Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend (and teach at) the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2017 Writing Retreat in Colorado Springs. The retreat took place at the lovely Franciscan Retreat Center, a beautiful, serene location surrounded by mountains and inhabited by lots of fuzzy deer. The attendees, fellow presenters Anita Mumm and Susie…
Tag: Susan Spann
How to Obtain a Reversion of Publishing Rights (At Least, How to Try)
While wearing my publishing lawyer hat, authors often ask me about how to terminate an old (or unprofitable) publishing contract and obtain a reversion of their rights to the relevant works. Obtaining a reversion of rights can be tricky, and is always dependent on the terms of the contract (and/or the author’s relationship with the publisher). Normally, the contract…
How to Identify & Avoid Some Common “Bad” Publishing Deals
Business-savvy authors must learn to recognize and avoid a wide variety of scams and legal but inappropriate publishing deals. Some of the most dangerous ones remind me of my law school contracts professor’s warning that “a person can make as good a deal, or AS BAD A DEAL, as (s)he is able.” Some publishing offers are very bad deals indeed. Not all…
Photography & Writing Research: Shoot First, Ask Questions Later
Whether you’re writing historical novels, contemporary fiction, or even fantasy, research photography is a skill worth developing (see what I did there…). Not only does it help with research, but photos also help writers connect with readers, supplement and inspire blogging content, and provide a library of images writers can use with articles and online. I’ve already written a…
Copyright Rules for Settings
In my day job as a publishing lawyer, I often get asked how copyright impacts an author’s ability to use a specific setting in works of fiction. Like many other copyright questions (and, honestly, every other question a lawyer gets asked), the answer is “it depends.” Fortunately, the applicable rules are fairly straightforward and easy to analyze. The…