A Cappela Newsletter for Writers January/February 2001
© January 2001, Patrika Vaughn
NEWS & VIEWS YOU CAN USE
Your monthly newsletter from Patrika, your Author's Advocate
Visit her, send an email, at www.acappela.com
IN THIS ISSUE:
*Pat's Picks
*News You Can Use
*Markets
*Trivia
*Contests
*Book gossip
*Writing Q&A:
*Wordplay:
*Quote of the Month
*****************************************************************************************************
PAT'S PICKS
Classes: Is Self-Publishing For You? Find out in this
tutorial:www.acappela.com/classes.htm
*****
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
Beware! Those Amazon recommendations aren't what they seem. Amazon.com has launched a
new marketing program called "Sponsored Results" that allows publishers or
authors to pay for their book to appear as a top result whenever a specific keyword is
searched
Oprah's "O" Mag May Bolster Book Sales
It's well known that Oprah's Book Club has the power to turn authors into instant millionaires, but what about O, the literary-minded media maven's new magazine? Apparently, the three million subscribers may be able to manufacture bestsellers as well.
In a monthly feature called "Books That Made a Difference" celebrities
discuss those books that most influenced their lives. An excerpt from one of the books on
the list often accompanies each feature.
Markets Watch: E-book Standards Announced
Publishers, booksellers and technology companies agree that if e-books hope to gain
industry prominence, the industry needs to adopt standards. On Nov. 27, the Association of
American Publishers (AAP) and Andersen Consulting, with support from seven major
publishing houses, presented recommendations to that end. Security standards will enable
authors and publishers to glean royalties any time an e-book is downloaded by or shared
among consumers. Also, any reading device will be able to handle e-books programmed in a
common text markup language.
What is the bottom line for writers? "If you can create a mass market with a fair
degree of security, it opens up all kinds of markets for writers to produce their
work,". "The introduction of the electronic version is going to smooth out the
existing system, rather than replace the way things work today," he predicts. When
e-books become mainstream, says Ken Mifflin, a media and entertainment partner with
Andersen, "it will be a package deal for both publishers and authors--publishers will
use e-books as a marketing tool to boost traditional print sales with minimal overhead
cost. It remains to be seen if the money saved will mean a bigger share of the profits for
writers.
Authors who self-publish because they have not been able to break into the traditional
market could remain on the fringe of the publishing community. If e-books earn prestigious
backing by the traditional publishers, authors still will need conventional marketing
support. Still, e-books could be another avenue to promote self-published authors and get
them noticed by publishing houses and consumers. Details: http://www.publishers.org and
http://www.openebook.org
King Takes Sabbatical
In December King posted the sixth installment of his online serial, which also doubles
as an experiment to determine whether his readers will pay for the work by the honor
system. But according to his website (www.stephenking.com), the sixth installment will be
it for now. King says he needs to work on several other books-in-progress. He also notes
that his agent thinks he needs "to take a breather" so that foreign translation
and publication of The Plant can catch up with the U.S. publication. King said he is
offering part six of The Plant free of charge "as a way of thanking those readers
(somewhere between 75% and 80%) who came along for the ride and paid the dues."
Reciprocal/ Random House To sell Ebook Classics
The Modern Library, an imprint of the Random House Trade Group, provides the first
offering in a new program which includes more than 100 works of classic literature from
their bound book backlist in electronic form. New ebook editions will feature
introductions by familiar writers and personalities, updated text and other highlights to
distinguish the titles from their earlier printed versions. Available in Adobe (.pdf),
Glassbook Reader (.pdf) and Microsoft Reader (.lit) formats. The Modern Library website is
located at: http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/.
Supreme Court Agrees to Assess Divisive Digital Copyright Decision
The Supreme Court has decided to take on the thorny issues surrounding digital
copyright after agreeing to review an appellate court ruling that the New York Times and
other media firms do not have the right to republish the work of freelance writers in
electronic databases without first getting the writer's permission.
B&N Offers Free Personalized Internet Access to "Tens of
Millions"
Barnes & Noble and Yahoo.com have launched a co-branded free Internet service which
will provide users with a personalized B&N/My Yahoo! homepage, as well as a standard
set of Yahoo! services, such as e-mail and instant messaging. On September 19th, in what
was likely a very expensive marketing deal, B&N.com replaced Amazon.com as the
"featured" online bookseller on Yahoo!.
