Writer Beware! There are sharks out there,
and they like writers who don't know as much about the
business side of writing as they should.
and they like writers who don't know as much about the
business side of writing as they should.
There are so many people out there looking for writers. Most of those doing the
looking aren't doing so to pay those writers, but to take advantage of them. It's a
good case of buyer beware -- before you sign anything, know what you are
getting in to and just who you are getting into it with. Below are a few tips to
help you make a better decision before it's too late.
Don't Call Us, We'll Call You! *** Let's face it, how many publishers and agents
have time to join e-mail lists, search for author's websites, or anything else, just
to find writers to send request or info to? Probably none that you would want to
deal with. As almost a given, good publishers and agents won't track you down,
unless you've had a book on one of the bestseller charts. It's a pretty safe bet
that you can delete that message from Best Book House, or toss that flier out
from Sure First-Sale Agency. If in doubt, simply do your homework and find out
everything you can about that agent or publisher before you decide to reply or
not.
Don't Sign Without Reading! *** We've heard this plenty, and it stands true
with your career -- we are talking about a career here, a writing career. Don't
even think about signing your name to a piece of paper unless you understand
every word and condition on that page.
When it comes to a publisher, know what the standard advance is, what royalty
rate is common. With print publishers, 8% or less is pretty common as I write
this. Some small publishers and e-publishers often boast about how print pubs
offer such small royalty rates while they offer 30% or higher in comparison. You
need to know that an 8% royalty rate from a big print pub might be seven
thousand dollars, while even a 50% royalty rate from a small press or e-pub
might be a hundred dollars tops. The time to decide if you want to sign a
contract or not, is before you put pen to paper, not later when a check comes in.
So, do your homework well where you won't be surprised or let down later.
There are a few places on line where you can check out what a number of
publishers pay. I have a couple on my Articles page. Take the time to look, or ask
around. This goes for any other wording in the contract that you don't
completely understand. Better safe than sorry. Which ever publisher you go
with, you should make that choice with your eyes wide open and you should be
satisfied with the terms.
When it comes to dealing with an agent, ask around. Look over that contract
and see what percent of payment she takes. 15 to 20 % is the norm as I write
this, 15% being most common. Does she charge a reading fee to even look over
your work? If so, move on. If you get something back suggesting to you that you
should have her edit your work, an editor she knows edit the work, or so on --
all for a fee of course -- before she looks at it again, tell her goodbye.
Check around and see which publishers she has sold to in the last year. Hey, if
it's some little pub, or print on demand, or e-pub, you can probably do that
yourself just as well as she can. Is she a member of AAR? If all seems well, and
you make it to the point where a contract is offered, like I said for the
publishers, make sure you understand every word, and every time limit or
condition mentioned.
What Do You Want? Remember, It's Your Career *** Maybe before you even
start looking around, you need to sit down and think long and hard about what
you want out of your career. Do you only write for fun and don't care about
payment? Do you hope to be able to make a decent amount each year from your
writing? Do you want to be able to give up your day job and live comfortably
off of your writing? Don't ask others about this. This is all about you and your
hopes. When you know the answers to these questions, then you'll know what
path is right for you, and what kind of deals are good ones for you, and which
ones you should pass on.
Of course you'll also have to consider the market, your writing skills, and so
much more. Maybe going with a small publisher or newer agent to get your foot
in the door and your work noticed is what's right for you, if the contact with
them doesn't bind you long term? Maybe waiting a couple of years longer while
you try to improve or reach a top agent or publisher is more what you want? Or
maybe just having your book out there where people can read it and you can say
you wrote it, is your goal? Make sure you make the right choice for you.
More Danger Zones! Contests and Book Doctors *** Writing contests are a great
way to get feedback on your work, to earn a few kudos to add to your query
letters, and to get chapters in front of that dream editor or agent when you pick
the right contest, but they can also just be another way to part you from your
money.
Plenty of contests are run for one of two reasons, or both together. One reason
some are run is to simply get the entry fee. You hand over your money, and
that's that. Maybe they randomly pick a winner or hand out some little prize, or
publish the work on their site or something. None of which helps you. The
second reason is to actually hook in writers. Publishers and agents not on the
up and up often run contests just to reach writers. After or during the contest
then send each writer a letter or message about how great their work is and how
they think it should be published. Of course you can bet it's going to come
around to them wanting money before long.
RWA chapters run a number of contests and you can count on them being on
the up and up, but if the contest is run by anyone else, check it out good before
you send in that entry fee. With RWA contests, do some homework too. Like
check out who the final judges are. If it's an editor from a pub house that you're
not interested in, or an agent you don't want to deal with, then you might want
to think about entering another contest.
Book doctors cover the net by the millions. Some work with bad agents to get
work recommended to them. The truth is, if you want to be a writer, you need to
know grammar and spelling. You should know all about pace and how to write
dialogue that reads like we talk. You need to know what head hoping is and what
a skilled change of view point it. You should be able to build plot and characters
and hold a reader's interest...in other words you need to know how to write if
you want to be a writer.
If you want the opinions of others on your work, there are contests, friends who
are writers, on line critique groups, one on one critique partners, and face to face
critique groups. All can be found for free.
One closing thought. This is something a good friend told me. She said,
remember, always, money flows to the writer, not away from her.
Charlotte Dillon ~ www.charlottedillon.com
looking aren't doing so to pay those writers, but to take advantage of them. It's a
good case of buyer beware -- before you sign anything, know what you are
getting in to and just who you are getting into it with. Below are a few tips to
help you make a better decision before it's too late.
