Issue #10
October, 2005
Dear Romance Writer,
My apologies for the delayed October version of
Romantically Yours. Disaster hit our building in the form of Hurricane Wilma.
AWAI is operating out of temporary facilities - Barb Hume's living room.
We appreciate all the caring thoughts you have sent our way, and we appreciate
your patience as we get back on track.
October has been an exciting month. It all began with AWAI's annual Bootcamp
held at the Delray Beach Marriott overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Imagine
mingling with 300 of your colleagues who were there to attend workshops, meet
the masters, network, and participate in the Job Fair. It was a rewarding and
uplifting experience.
I was delighted to meet those of you who are in both the copywriting and
"Writing for Love and Money" programs. I was especially pleased to meet
Mistina Bates, who followed up with a warm and inspiring note that made me
misty-eyed. I predict you will soon be reading this aspiring romance
novelist's work!
Regrettably, I was not able to stay for the entire Bootcamp, as I had another
commitment in Bellevue, Washington. I presented two workshops there at The
Greater Seattle Romance Writers' Conference. It was my pleasure to have as my
moderator Shanna Eilers, another "Writing for Love and Money" team member.
(Shanna was also one of the few writers at the conference who was asked to
submit her work to a publisher.) And I made a new author friend by the name of
Stephanie Rowe. Stephanie writes for the cutting-edge chick-lit market. (For
more about her please log onto
www.stephanierowe.com.)
That said, my first presentation, an interactive workshop, was scheduled for
8.00 to 9.00 on Friday night. Remember, there was a three-hour time difference
for me ... so this is way after my bedtime. But somehow I managed.
"Exotic Settings" (the title of the workshop) was aimed at the writer who is
not able to travel. Participants were asked to brainstorm effective and
inexpensive ways to do research. At the end of one hour, each team leader
presented a short encounter between hero and heroine, with setting being the
focus.
My next session was scheduled for the next morning at 10:00. My topic was the
burgeoning multi-cultural market, with the premise being that as the face of
America changes and demographics shift, publishers have to change focus. All in
all, The Greater Seattle Romance Writers' Conference was a wonderful experience.
One more thing before we get to this month's issue. Drum roll, please! Cindy
Breeding announces a first sale to Kensington Publishing. She has just signed a
two-book contract to write historicals for this prestigious house. Way to go, Cindy!
We are delighted to have you join the ranks as a published author.
Romantically Yours,
Marcia
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Today, we have Part 1 of an article written by master copywriter Bob Bly, a legend
in his own right. Bob is an experienced direct marketer and the author of over 60 books.
His "Selling Yourself" program has been enormously successful. See www.bly.com for more information about the man and his services.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR BOOK DIES, Part 1
by Robert W. Bly
A book represents a great investment of time, effort, and energy - an investment rarely
covered by your advance alone. Unfortunately, most books go out of print too quickly to pay
substantial royalties.
But having the book go out of print does not put an end to its value. The physical inventory
- the remaining unsold books themselves - have value to the author, both as a product that can
be marketed and sold on its own and as a promotional tool (for consultants, doctors,
psychologists, speakers, experts in various subjects, and others with professional practices
in the fields their books cover).
More important are the rights to reprint and republish the work. Even if you never sell the
book to a new publisher, you still want to be able to use the material - as chapters in other
books, as articles, lectures, speeches, cassette programs, perhaps even in self-published
material. If you don't have full and clear ownership of these rights, your material may remain
unread and unused forever.
Before you sign on the dotted line ...
Here's what you do to make sure you retain the rights to your book after it goes out of print:
- Make sure the publisher copyrights the book in your name, and not in its own. Although
copyrighting the book in the author's name is standard practice, numerous smaller publishers
(and a few larger ones) will make themselves the copyright holder - unless you insist otherwise.
So include a contract clause which states that rights revert to you when the book goes out of
print.
In 1982, for example, I published a dictionary of computer words with a small press. When the
press went out of business, I checked my contract and found that I had neglected to insist on
a clause dealing with rights reversion (often called the "termination" clause in a standard
publisher's contract). Now the books are out of print, the former owner of the publishing
house won't return my phone calls, and my rights to reuse the material are probably lost
forever.
- Make sure the contract defines "out of print," so both you and the publisher know when you
can request reassignment of rights. One publisher's contract says the book is out of print
when "subsequent to one year from publication date no earnings have been payable to the author
during two consecutive accounting periods (12 months)." After that, the publisher must republish,
resell, or actively market the book within six months, or rights revert to the author.
- Be careful of tricky clauses. Another publisher's contract says that rights don't revert to
the author until the work is out of print "in all forms of media." This means that if the book
goes out of print, yet the publisher continues to sell a cassette version, a videotape, or even
a small pamphlet based on the book, I can't offer the book itself to another publisher.
- Make sure the contract specifies what happens to the remaining inventory of books and the
original camera-ready copy when the book goes out of print. In my contracts with Dodd, Mead,
this clause reads: "The Author shall have the right to purchase from the Publisher all copies
remaining at cost of manufacture, and the plates and engravings (if in existence) at one-half
their cost to the Publisher, including composition."
