perfect helper. I used a headset like Justin Bieber’s and felt like a star in front of the red velvet curtain, a screen the size of a three-car garage door, and one smaller one off to each side. There were 30 or so in the small theater and I discovered quickly that Brits and Australians (and a scattering of Irish and Scotts) were extremely attentive but did not like to raise their hands when queried. I had to adjust; I was used to U.S. writer attendees who tend to be wide-eyed and eager to contribute. I was thrilled when several followed me out, complimenting my PowerPoint presentation, sharing their stories and asking questions. The number of attendees who chatted with me after the sessions grew over the course of two weeks.

My husband and I are both gregarious. We chose the flexible dinner time and to be seated with new people each night. Along with dancing and socializing every chance we got, this was a great way to get to know many guests and talk up my classes—one reason the attendance grew. A new friendship sometimes overrides a quiz game!

The evening after my first class, we returned to our room to find a “job well done” iced-down bottle of Champaign and a plate of apples. Of course, I called the activities director to thank her.





DAY FOUR we strolled through former East Germany’s Warnemünde and took a train into the quaint town of Rostock to visit the Marienkirche Church and see the world’s oldest working astronomical clock (built in 1492).

             

DAY FIVE, at sea, I taught Writing Your Life to a bit larger crowd. Lots of fun energy and a few people willing to raise hands and ask questions. Balcony vantage at that evening’s Las Vegas-style show offered a view of a sea of gray and silver hair, many likely interested in puttinig legacies to paper.

If my class motivated a few of those in the crowd to write their stories, I will have earned my free cruise for two.

~ Karen Albright Lin

Text Abbreviation Rejects

When the cool kids met and threw together a make-shift committee to start the acronym revolution on smart phones, these were some of the suggestions that got shot down.

EB: Eating bacon – An explanation for the texter being away from their cell phone to savor the pork entrée. Includes smelling.

OMDB: On my death bed. Rejected because the committee realized that it might not be important for a texter in this situation to get to their cell phone.

WTC: What the chuck? – As in Chuck Norris.

EBV: Extended bathroom visit – another quick explanation as to why the texter isn’t responding because they are purging something that ripped apart their stomach. Especially bad bacon.

WATB: What a total bore! – This is reserved as a comment about upper class and rich cutouts who not only get to lay around a pool and constantly browse social networks, but incessantly post gripes and every detail about their cushy lives. The suggestion was shot down because the committee realized that 80% of texters were going to be like this.

AOD: Abbreviations only. Driving – Used when a texter is in a pinch weaving through traffic so has to type acronyms to smart off to their friend’s gripe about their cushy life.

WIGUTMIFADMOMPDC: When I got up this morning, I found a dead mouse on my pillow. Damn cat. – Rejected because the committee feared that PITA would harass them.

JFG: Jaw fell to my groin – An astonished reaction to an outrageous posting. Rejected because, unfortunately, nothing surprises people anymore.

Gusto Dave

Are You Cursed With a Typo Imp?

Can you use garlic, or a silver bullet, or something to get rid of this creep? Is there anybody out there that can surgically remove them? Because I’m pretty sure I got a Typo Imp stuck to my shoulder. It makes me feel like I should stuff my dreams of being a writer in the dumpster. Have you ever felt this way?

It would be easier if it were a devil on my shoulder tempting me to do naughty things. Then I could negotiate such enticements. With a refusal, I could be proud of taking the high road. But the Typo Imp slithers in between my imaginative clouds and jams the controls of my fingers. The monster forces me to write things like, “If your ever around town…” when I freakin’ know that it’s supposed to be YOU’RE! For cryin’ out loud, I learned the proper spelling of these words in elementary school! Even though I have a Bachelor’s of Science degree, the Imp reduces me to a slobbering fool on the page.

Yeah, yeah, I know. That’s what edits are for. Raise your hand, though, if you’ve edited something several times and still found goofs like these. That’s because the Typo Imp has got ya, man! We’re flippin’ doomed! In a query I sent out, not only did I miss this flub, but five—count ‘em, I said five—other authors did as well: “Charlaine Harris wrote the forward for my short story…” Forward? FORWARD? Arrrgghhhh! It wasn’t until the third submission that I caught it and changed the blooper to foreword. I had to go the boxing gym and attack the bag to keep from the throwing my computer through the wall.

Surely by now you’ve had the impulse to utter that we’re all human. I embrace being a flawed creation. It’s truly what makes us beautiful. Now the rebuttal. If the piece of writing was a live performance, I could easily live with the errors. I play guitar and part of the fun of soloing is knowing that you could pluck a sour note. Sometimes those dissonant notes can actually embellish an improvisational rendition! Unfortunately, misspellings don’t make a written composition sweeter. We have plenty of time and technology to weed them out, yet fail to detect them way too often. It’s not fair.

So join me. Let’s hold hands, make a circle, and exorcise this mischievous culprit. Typo Imp you will NOT disturb my hand again. Typo Imp you will NOT…

Crap. Did I misspell Charlaine?