Don't Call Us, We'll Call You! *** Let's face it, how many publishers and agents
have time to join e-mail lists, search for author's websites, or anything else, just
to find writers to send request or info to? Probably none that you would want to
deal with. As almost a given, good publishers and agents won't track you down,
unless you've had a book on one of the bestseller charts. It's a pretty safe bet
that you can delete that message from Best Book House, or toss that flier out
from Sure First-Sale Agency. If in doubt, simply do your homework and find out
everything you can about that agent or publisher before you decide to reply or
not.
Don't Sign Without Reading! *** We've heard this plenty, and it stands true
with your career -- we are talking about a career here, a writing career. Don't
even think about signing your name to a piece of paper unless you understand
every word and condition on that page.
When it comes to a publisher, know what the standard advance is, what royalty
rate is common. With print publishers, 8% or less is pretty common as I write
this. Some small publishers and e-publishers often boast about how print pubs
offer such small royalty rates while they offer 30% or higher in comparison. You
need to know that an 8% royalty rate from a big print pub might be seven
thousand dollars, while even a 50% royalty rate from a small press or e-pub
might be a hundred dollars tops. The time to decide if you want to sign a
contract or not, is before you put pen to paper, not later when a check comes in.
So, do your homework well where you won't be surprised or let down later.
There are a few places on line where you can check out what a number of
publishers pay. I have a couple on my Articles page. Take the time to look, or ask
around. This goes for any other wording in the contract that you don't
completely understand. Better safe than sorry. Which ever publisher you go
with, you should make that choice with your eyes wide open and you should be
satisfied with the terms.
When it comes to dealing with an agent, ask around. Look over that contract
and see what percent of payment she takes. 15 to 20 % is the norm as I write
this, 15% being most common. Does she charge a reading fee to even look over
your work? If so, move on. If you get something back suggesting to you that you
should have her edit your work, an editor she knows edit the work, or so on --
all for a fee of course -- before she looks at it again, tell her goodbye.
Check around and see which publishers she has sold to in the last year. Hey, if
it's some little pub, or print on demand, or e-pub, you can probably do that
yourself just as well as she can. Is she a member of AAR? If all seems well, and
you make it to the point where a contract is offered, like I said for the
publishers, make sure you understand every word, and every time limit or
condition mentioned.
What Do You Want? Remember, It's Your Career *** Maybe before you even
start looking around, you need to sit down and think long and hard about what
you want out of your career. Do you only write for fun and don't care about
payment? Do you hope to be able to make a decent amount each year from your
writing? Do you want to be able to give up your day job and live comfortably
off of your writing? Don't ask others about this. This is all about you and your
hopes. When you know the answers to these questions, then you'll know what
path is right for you, and what kind of deals are good ones for you, and which
ones you should pass on.
Of course you'll also have to consider the market, your writing skills, and so
much more. Maybe going with a small publisher or newer agent to get your foot
in the door and your work noticed is what's right for you, if the contact with
them doesn't bind you long term? Maybe waiting a couple of years longer while
you try to improve or reach a top agent or publisher is more what you want? Or
maybe just having your book out there where people can read it and you can say
you wrote it, is your goal? Make sure you make the right choice for you.
More Danger Zones! Contests and Book Doctors *** Writing contests are a great
way to get feedback on your work, to earn a few kudos to add to your query
letters, and to get chapters in front of that dream editor or agent when you pick
the right contest, but they can also just be another way to part you from your
money.
Plenty of contests are run for one of two reasons, or both together. One reason
some are run is to simply get the entry fee. You hand over your money, and
that's that. Maybe they randomly pick a winner or hand out some little prize, or
publish the work on their site or something. None of which helps you. The
second reason is to actually hook in writers. Publishers and agents not on the
up and up often run contests just to reach writers. After or during the contest
then send each writer a letter or message about how great their work is and how
they think it should be published. Of course you can bet it's going to come
around to them wanting money before long.
RWA chapters run a number of contests and you can count on them being on
the up and up, but if the contest is run by anyone else, check it out good before
you send in that entry fee. With RWA contests, do some homework too. Like
check out who the final judges are. If it's an editor from a pub house that you're
not interested in, or an agent you don't want to deal with, then you might want
to think about entering another contest.
Book doctors cover the net by the millions. Some work with bad agents to get
work recommended to them. The truth is, if you want to be a writer, you need to
know grammar and spelling. You should know all about pace and how to write
dialogue that reads like we talk. You need to know what head hoping is and what
a skilled change of view point it. You should be able to build plot and characters
and hold a reader's interest...in other words you need to know how to write if
you want to be a writer.
If you want the opinions of others on your work, there are contests, friends who
are writers, on line critique groups, one on one critique partners, and face to face
critique groups. All can be found for free.
One closing thought. This is something a good friend told me. She said,
remember, always, money flows to the writer, not away from her.
Charlotte Dillon ~ www.charlottedillon.com
Copyrighted 2003 by Charlotte Dillon
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This article, and all of my articles, may be used for free in a free
newsletter or on a free website as long as 'my name and a link to my
homepage' is given. You may not include my articles in an e-book
without asking unless it's a free e-book and my name and link are
included. You may not charge in any way for others to read or reach
these articles. They may not be used in any way for profit, like in a
workshop, class, site where people have to pay for a membership, ect...
If you find my articles being used in any way that isn't free and open
and including my name and link, please report the situation to me so it
can be handled. If you are unsure if your use will fall under what is
allowed, please contact me and ask. Thanks!
newsletter or on a free website as long as 'my name and a link to my
homepage' is given. You may not include my articles in an e-book
without asking unless it's a free e-book and my name and link are
included. You may not charge in any way for others to read or reach
these articles. They may not be used in any way for profit, like in a
workshop, class, site where people have to pay for a membership, ect...
If you find my articles being used in any way that isn't free and open
and including my name and link, please report the situation to me so it
can be handled. If you are unsure if your use will fall under what is
allowed, please contact me and ask. Thanks!