The Hollywood LitMingle Gets Legal

SCBWI member, Bonnie Berry LaMon, author and entertainment lawyer, sheds some light on an area most writers shy away from...the legal aspect of publishing.
The Topic:
"EVERY THING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GETTING PUBLISHED, WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE AN AGENT." 
It was so useful. Thank you, Bonnie!

Bonnie's main point: be careful what you sign. Do not sign away your rights without knowing what you are doing. If you need a lawyer to interpret a contract, consult one. Your agent should not object. Bonnie provides a special service to writers and consultants on contracts.

It's wonderful if you have found representation with an agent, Congrats! But do your homework. Do not rely on an agent for the same knowledge as a lawyer. Though agents are helpful in brokering deals, they do not necessarily have the training to school you in the fine points of your contract.

Here are a few terms:

1) "STANDARD" -- is used to make you believe that a term can not be changed, but in fact it can be modified, negotiated or deleted.

2)  GRANT OF RIGHTS -- the list of rights that the author conveys to the publisher. Rights may be exclusive, non-exclusive, perpetual or for a designated period of time.

3) TERM -- the period of time that the writer gives the publisher for exclusive rights to the material. The maximum time period is the full length of copyright, which in the U.S. is the life of the author plus seventy years. After that, literary works go into the "public domain" and are the property of all, unless the estate of author extends the copyright and exerts ownership that way. (This may be an issue if you are wish to write a biography.)

4) TERRITORY -- the contract will specify which territories the book will be sold in. "Worldwide rights" means the publisher will control all territories and markets in the world. Typical contracts limit the territories to the U.S. and Canada. If the publisher does not specify any territory other than the U.S. and Canada, then an agent or author is free to make a separate deal with another publisher for another country, territory or language.

5) FORMAT -- can be print or ebooks, hardback or paperback. "Primary book publishing rights" is commonly defined as hardcover, trade paperback, mass market and direct mail, though electronic and audio books may be included. Often eBooks and audio rights are granted as subsidiary rights. The area of eBooks is in flux right now and needs special attention; make sure you are fairly compensated in the event of eBook publication.

6) SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS -- any rights in addition to the print and/or eBook publication: 
Foreign Rights Translation, Periodical Rights, Book Club, Electronic Audio and other New Media; Stage, Motion Picture, Video and Animation; TV, merchandising and commercial tie-ins. These can be licensed by your publisher to another party; proceeds are usually split with the author.

7) RESERVATION OF RIGHTS -- a provision that says all rights not expressly granted are reserved to the author. The language is useful for avoiding ambiguity in a contract, especially as new technologies emerge.

8) FILM AND VIDEO OPTIONS -- Important terms: option price, option period, any extended option period, approval rights of screenplay, credit, purchase price and back-end participation. There isn't space to define them all here. If your book is being optioned for film, I would definitely consult a lawyer! 

9) MULTI-MEDIA LICENSES -- ei. video games, websites, apps, hyperlinks. Video companies bear cost of developing the game, licensing the characters from the author and paying royalties. This is why it is important for authors to retain ownership of the rights of trademark. You have the right to the characters you create, unless you sign them away. So, be careful!

10) MERCHANDISING AGREEMENT -- important provisions include term, scope of license, sell-off periods, approvals and limitation on product, advances and royalty rates.
  
SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
1) The Author's Guild, Inc. "Model Trade Book Contract and Guide"
2) Tad Crawford's Business and Legal Forms for Authors and Self-Publishers
3) Entertainment Industry Contracts, Book Publishing, Vol. 1
4) Ivan Hoffman's "Children's Book Publishing: Some Issues" (www,ivanhoffman,com)
5) Mark Levine's Negotiating a Book Contract: A Guide For Authors, Agents and Lawyers.
6) SCBWI Sample Children's Book Contract (scbwi.org/rescources/documents/10-sampleChildrensBookContract)
7) Harold Underdown's "Contracts from Children's Book Publishers:What to Expect"

May's Query Night at the Hollywood Schmooze

May's Hollywood Schmooze was hosted at the home of Rhonda Hayter.

