MWA Weighs In On Harlequin Horizons
Today, Mystery Writers of America (a sponsor of Writer Beware, along with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) issued this announcement to its members:
The SFWA Blog, Writer Beware
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The SFWA Blog, Writer Beware
Harlequin Horizons: Another Major Publisher Adds A Self-Publishing Division
Writer Beware’s Victoria Strauss analyzes Harlequin Horizons and the trouble it presents for authors.
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Two Deep Questions
Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware
Deep question number one: Why has the launch of Harlequin Horizons provoked such a gigantic firestorm of indignation, when the launch of West Bow Press (which is exactly the same sort of venture, except way more expensive and with a referral fee scheme thrown in) not only didn’t cause a big outcry, but received some fairly positive mentions from industry professionals?
I have my own theories, but I’m interested in what others think.
Deep question number two: Is Thomas Nelson RWA-eligible? If so, why hasn’t RWA repudiated it as well?
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Agent Inbox
Yesterday, PW reported on the launch of AgentInbox, a new service from collaborative writing website WEbook.
“AgentInbox is a service that connects publication-ready authors with reputable, vetted literary agents,” says the service’s FAQ for writers. Writers enter their book’s “vital stats,” including title, genre, query letter, and all or part of the manuscript (there are several tutorials to help with the polishing process). They can then check AgentInbox’s roster of participating agents and choose which ones they’d like their submission to go to. WEbook staff pre-screens submissions, then forwards them on to the agents chosen.
The SFWA Blog, Writer Beware
Revised Google Book Search Settlement Filed
On Friday, Google, the Association of American Publishers, and the Authors Guild filed a revised version of the Google Book Search Settlement. It’s now up to Judge Denny Chin to set dates for a notice period, an objection hearing, and the final Fairness Hearing.
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Wanna Be a Virtual Author’s Assistant?…Maybe Not
As readers of this blog know, I’m fascinated by the strange phenomena that flourish at the fringes of the publishing world. So I was thrilled recently to discover yet another example: an online course that teaches people how to become Virtual Author’s Assistants.
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Blog Post/Article Roundup
Some blog posts and articles of interest from agents around the web.
Copyright Education, The SFWA Blog, Writer Beware
Rights and Copyright
Copyright, literally, is “the right to copy.” It guarantees the authors of creative works–including books, artworks, films, recordings, photographs–the exclusive right for a set period of time to allow other people to copy and distribute the work, by whatever means and in whatever media currently exist. It also prohibits copying and distributing without the author’s permission. You own copyright by law, automatically, as soon your work is fixed in tangible form–i.e., the minute you write down the words.
The SFWA Blog, Writer Beware
Author Mills and a Request for Contact
Unlike commercial or trade publishers, whose business model is based on book volume (selling as many books as possible from a limited number of authors), author mills’ business model is based on author volume (selling a limited number of books from as many authors as possible). The most famous example of an author mill is PublishAmerica, but there are others, such as VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller, an academic author mill.
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Why Referral Fees Present Ethical Problems
This is a followup to my post on Thomas Nelson’s new self-publishing division, West Bow Press–specifically, on Nelson’s plans to pay referral fees to agents and others who refer writers to West Bow.