New Writers Reach Broader Audience
The Paddy O'Brian Books mailing list is designed to help new writers reach a broader
audience. Writers will be paid based on reader response. Each month, the beginning of a
new short story will be published in the list. Readers who are interested in the story and
want to read the end of it will need to make a $2 donation to the writer. To subscribe,
send a blank e-mail (paddyobrianbooks@hotmail.com).
*****
Trivia
How many different words did Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel) use in his best-selling book, Green Eggs & Ham?
How many unique words did he use in The Cat in the Hat?
(Answers at end of this newsletter)
*****
Feedback: "I really enjoy your lessons and in comparison to a
couple of other online courses I've taken, yours rate at the top of my list. I feel there
is much I can learn from you and I fully intend to come back to your 'classroom'.
Tmkrtz@aol.com
CONTESTS
Inscriptions Conspiracy Contest
Choose your favorite strange phenomenon -- alien abductions, crying religious
artifacts, werewolves, anything that is strange, fantastical and just barely possible.
Then pretend to be an investigative journalist breaking the story of the century. Write an
article to support your conspiracy-solving theory. Make us believe you. Deadline Feb. 23,
2001. Winners to be announced in the March 12th issue of Inscriptions. Details:
(http://www.inscriptionsmagazine.com/Conspiracy.html).
Writer's Digest 2001 Writing Competition
$25,000+ in prizes. Entries accepted in 10 categories. Grand Prize-winner will receive $1,500 in cash and will choose from a trip to New York City to meet with editors and agents, or a trip to the 2002 Maui Writers Conference.
Enter as many manuscripts as you like in the following categories: Memoirs/Personal Essay; Feature Article; Inspirational Writing; Short Story (Genre or Mainstream/Literary); Poetry (Rhyming or Non-Rhyming); Script Categories (Stage Play or Television/Movie Script) or Children's Fiction.
Official rules and entry forms available at
www.writersdigest.com/catalog/contest_frame.html or send an email to:
newsletter-manager@fwpubs.com with "2001 WD Writing Competition Rules" in the
subject line. Rules will be delivered automatically to your email. Deadline May 15, 2001.
Writers of the Future Contest Established in 1983 by L. Ron
Hubbard to help new and aspiring writers in the field of speculative fiction. Judged by
some of the top names in the genre such as Larry Niven, Frederik Pohl, Orson Scott Card
and Kevin J. Anderson. Details: http://www.bookflash.com/releases/100340.html Email:
info@bridgepub.com
Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, Sarabande Books, P.O. Box 4456, Louisville KY 40204. Phone: (502) 458-4028. Fax: (502) 458-4065. E-mail: sarabandeb@aol.com.
Web site: http://www.SarabandeBooks.org Contact: Sarah Gorham, editor-in-chief. Offered annually to publish an outstanding collection of poetry. Deadline February 15. Guidelines for SASE. $20 fee. Prize: $2,000 and publication under standard royalty contract. All finalists considered for publication.
*****
BOOK GOSSIP
Clinton's Book Proposal
Although he probably won't snare an advance as high as Hillary's, Bill Clinton could
probably get $5 million or higher for his memoirs, the Associated Press reported Monday. A
variety of publishers told AP that they expect the former president to circulate a book
proposal within a month or so. Although books by former Presidents typically aren't
bestsellers, when it comes to Clinton, all bets are off. Big publishers doubt that Clinton
would mention Monica Lewinsky, but they know mentioning the affair could generate a lot of
book sales.
Newbery and Caldecott Winners Announced
Richard Peck, author of A Year Down Yonder, and David Small,
illustrator of So You Want To Be President? are the 2001 winners of the John
Newbery and Randolph Caldecott Medals, both prestigious awards in children's literature.
Grammy Music Nominee Crosses Over to Book World
In an unusual riff, singer-songwriter Steve Earle, who was nominated for a Grammy in
the Best Contemporary Folk Album category for his album Transcendental Blues, will soon
become an author. In June, Houghton Mifflin will publish a collection of short fiction by
Earle called Doghouse Roses, which touch on the price of success (and the pain of
failure) in the music industry, the toll of drug addiction and the rootlessness of modern
life.
Stories Making News
Actor Robert DeNiro has purchased the film rights to the true story of Miranda Grosvenor (The Miranda Rites), a telephone temptress who had engaged in heated oral (or is it aural?) relationships with numerous celebrities, including Richard Gere, Mike Nichols, Billy Joel, and even DeNiro himself.
