August 15, 2008

PUBLISHING

 

Questions are in Blue
Mary Rosenblum’s  answers are in Green

Mary Rosenblum:  Welcome to the Friday After Hours Forum. Nice to be back in the Forum business!  So I was going to talk about publishing tonight. Any questions to start with?

If you can get a short story published, what is the rule for taking that story and turning it into a book?  What about copyrights and such?

Mary Rosenblum: As long as you haven't sold the publisher 'all rights', Shellyn, you are fine. That's why it's so important NOT to sell all rights unless you never plan to use those words again.  The book rights and short story rights are quite different. Several of my novels incorporate a published short story, usually as the first chapter.

I know it has been discussed before, but thanks for the clarification.
Mary Rosenblum 5:07 pm: Shelly, I'm willing to answer questions over and over. Lots of new people show up here.  Do be sure to read your contracts. A lot of novice e-publishers just ask for all rights.  I don't think they're trying to be crooks, they just don't know how to write a contract and figure this is simple.

Where do you find the info on which publishers are legitimate?
Mary Rosenblum You can visit Writers Beware on the SFWA website or even better, in my opinion, is Preditors and Editors. http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
I knew it rhymed. Thanks.

What is the difference between mainstream and literary fiction?
Mary Rosenblum: Mainstream, Jazmin, means anything that isn't genre. It's not mystery, SF, Romance… it's mostly where it gets shelved in the bookstore. Elements of those genres are common in mainstream.  Literary fiction is a more subtle distinction. Generally it is strong on literary style rather than plot, and again, it's going to depend on who published it and where and how it's reviewed. But it tends to be more style driven than story or character driven. But all genres overlap to some degree.
  
Hi Mary. My daughter had a poem published in a collection published by The America Library of Poetry. They stated that she retains all rights. Can she submit that poem to a contest or literary mag. as long as she tells them that it has been published already?

Mary Rosenblum: Sure, Barb.  I don't know how much 'first rights' matter in the poetry universe.  Alas, a lot of poetry 'publishers' exist only to sell expensive collections to the authors.  Always be sure to check out a publisher there before you sign anything.  A lot of publishers prey on naive novice writers. They know just what peoples' dreams are and they play right to them. You end up spending money to publish your book and very few people ever see it.

So is Preditors and Editors a source for checking out publishers?
Mary Rosenblum: Yes, it is, awehner. You can check out contests and agents, too. http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
It's actually a good place to look for markets. They evaluate a lot of markets, not just scams.

This is probably a very common question, but how much can a new writer expect to get from their first novel?
I sent something to Writers Digest Sweepstakes back in June and the $15 check has yet to clear my bank?
Mary Rosenblum: Actually, Adam, not that many people ask! How much money you get depends on a lot of things.  If you sell to a big NY house in one of the genres, you can expect 3000 to maybe 10,000 dollars as an advance, and probably down on the low end of that scale.

I sent something to Writers Digest Sweepstakes back in June and the $15 check has yet to clear my bank?
Mary Rosenblum 5:20 pm: And that's odd, Awe. I hope your submission got there. Mainstream, thriller, suspense, all tend to bring larger advances. Small press don't pay an advance. In all the above cases, you get royalties on each book sold. That really determines how much you make.

Mary, I've completed a novel and D Bischoff was doing some editing work with me on it, but he started a new project. What reliable resources are there for finding editing help?

Mary Rosenblum 5:21 pm: DJG, how nice that David was helping you! Did you ask him to recommend someone? There's no 'license' to edit and a lot of 'editors' out there aren't very good. It also depends on what you need? Was he helping with content?

Did not ask for a recommendation? He liked the novel. Needed help with some grammar issues, and needed to develop female characters a bit more. We actually completed about half of the chapters.

Mary Rosenblum: Can you just keep working on it on your own?  Get some critiquers to swap critiques with you?

How much should you pay an editor?
Mary Rosenblum:  Charie, it's expensive. Up to several dollars per page, depending on just what you're buying. Much cheaper to learn how to write well yourself, you know!

Mary what do you do when a line editor tries to change your story past all recognition?
Mary Rosenblum: Barb, I wouldn't let that happen. And it never has. An editor is supposed to make what you do better...not different.  Of course some people don't want ANY changes


[crystalwizard->Mary Rosenblum ] 5:25 pm: test
Do you suggest that your work be as perfect as you can make it, before getting an editor?
[Mary Rosenblum: Charie, to be honest, I don't suggest that you hire an editor. It's a huge expense and it's unlikely that a professional editor can make your work saleable if it is not.
crystalwizard->Mary Rosenblum ] 5:25 pm: oh. didn't know how to do that

So just because an editor has a red pen doesn't have to mean that you have to do ALL the changes they say you should?

