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I’m sure you recognize the provenance of that title—current Copyright law grants authors a term of the author’s life plus seventy years. It’s an extraordinary grant by any measure and I can’t think of anything comparable in patents or any other system that governs intellectual property. Copyright, however, is only part of what governs the […]

Eternal Reserve

A group of papers recently crossed my desk that reminded me of the permanent or eternal reserve that many publishers keep on individual books. I suspect that few authors are aware of this, but it’s a serious issue that affects almost every author. The root of this problem is that many publishers keep a tiny […]

All About Royalties

Royalties, mainly on the sale of paper based books, remain the primary source of author income. I’m going to explain the fundamental concepts you need to understand how they work and are calculated. The following is an outline, more like course notes, than a lecture. I want to keep this short and to the point, […]

Artist or Entertainer

For the career writer, “artist” or “entertainer” remains a perennial problem. I use the term “artist” to distinguish the most personal, creative goals of a writer. The “artist” wants to tell the stories that the writer wants to tell, regardless of their commercial viability or any other external value. Every writer has an “artist” inside […]

Internet Threat: How the Internet May Threaten Nonfiction Authors’ Incomes

I don’t predict the future. In fact, I’m sick of hearing predictions about the future. It’s almost the only thing you ever read anymore. As an agent, I try to predict the present. To do so, I’ve done a lot of work lately researching the impact the Internet is having on writing and publishing. And, […]

DOWN RANGE

I DREAM OF DANGER

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT

BIG BAD BEAST

GODSPEAKER