Getting the copies is important if you intend to sell them, use them as promotional giveaways,
or simply want them as mementos. Getting the plates is even more important, because a new
publisher can reprint your book directly from the existing plates or films, saving enormous
amounts of time and money. And this, frankly, is a selling point when marketing the book to a
new publisher.
- Choose a reputable publisher with a good track record. This, I admit, can be difficult. For
instance, in the early 1980s, I published six books with Banbury Books, a small, entrepreneurial
publishing firm that was a successful pioneer in computer books. When the computer book market
went soft, Banbury went out of business, and my six books went out of print.
I vowed to stick with major publishers. Then, after publishing two books with Dodd, Mead - a
firm that had been in business since 1839 - it folded in 1989, and two more books were out of
print.
Meanwhile, my friend Roger Parker has completed some successful and lucrative books for a small
publisher I had never heard of - Ventana. Roger's books continue to sell like gangbusters, and
both he and Ventana are making a lot more money in publishing than I am right now.
Still, a large, established publisher like Random House or Simon & Schuster is probably less
likely to disappear than a small press with only a couple of titles in its catalog.
When the book is published ...
The best way to protect yourself from your book going out of print is to help the publisher
sell it - so there will be a constant demand for it. Some suggestions:
- When filling out the author's questionnaire, give the publisher complete information - on
the book, its selling points, and any resources or media outlets for promotion. The staff at
the publishing house gets its information from your completed author's questionnaire, not the
book itself (which they don't have time to read). So don't take this document lightly.
If you're detailed in your answers, the author's questionnaire form won't give you sufficient
room for your replies. I type the questions and answers on my word processor, which gives me
more room and allows me to insert entire sections of my book proposal into the appropriate
sections of the questionnaire. This gives the publisher's staff the same powerful material
that sold my editor on the book in the first place.
- Volunteer to write promotional copy for the publisher. Write your own catalog blurb and
press release, and give it to your editor and publicist. Usually, they will be only too happy
to use what you supply.
- Cooperate with the publisher's publicity and marketing departments. These days, the most
common complaint among authors is that publishers don't do enough to promote books. So when
the publisher does get you a speaking engagement or book you on a talk-radio show, don't be
difficult. And let everyone know you are eager and available to do more of the same. Getting
publicity for an author makes the publicist look good, so she will work with you if you
encourage it and if your book is promotable.
- Conduct your own marketing campaign. Politely find out what the publisher intends to do
- and what it won't do. Then, consider taking up some of the slack yourself. If you have
written a book on management, for example, and have some contacts at major corporations,
see if you can sell the book in volume as a training tool or premium. Give seminars or
lectures at which the book can be sold to attendees. This won't move large quantities, but
it will help spread the word about your book.
- Keep at least a dozen copies on hand. If the book suddenly goes out of print and you
can't buy the remainders, you'll need those copies to send to prospective new publishers.
And once you find a new publisher, his production department will probably need two or
three clean copies of the book to print from, assuming you can't get the plates or film.
- Keep up with the publishing industry. Subscribe to Publishers Weekly and Writer's
Digest. If you read or hear rumors that your publisher is in financial trouble or is
a target for acquisition, call your editor and buy at least 100 copies of your book (at
your author's discount, of course). Once a publishing house's money problems are bad enough
to become public rumor, financial collapse - which can result in inaccessibility of their
inventory - can happen faster than you think.
[Ed. Note: Another warning sign that your publisher is having financial difficulties is
late royalty payments and statements. More about that coming in November, in Part 2 of
Bob's article.]
HAPPENINGS:
November 4 - 6, 2005
LRWA Beach Bound Retreat - Low country RWA
Private Beach House, Isle of Palms
Susan Wiggs, Diane Chamberlain, Charlotte Hughes, Marjory Wentworth, Mary Alice Monroe.
Nina Bruhns ninabruhns@aol.com
www.lowcountryrwa.com
November 18 - 20, 2005
Miami International Book Fair
Miami Dade College
N.E. 2nd Ave.
Miami, FL
Billed as the largest and finest book fair in America.
November 19, 2005
10:00 a.m.
Pocono Lehigh Romance Writers
"Tighten Up That Sagging Middle"
www.plrw.org
INTERVIEW WITH AMY MOORE-BENSON
Now it's time to meet literary agent Amy Moore-Benson. Amy hails from Toronto, and until
recently was a senior editor with Mira Books - a Harlequin imprint. Having negotiated on
both sides of the table, she brings to the literary world a wealth of experience. In
addition to being a savvy businesswoman, she is one of the nicest people I know.
RY: I've always found this agenting business fascinating. Can you tell
our members what made you decide to become an agent?
AMB: I was an editor for 12 years with MIRA Books, and loved every
minute of working on such a dynamic program. But what I loved most of all was being an
advocate for my authors, negotiating deals and working with authors on editorial strategy.
And I realized that those were all things that I could do as an agent, while building my
own business. Plus, the ability to have more control over my workload was very appealing,
given that I have a young family.