Mary Rosenblum: Well, Barb, it depends on what they want to change. Editors make comments and ask for changes in my fiction all the time, but they...the editor...only line edits on my mss pages. They don't make content changes.

If your MS has been accepted by a publisher and their editor looks at it, do you still pay the editor?

Mary Rosenblum : Never. Money always flows FROM the publisher TO the writer. That’s how 'fake' publishing houses scam authors. They 'charge' for editing.
: I couldn't see it very well... but I've gotten used to highlighting text when it's dark on a dark background, which makes it

 I realize this question depends greatly on what standard of living you are used to, but is it difficult to sell enough to make a living at writing?
[Mary Rosenblum: Depends on what you want to write, Adam.  It's quite doable to make a living doing freelance nonfiction. It is much harder to make a living writing fiction. And the hardest way is to try and make a living writing what YOU want to write, as opposed to writing what's popular in the marketplace.

Mary do you think the YA market surge is going to continue for a while yet?
Mary Rosenblum: That's what I hear. It's one of the things I was scoping out at the World SF Conference. The publishers and agents all think it's hot.

I have to admit, from my own experience the YA books I have had the pleasure to read are amazingly well written!
Mary Rosenblum: It's a well paying market!  I got a nice fat royalty check on the 10,000 word story I had in a YA anthology last year. On top of a very nice upfront check.

Is YA a division of all the publishing houses?
Mary Rosenblum: Most of the big houses have a YA – Young Adult -- division, Charie. I can't say that all do.   And you have smaller YA publishers, too.
 
I think I read from Hilari Bell, a YA author, that libraries are more likely to accept YA fantasy books than adult fantasy.
Mary Rosenblum: The library market is very large and yes, fantasy is a big seller in the YA market.

Do you have an opinion on American Writers and Artists, Inc.? Did you attend their conference in San Francisco in July?
Mary Rosenblum: I didn't, Joann. I don't know anything about that organization. I'm not a member.  You'll find that a LOT of writers organizations exist.

How does one find a reputable agent?
Mary Rosenblum: Joann, you need to go to the Association of Authors Representatives Website. http://www.aar-online.org/index.html  This is the professional organization of agents. They have a strict code of ethics.
If you are a novice writer, I recommend that you sign ONLY with an AAR member.  You don't have enough experience to know if you're being cheated or scammed.

My area writers group runs an annual contest and publishes the winners in a literary journal. We print about 70 copies. I consider that publication and first anthology rights are used. Another member, more senior than I, says because the print run is so small and it's not sold to the public, it doesn't count as publication. What say you, Mary?
Mary Rosenblum: Janet, that's a close call, all right. Since it's not distributed to the public for sale, I think you're safe considering it 'unpublished'. Some publishers might not agree with you, however.  Just FYI, 'publication' means that your work is available to the public either for money or for free.  So posting your novel on your website means you have published it!

I have a published book but need someone to sell it for me. I am a lousy sales person..
Mary Rosenblum: Well, you can hire a publicist to promote you but it will probably cost you more than you'll make on the book.

Is there much problem with people pirating prose off the internet, or is that no real issue?
Mary Rosenblum: It's not really a big  issue, Adam.
I guess i'm just paranoid, loll
Mary Rosenblum: I'm sure it happens ...it certainly happens in schools where students plagiarize stuff. But professors are really good at catching 'em. Well, Adam, it CAN happen. I don't mean that it doesn't. But I haven't heard that it's a huge issue.

Are short story collections generally hard to publish?
Mary Rosenblum: Do you mean a single author collection, Jerry?
Yes.
Mary Rosenblum: Yes, they are, Jerry. Usually you have to have an established name...you've published short stories and people like 'em.

How long do rights last? Can an article be published in multiple magazines?
Mary Rosenblum: Sure, Joann. You own the copyright unless you sell it. That's 'all rights'. Be careful about doing that. Some of my stories have been published five or six times. Articles are often republished. Those are 'reprint' rights.
[Auditorium]: adamc has left at 6:01 pm

I recently read in Writer's Digest that you should usually ask more money if you want to sell "All Rights."
Mary Rosenblum: You can ask. But also ask yourself, Jerry, if you plan to use those words again, or those characters if it's a short story. You can't use those characters again if you've sold the rights to them. Remember...your words last forever. You can sell them over and over again ...if you still own them!