Sunday, March 24, 2013


What Should You Expect as an Author?

This is a question that I have asked myself over and over again since beginning my journey of writing my book.  While doing research as part of my class on media publishing and distribution at Full Sail University, I came across an article by one of my collaborative partners in the class entitled, Self-Publishing Your Book: Reasons to Self Publish.  This article is found on the About.com Book Publishing website http://publishing.about.com/od/SelfPublishingAndVanityPresses/a/Reasons-To-Self-Publish.htm. Valerie Peterson wrote it.

In this article, Peterson says that if fame and fortune is why you are writing your book, then you may be sadly mistaken.  Even the traditionally published authors don’t experience fame and fortune says Peterson. Even though there are those who have experienced fame and fortune, Peterson goes on to explain that the average self publisher only sales between 150-200 books and that those are usually sold to their family and friends. 

When I read this, I became somewhat disillusioned.  I know that I want to write and become rich.  This prompted me to continue my research to find out what should I really expect as an author.  It could be that many don’t have realistic expectations and need to find out more about this profession before they begin to write their books.

In the article, What You Should Know about Being A Published Author: Facts About Being an Author, Peterson gives insight into what it is all about. http://publishing.about.com/od/BookAuthorBasics/a/Six-Common-Misconceptions-About-Being-A-Published-Author.htm.  First, the vast majority of writers have to keep their day jobs.  Even the bestseller had to keep their day jobs for a while.  Second, the editor and publisher will no doubt adjust your book content. Third, there will be a lot of work you will have to do to market your book.  You have to work hard at developing your platform.  You will not be able to solely count on the book marketing and publicity staff.  You will have to be prepared to work at it hard. Fourth, you will not be picking your book jacket.  It will be a product of the art department, editor, PR, marketing department and sales representatives. Fifth, will you get that book party?  Sorry to say, book parties are real expensive and unless your friends and family fit the bill( if self publishing), you probably won’t get one unless you have a best seller. Lastly, will you get that book tour, maybe.  It all depends on if you have that best seller or not.

I hope this article will ground you more in regards to what to expect as an author.  I am sure though if you have that burning desire like I do to get your message out to your audience and to fill that need in the marketplace, this article won’t discourage you.

Saturday, March 23, 2013


My blog article this week will focus on how to write a successful non-fiction book proposal.  I chose this topic because in order to get published, you need to introduce your book to the editors and publishers.  They need to know why should they publish your book out of the thousands they see on a daily basis.  I chose to read article by Robert Lee Brewer of Writers Market.Com. http://blog.writersmarket.com/whats-new/3-keys-to-successful-nonfiction-book-proposals.  For over ten years, Writers Market.com has been providing listings and tools to help writers get published. 

Robert listed three ways to write a successful book proposal. Robert came up with an interesting perspective on how to pitch your book.  Most people would start by telling the publishers about the content of their book hoping that this would intrigue the publisher and their target audience.  All writers are well aware that if you don’t have good content then you have nothing to sell. The flip side of this is that most writers must be aware of.  According to Robert, you must pitch the benefits of your book.  In other words, “How does your book help your audience”?  It’s the benefits that will get you published.  It’s the benefits that will get you paid!!

The second way to write a successful proposal, you must show a need.  There must be an audience for this benefit.  The question is, “How do you find a quantifiable audience that need these benefits?” Brewer says all you have to do is find other books, television programs, magazines, etc. that sell well and then show how your book fills a hole in the market or is fulfilling that need better those already on the market. Your book has to be unique.

Brewer says the third way to write a successful proposal is to have an author platform.  You have to have a quantifiable connection to your audience.  He used his newsletter as an example.  His newsletter goes out to 100,000 people interested in being published every week.  You must develop your connections to your targeted audience(s).  WritersMarket.com has a service http://www.writersdigestshop.com/platform-consultation-service?lid=RBwmblog02 which costs starting at 199.00 and up to $2,000 which will provide you with textbooks, tutorials and one-on-one consultations with platform development specialists.  These services will show you how to effectively use Twitter, Facebook and blogs, etc.

Monday, March 4, 2013


Today I will be writing on topics that involve important legal matters in the entertainment field.  One such legal matter involved the “Crystal Skull” from the Indiana Jones moviewww.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/indiana-jones-lawsuit-seeks-hollywood-399236.  There was a skull uncovered in Belize in1924 by two archeologists. They brought the skull to the United States and put it on display and made money from showing.  The National Institute of Archeology in Belize is suing the archeologists for illegally taking the skull out of Belize and Walt Disney and Lucas/Paramount for using a similar skull in the Indiana Jones movie for profits they made from the look and feel of the skull that they have trademark claims in. According to Gordon Firemark, an entertainment attorney it would seem to be ridiculous that they would be able to win any trademark or punitive copyright claim from the movie’s use of the look and feel of the skull, especially since the claim is over 100 years old.  The archeologists have since died, but had given the skull to a friend, who is now also being sued. 

The second legal issue involves copyright infringement.  In the case UMG v Veoh http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/viacom-youtube-lawsuit-334889, the lawsuit involves an ISP video-sharing site (Veoh) downloading videos from another site and uploading them to their site.  The Ninth circuit court had found that in order for there to be infringement of a copyright there has to be actual knowledge of infringement material. The copyright holder must first alert the ISP of the infringement material.  Then in a later case, Viacom v YouTube, the Second Circuit Court drew a distinction between actual and red flag knowledge and whether this distinction effects the disposition in the Veoh case.  The second issue that was raised involved the question of, “if there is no knowledge requirement”, does a copyright holder need to show that the service provider possesses more than the ability to move and block access to the material on the site in order to have a right to infringement claims.  According to Firemark, this is a hot issue and it seems that the Ninth and Second circuit courts are trying to reconcile their interpretations on the issue before it goes to a higher court. These two cases are going to lay the ground rules for what ISP has to do to discover and deal with copyright infringement.

The last legal issue involved copyright issues also.   It was called the Royal Pains lawsuithttp://www.medialawbytesandpieces.com/files/2012/07/Forest-Park.pdf.  Hayden Christenden, an actor, filed a lawsuit against Universal arguing he had an idea for a TV show that he had pitched to Universal in 2007-2008.  He claimed Universal stole the idea and created their own show based on his ideas.    According to Firemark, this could be a quasi contract claim.  It did not support copyright infringement.  It was a “pre-emption issue “.  Does copyright law pre-empt these kinds of state law claims. Part of the test to determine if state law is pre-empted was (1) does the subject matter of the state law fall within the subject matter of the copyright act, and (2) whether that right asserted under state law is equivalent to the exclusive rights protected by copyright act. The court found that this was not preemption.  There were additional features to the contract claims so the decision of the district court to dismiss the case was reversed.  They made the decision to apply state law.  What the case pended on was that you need proof of extra elements beyond use and copying and you need qualified differences between quasi contract claims and copyright laws.