icon caret-left icon caret-right instagram pinterest linkedin facebook twitter goodreads question-circle facebook circle twitter circle linkedin circle instagram circle goodreads circle pinterest circle

Writers and Editors (RSS feed)

Lynn Chu: Agent Unplugged (on e-rights and more)

Literary agent Lynn Chu's analysis of what authors should know about their e-rights in book publishing's electronic age is as helpful as any I've read. It starts on p. 6 of the public section of the January 2010 issue of ASJA Monthly (the confidential section  Read More 
Be the first to comment

Gift Books for Writers or People Who Want to Be Writers

· The ASJA Guide to Freelance Writing, ed. Tim Harper for ASJA (a guide to the business, for nonfiction writers)
· Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (inspirational, to get and keep you going) Read More 
Be the first to comment

Gift Books for Editors and Proofreaders

Looking for a gift for the editor (or would-be editor) in your family? Here's a basic booklist:
• AP Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law (an essential style guide for magazine and newspaper writing and editing, but absolutely not okay for editing books) Read More 
Post a comment

Men with Pens run by woman named James Chartrand

Does Gender Matter on the Web? James Chartrand Thinks So, writes Jessica Bennett in Newsweek (12-15-09). The Canadian woman who started the Men with Pens blog did so because she knew people took men more seriously. Her pay rate doubled, and  Read More 
Be the first to comment

Publishers and authors battle over digital (e-book) rights

Motoko Rich's NY Times story, Legal Battles Over E-Book Rights to Older Books (12-13-09), is about who owns rights to backlist titles covered by contracts written before digital rights emerged. The underlying issue: Publishers are not offering high enough royalties on e-books, which are cheaper to produce  Read More 
3 Comments
Post a comment

Prompt payment for freelancers (contractors, suppliers) with discount

"Time Inc. has opened up a fantastic new market: charging its freelancers for the privilege of being paid for their work in a timely fashion." Gawker reports that Time Inc. will pay you promptly, if you pay them for the service. NBC Universal has a different, even worse version  Read More 
Post a comment

Who gets credit on ghosted celebrity memoirs, and why?

Some celebrities have no problem sharing authors' credits on a celebrity memoir, and some want solo billing. "It's not that celebrities are necessarily vain," says Elisa Petrini, an agent at Inkwell Management, and a collaborator on several such memoirs. "It's just that they see these books as an extension of their brand. Having another name on the cover is like  Read More 
Be the first to comment

SquareTrade ranks laptops for reliability

"SquareTrade analyzed failure rates for over 30,000 new laptop computers covered by SquareTrade Laptop Warranty plans and found that one-third of all laptops will fail within 3 years. SquareTrade also found that netbooks are 20% more unreliable than other laptops, and that Asus and Toshiba are the most reliable laptop brands." Go to SquareTrade site to download PDF file with full report. Read More 
1 Comments
Post a comment

Memoir: The line between truth and fiction

On a memoir-writers-for-hire listserv. someone asked, apropos Sarah Palin’s current book, Is it okay to use a memoir to get even with those you feel have harmed you in the past? This excellent response from Susan Owen is reposted here by permission:
“This is a free country and people have the right to act as inappropriately as they wish. About the line between truth and fiction, which is often hazy, here's my response:  Read More 
Be the first to comment