RY: It must be very different being on the other side of the business.
I mean, here you were a senior editor at MIRA, making major buying decisions. Now you
actually are on the sales end of things.
AMB: Interestingly enough, I get the same gratification in selling as I
did in buying, maybe more so. There is nothing more exciting than finding the perfect home
for a client, in finding an editor and publishing house that will get behind them and their
project 100%. It certainly is more difficult to sell than to buy, and there are a lot of
disappointments, but there's nothing like the thrill of selling a client's work.
RY: Can you give us an idea of what might enter into your decision to
represent or not represent an author?
AMB: My decision to represent the work of an author is primarily driven
by my reaction to the editorial. If I don't believe in the author's talent, I can't properly
represent them. Of course, the commercial viability of a prospective client's work is also
important, and there is nothing more difficult than turning down representation to an author
whose writing you love, but who you truly believe you can't sell because there is no market
for their work.
RY: On the flip side, what might enter into your decision to not represent
an author?
AMB: The easiest answer is a manuscript that I just can't connect with or
become emotionally invested in. It's really the same reason for not acquiring manuscripts when
I was an editor. There is something very instinctive about the process of taking on clients,
and you have to listen to those instincts carefully.
RY: What types of query letters would capture your interest and prompt you
to request a partial?
AMB: Professional. Something that captures a bit of the author's voice. No
gimmicks. No hard sells. And, of course, a story that sounds interesting, different.
RY: Since becoming an agent, what has been your biggest success to date?
AMB: Working with thriller writer Alex Kava has been a personal thrill. I
bought Alex's first novel, A Perfect Evil, as an editor at MIRA Books, and worked with her
on five books. And now, being able to be involved in her career from this perspective is very
gratifying.
RY: Can you tell our members what a writer should reasonably expect of an
agent representing them?
AMB: I think it's all the things you should expect in any professional
relationship: open communication, insightful feedback, honesty, hard work. Writers should
never forget that agents work for them, not the other way around. But once they've put their
work in the hands of an agent, they need to let the agent do their job and trust their
integrity and opinions, even if the news or information is sometimes difficult to hear.
RY: Do you have advice for a newbie attempting to break into the writing
world?
AMB: Yikes! Be brave? Seriously, this can be a very rewarding and very
heartbreaking business, and writers need to believe in their work foremost. And then, they
need to be patient.
RY: Assuming that you are still open to new talent, how would someone
seeking representation go about querying you? Let me be a bit more explicit. Do you accept
email queries? Should the author enclose three chapters with the initial query ... or hold
off until they are invited to submit?
AMB: I find that I respond best to email queries - just a query letter,
please. No attachments, no samples of the work included in the letter. A professional letter
outlining their book and their personal experience is sufficient.
RY: Any parting words to keep our writers inspired? And what's next for
Amy Moore-Benson as she ventures forth into the literary world?
AMB: As I already said, "Be brave." Despite all the bad news in the
market, I do believe good books that really speak to a willing audience can find the right
home. Eventually. And as for me, I have a six-week-old baby and I'm juggling my business
with his schedule right now, so I'm being very selective in the projects I take on. Honoring
my commitments to clients is very important, and I'm being careful not to overextend myself.
But I plan to expand my client base once I've gotten through the newborn phase.
Marcia King-Gamble
Director of Member Services and Editor of "Writing for Love and Money"
Designed for You - February 2006
WHO'S ACQUIRING:
Avon Books - Lucia Macro is seeking historical and contemporary romances
featuring dark heroes. New voices in mainstream fiction are particularly welcomed. Lyssa
Keuch is looking for high-concept romantic suspense and chick-lit for the Trade line. Erika
Tsang loves vampires, werewolves, witches, and ethnic fiction. May Chen is seeking sexy
historicals featuring irresistible Highland Lairds and stories set in Regency, Victorian,
or Medieval eras.
Avalon Books - Actively seeking romantic comedy and historicals (Medieval
times to World War I).
Kensington Publishing - Seeking erotic romances for a new line being
launched in January of 2006. Submissions should be sent to John Sconamiglio, Audrey LaFehr,
or Hilary Sares. Various lengths considered.
COMING NEXT MONTH:
In November, we'll interview successful male romance writer Harold Lowry, who writes under
the pseudonym Leigh Greenwood. Harold is the ex-president of Romance Writers of America and
a prolific author. His specialty is writing for the historical market.
ABOUT ROMANTICALLY YOURS
Romantically Yours is a FREE monthly newsletter for students of American
Writers & Artists Inc.'s Romance Writing Course - "Writing for Love
and Money."
We want to hear from you. Please send comments, news, research, or story
ideas directly to Marcia King-Gamble at romanticallyyours@awaionline.com.
American Writers & Artists Inc.
245 NE 4th Ave., Ste 102
Delray Beach, FL 33483
Phone (561) 278-5557
Fax (561) 278-5929
memberservices@awaionline.com
CHANGE OF ADDRESS?
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© 2005 American Writers & Artists Inc.