Hilary Clinton has consummated an $8 million deal with Simon & Schuster for her
memoirs. The sum is the largest ever paid to a member of Congress for a book and one of
the largest ever for a nonfiction book.
Ouch: Amazon Knocked by AAP, Authors Guild and Market
The heads of the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild have written to Amazon.com head Jeff Bezos, protesting Amazon's sale of used books, particularly copies of recently published titles. The two groups specifically requested that Amazon limit its "used book" links to out-of-print and collectible books. Of course, neither author nor publisher receive royalties on the sale of used books.
Film rights to Darin Strauss' first novel, Chang and Eng, recently sold
to Disney. Published by Dutton Books, this is a fictionalized account of the true lives of
the 19th century conjoined twins from Siam, for whom the term "Siamese Twins"
was coined.
Literary Loss: Poet Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000)
Poet Gwendolyn Brooks, whose prolific verse portrayed everyday life for African
Americans, died Dec. 3 at her Chicago home. She was 83.
Publishers Weekly reports that romance is holding its own as the most popular mass market category, with a 58.2% share of the market last year.
Legal News
1) Larry Matthews, a journalist who was sent to prison for distributing child
pornography, has lost his federal appeal. Matthews claimed he didn't realize trading
pornographic pictures online was illegal, and that he was only doing it as part of
research on a freelance assignment.
2) The lawsuit filed against Carl Sagan has been dismissed by the California Court of
Appeals. Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola sued Sagan and Warner Bros. for a share of the
profits on Sagan's 1985 book, Contact, claiming he came up with the original
idea.
Informed Caution
Little, Brown and Co. has canceled plans for a proposed book about John F. Kennedy, Jr.
after learning the author previously signed a nondisclosure agreement with George
Magazine. Rich Blow, former editor-in-chief of George, was given a $750,000 cash advance
for the book
*****
WRITING Q&A: QUOTING SONG LYRICS
Q: K. T. asks: I want to use a series of quotes (1-3 sentences) within a nonfiction book. The catch is, the quotes are from lyrics of popular music. I know that BMI/ASCAP regulate and extract payment for playing the music. What about using excerpts from lyrics with ample credit to the songwriter and artist? Would I obtain permission from BMI/ASCAP or the owner of the copyright, if there is such for music?
A: BMI and ASCAP handle permissions for written reprints of song
lyrics. You will need to deal with them directly. If possible, quote only a line or two in
your work, which will put your quote within fair use, and you won't need written
permission. If you need more than that, go directly to BMI/ASCAP. The cost of reprinting
song lyrics usually is higher than for poems, but I've found that these organizations are
reasonable and willing to negotiate. They are willing to adjust the price if you're
writing for a small publication or making little money for the piece.
WEBSITES OF INTEREST
Visuals of Publishing Online (http://clix.to/visualsofpublishing) attempts to
"demystify" the publishing process by presenting a slide show of 50 photos
related to the New York publishing community.
All the Write Moves (http://www.allthewitemoves.com ), for freelance writers focusing
on online venues. Free newsletter, articles, books (free and for a fee), writing
exercises, links to other resources for writers, courses, job and market listings via
newsletter.
The Weblog, E-Media Tidbits <http://www.content-exchange.com/weblog/weblog.htm>
recently premiered. The site will post news and notes about the online publishing
business.
The Blue Iris Journal (http://www.blueiriscafe.com), an e-zine of book reviews
*****
WORDPLAY (FUN DEFINITIONS)
Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Carcinoma (n.), a valley in California, notable for its heavy smog.
Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
*****
QUOTES OF THE MONTH STRANGER THAN FICTION
Truth must necessarily be stranger than fiction, for fiction is the creation of the
human mind and therefore congenial to it." (Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936),
British essayist and novelist)
"The difference between fact and fiction? Fiction has to make sense." Tom
Clancy
*****
Don't forget to send in your suggestions, feedback, and your writing questions and
check our website (www.acappela.com) for our page of website resources
Patrika
Dr. Seuss used only 50 different words in Green Eggs & Ham.
He used 220 words in his first book, The Cat in the Hat.
INSIDER QUOTE
"Talking is a hydrant in the yard and writing is a faucet upstairs in the house.
Opening the first takes all the pressure off the second." --Robert Frost
"The original writer is not one who imitates nobody, but one whom nobody can imitate."
--Francois Rene de Chateaubriand