Over Morrocan Mint Tea and Ginger Brownies the expanding group discussed QUERY LETTERS.

For writers, query letters are the introduction to their work. What can get an agent or publisher interested in reading your manuscript? Writers were invited to test out their sample queries in the group and were given tips for writing a good query letter:

1) Spellcheck and proofread carefully for typos and grammatical errors.

Agents and publishers will delete a query if a writer can't put together a sentence.  

Proper English is strongly recommended.

 
2)Just like your manuscript, your introduction should SPARKLE.

SCBWI Hollywood Co-Coordinator Deborah Fletcher Blum suggested this link:

http://misssnark.blogspot.com

3)Focus on the agents who would like your particular type of work.

Cheryl Manning wrote a personal query to an agent for her book "Bonsai Friends Forever." She gave a little background about herself, in her own voice.

 

4)The submission process is formal. The children's book publishing world is old school and the rules have not changed much with time. Keep that in mind when you format fonts, type size, paragraphs etc.

 

In June, we will compile a list of agents, editors and/or publishers to contact. Each member will contribute. Stay tuned for more information.  

Best of luck in writing, from the SCBWI Hollywood! 

By guest blogger, Kerry Liu.

Thanks, Kerry! See you next month in June at Rhonda's house again.

Happy writing and keep you queries "easy on the eyes" as one person said!

The Hollywood Schmooze Wraps Up 2012

The Hollywood Schmooze is off for November and December, so our last meeting for 2012 was in October. Rene produced the original list of goals we’d made earlier in the year. For some, it was way back in January . . . the embarrassing moment (at least for me) came when we said how far we’d gotten in accomplishing our goal.

One thing I am learning is to set more realistic goals for myself – I never knew how long writing a novel would take and what an involved process revising is. But it is important not to rush.

Some people had surprises – I asked if it would be okay to report on specific members achievements. And they said, “yes!”

Rhonda Hayter reported that her historical fiction novel is being shopped around by her agent, after her success with The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams (Dial.) And she now has a new writing assignment – content for an ipad App FAFARIA. She provides 500 word stories and enjoys the puzzle aspect of fitting the words into the structural requirements set by the editors. It pays too, which is good!

Avi de Turenne reported that he is researching a new novel and needs to meet with other writers in order to connect and share and not feel alone, which is critical for keeping his spirits up. He is sending out one query letter a week for his completed manuscript. Go Avi!

Jane Rosenberg, who published several well received books of Ballet and Opera Stories for children (Thames & Hudson) in the 90’s has written a novel that teaches about music and is exploring possible audiences for it. One suggestion was the homeschooling network, micro learning academies and CAVA, the California Virtual Academy.

Richard Manning had finished the first draft of his middle grade novel and is researching agents.

Cheryl Manning shared an adorable illustration and her four picture book manuscripts that she is readying for submission.

Many of the other participants shared as well, but that is all we have time for now.

Keep up the good work everyone! Get out there and network and increase your web presence. One thing I noticed, fact checking for this post was that it is a lot easier to find out about a writer if they have current web listings.

Oh, and guess who is the new co-coordinator of the Hollywood Schmooze to work with Rene? Yours truly, Deborah Fletcher Blum. Melanie had to step down due to her busy schedule. Thank you Melanie for starting this Schmooze.

As for me, I am working on the final (ha!) draft of my middle grade novel to ready it for submission and researching the life of Carl Laemmle (my cousin three times removed who founded Universal Studios) for a biography.

I look forward to working with the wonderful Rene Rawls and having a great 2013 with SCBWI and all the Schmoozes, especially the very special Hollywood Schmooze.
Happy Holidays – Hanukah! Christmas! Kwanza! New Years! Etc!