Gusto Dave

Movie Bound: Tattoo Rampage

Interview conducted by Janet Fogg.

In the years I’ve known “Gusto” Dave Jackson, he has helped connect writers to resources and industry professionals, relentlessly praised Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and dreamt up countless unique ideas for stories. His recent success comes as no surprise and I am absolutely delighted for him!

CIR: First off, is it correct that your novel Tattoo Rampage is already represented for film rights by Hotchkiss and Associates and it hasn’t even been released yet?

DJ: That’s right. Yeah, it blows my mind. I just wrapped up the edits and production stuff with the staff of Curiosity Quills Press. They're a great bunch.

CIR: Hotchkiss and Associates have an amazing track record, having guided The Kite Runner, On the Road, Secretariat, and Joe Hill's Horns to major studios. I know you’re modest. How do you feel about being in that kind of company?

DJ: I’m still astonished. I mean…Joe Hill! Yeah, I wrote Tattoo Rampage kind of thinking that it would be a good idea for a movie, and I worked my butt off, but don’t most authors do that? All I can say is: I feel very blessed.

CIR: Word is that Hotchkiss and Associates acquired the rights to represent Tattoo Rampage within a couple of weeks of it being picked up for publication. Is that true? If so, that’s very fast for this industry.

DJ: Mr. Hotchkiss negotiated a deal with the publisher to represent it for film eight or nine business days after my literary agent, Sharon Belcastro, posted the news of the contract on Publisher’s Marketplace. She called me on a Friday, saying that he read the manuscript in one day, loved it, and really wanted to represent it. For what it’s worth, a professional that moves that fast, and sees what he wants and makes it happen, gives me the utmost confidence that he will find a good home on the screen for it. Again, I’m very thrilled and honored.

CIR: Besides you being a good writer, why do you think Hotchkiss was so determined to get Tattoo Rampage?

DJ: He may love tattoos. :-)  From that, I’ll go on to say that tattoos are so cool. Here's the skinny about the story:

Evangelina Marquez-James gets her first tattoo, a symbol of courage to carry on after her husband dies in the line of duty as a police officer. The skin art is of an elite yet obscure super heroine created by a forgotten 1940s artist.

A solar disturbance triggers a metamorphosis in her new ink, enabling Evangelina with the ability to transform into the embodiment of the character complete with powers. She sets out to wage war against the types of vermin who murdered her husband.

Acid, a sociopathic killer who can assume the form of his warlord tattoo, seeks the artist’s original sketchbook. When Evangelina comes into possession of the drawing pad, Acid not only tracks it down, but her family as well, forcing her into a standoff with his nightmarish army born of ink.

There are quite a few titles in circulation that integrate supernatural tattoos into their plots very well. With Tattoo Rampage, I wanted the ink to be at center stage. For instance, when their host dies, tattoos go to a place called Inkscape. Imagine every tattoo that was stitched throughout the ages living in a surreal world. From Inkscape, the heroes, called Sabron Quills, and the villain, Acid, draw their powers.

The heroine has dark tribal flames twisting down her arms that can extend out of her skin in the form of blades, with which she fights her enemies.

Although Tattoo Rampage is not any where near a horror novel, there is a tribute to many iconic monsters, like the aliens from the Ridley Scott and James Cameron films of the 80s. A tattoo of Jack the Ripper plays a critical role in the plot. Comic book heroes made of ink, some loyal to their original appearance—some distorted because the ink faded or the host wanted them drawn with a different style, make cameos.

Anyway, Mr. Hotchkiss probably sees how this stuff can appeal to a huge demographic.

CIR: The heroine of the story is a young widowed mother. Her police officer husband was killed in the line of duty, leaving her with a seven year old son to grieve with. And in the housing market crash, she’s a realtor, struggling to get by. Did someone you know inspire the character?

DJ: Several people influenced the creation of Evangelina Marquez-James. The recession hurt so many people. Everywhere you look, there are heart breaking stories and I felt the protagonist should be one of these courageous souls.

CIR: What challenges did you encounter, if any, writing from Evangelina’s POV?

DJ: I wanted to make sure she had plenty of personality. There are a lot of colorful characters in Tattoo Rampage and Evangelina is a good girl, Catholic, honor roll student, never drank until she turned 21 and then it was just a modest glass of wine. I’ve never been like that so I wanted to make sure she still had some gritty feelings which I think my agents and editors feel I pulled off.

CIR: When is it coming out and where can we get a copy?

DJ: Tattoo Rampage is forecasted for release September 15th. Mainly an E pub, it will be available through Amazon and also directly from the publisher's website http://curiosityquills.com/ And I would very much appreciate any word-of-mouth/social networking that friends would be willing to pass on about it. I’m working on an ‘Ink’ club of sorts in which endorsers can get swag.

CIR: Thank you, Dave! We look forward to reading Tattoo Rampage and hope to hear about a movie deal soon!

You can friend and/or like Dave on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/gustodave.Jackson
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorGustoDaveJackson
and here, on Chiseled in Rock!