WRITE IT, DON'T TELL IT

As holidays approach, I am mindful of how this messes with authors. Just when you are “getting somewhere” on that chapter or piece, a holiday or work project comes up to hold you hostage. “I’ll never get back into it. I’m going to lose the momentum I have,” you lament. The only solution I have found for this is to –

• not worry about the full writing of it—just keep jotting notes, thoughts, fragments down in the notebook you keep on you at all times. This can even be just words you scribble down, which will trigger the whole thought;
• KEEP QUIET--do NOT tell what you are planning to write to anyone, which will only ensure that you will never write it

This last point is critical. Every time you TELL someone what you are going to write, you give away the very heart and soul of it, and you will never fully write it as you first envisioned it. Really.

WRITE first, TELL later.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Laurie 

http://www.authorbiz.com/

Self-Publishing After Being Published: New Questions Arise

Most authors feel loyalty to their agents who have placed their books with a traditional publisher, and been at their side through the early years. So now the question arises: Once there has been termination of those contracts, with reversion of rights, and the author now self-publishes the book to keep it in print, should the agent continue to receive commission?

Most, if not all, Agency Agreements signed prior to 2010 probably do not have a provision for this scenario. All newer Agreements certainly will.

The author can argue that the contract(s) which the agent placed are terminated and completed. And just as the author has the right to terminate his or her agent for next books, he/she has the right to re-license the book whose rights have reverted, and it is under completely new publishing contracts.

The agent can argue that he/she created the opportunity through all the original sales and licensing and the intent of the original Agency Agreement was that he/she would be the agent of record on this book no matter how many lives it has.

The Author then thinks, gee, what has this agent done for me lately? And true, the agent should earn the commission doing something, but the original selling of the book is not NOTHING...it did create all further opportunity.

The Agent thinks of all the work and hours invested in this author that have never been paid for no matter how many sales or licenses were placed…

The Author thinks, well, I haven’t been paid all I should have earned either, that’s why we were partners…

Agent: And we still are partners, and you don’t know what I could do for you in the future.

The author thinks the agent seems greedy. The agent thinks the author seems greedy and ungrateful.

There is a contractual aspect, of course, that says if it isn’t provided for in the Agreement, the author doesn’t have to give the agent anything further. But it might be vague, or implied, and this necessitates the discussion, consideration, and decision, case by case. Even if the Agreement allows the author to take self-publishing elsewhere, that doesn’t mean it’s the smart thing to do, or the ethical thing to do. Don't draw a line:  consider all sides, consider the future as well as this moment, and make your decision based on working relationships that you want in your professional life.

Tell me what you think. Let’s hear from each other on this.

Lauriewww.authorbiz.com