Month: March 2012

Most new authors look carefully at a contract’s royalty terms but pay almost no attention to the provisions governing statements of sales and revenue. When I mention this topic at live presentations, I hear a variety of responses. The most common: “That’s my agent’s job.” (From the represented author.) “As long as I get paid, I don’t really care.” (Most likely from the independent crowd.) And, most common of all, “I tried, but I couldn’t understand the legalese.” None of these is a good excuse. While authors do often care more about the numbers in the royalty terms themselves, royalty

This morning I’m finishing my series on lessons learned from breaking up with my trunk manuscripts. (Installments one, two, and three at the links.) A famous (and variously attributed) writing quote says “the first half-million words are practice.” After writing half a million in four years, I’m both pleased and sorry to tell you the quote is true – and my fourth unpublished manuscript proved it to me. The fourth novel (still straight historical fiction) had everything the previous manuscripts lacked – a marquee protagonist, plenty of action, a strong supporting cast and even a killer logline. I drafted and

The Monday after spring Daylight Savings is  “Napping Day,” “a day to help people adjust to Daylight Savings Time.” Now, I didn’t know about this observance until today, but I’ll never argue with a “legitimate” reason to nap. (In fact, I don’t even need a legitimate one…) I’m an avid practitioner of the napping arts. My writing office has an annex with a soft suede couch and a pile of pillows, and my family knows that if I’m not on a deadline, by mid-afternoon I’m likely to be “brainstorming” new novel ideas … with my eyes closed and a very

Today I’m guest-blogging at Writers In The Storm, a writing blog co-authored by a group of very talented writers. My article, titled Beware of Kings With No Clothing, examines calculation of royalty fees in publishing contracts and offers tips to help authors find their way through this thorniest of thickets. Big thanks to Char and the other Writers In the Storm authors for inviting me and for letting me play in their sandbox. Regular blogging will resume here on Monday. In the meantime, head over to Writers In the Storm – I’ll meet you there! *For the non-gamers among us:

Please help me welcome Sophie Perinot, author of The Sister Queens, a compelling novel about 13th century sisters Eleanor and Marguerite of Provence who became, respectively, the queens of England and France. I met Sophie and learned about The Sister Queens at last year’s Historical Novel Society conference, and I’ve been anticipating this book’s release. I started reading it last night, and so far have loved every page. 1.  Sophie, where did you grow up? I grew up in Northern Ohio.  A little-known fact, but something I continue to be proud of—I was a nine-year member Ohio 4-H, and was

Last week’s Wednesday post explored the issue of author advances – the money an author may (or may not) receive up-front in a publishing deal. This week we’re looking at Royalties, but you’re only getting part of the post today – on Friday I’m guest-blogging at Writers In The Storm on the topic of Royalty Calculations (and the lurking dangers that hide in royalty terms) – a post no writer should miss. A “royalty” (plural “royalties”) is the term for money paid to an author (by a publisher) on sales of a published work. Most authors receive the bulk of

This morning brings Part 3 of “How I Learned to Break Up With My Manuscript.” (Part 1 and Part 2 at the links.) I’m posting this series in part to respond to a comment my agent, Sandra Bond, made in one of our telephone conversations. She expressed a hope that I would share my full story with other authors, to help them understand that sometimes you have to let go of beloved stories on the road to publication, and that doing so does not make you a failure – it helps you become a success. My third manuscript took two

It’s not just the Irish who get to have fun this month! For those unaware, March 2012 is also officially: Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig Month (Note: they prefer the term “pre-owned”) Sing With Your Child Month (Because what this world needs is more karaoke…) Caffeine Awareness Month (My bad. What we really need is MORE COFFEE.) Ethics Awareness Month (The good news is, you don’t have to use them as long as you know what they are.) Optimism Month (It’ll never last.) and National “On Hold” Month (Please stay on the line. The wait to speak with an operator

This morning I’m continuing the anti-Cinderella story of how I broke up with my early manuscripts. Yes, that’s plural. Although my ninja mystery series signed with the first agent I pitched it to (my first choice – Sandra Bond) and sold within two months of the date the agent sent out the proposal, in the interest of full disclosure I’m sharing the bumpier road that hides behind the carriages and glass slippers in that version of the tale. (Part 1 of the story is here. Back yet? OK, moving on…) My second full-length manuscript had stronger protagonists and introduced something