Writers in the Storm

Susan Spann
The Legal Side of Writing for Anthologies (Part 2)

Last month, my #PubLaw guest post here at Writers in the Storm examined some important legal issues authors face when writing for anthologies. Today, we’re taking a closer look at appropriate—and not so appropriate--grants of rights in anthology contracts, which differ from the standard grants of rights in book-length publishing deals.

Before we get started, it’s important to remember that “copyright” actually consists of many different rights, including not only the right to produce a work in different standard publishing formats like print and ebook, but also translation rights, foreign distribution rights, serial rights (e.g., in a monthly magazine, one chapter at a time) film and TV rights, merchandising, and other subsidiary rights.

Traditional publishing contracts often attempt to divide each of these rights between author and publisher, but anthologies don’t have the same interest in rights acquisition as publishers do. As a result, anthologies generally have much shorter paragraphs (sometimes merely clauses) addressing the grant of rights.

The anthology contract should grant the anthology publisher only the rights reasonably necessary to publish and sell the anthology.  

Now, let’s look at the grants of rights which authors should expect to see in anthology contracts:

1. First Print Rights or Non-exclusive Print Rights. (Note that these should be limited to use of the work in the specified anthology only.)

Many anthologies want "first print rights" to contributors’ stories, which means those stories cannot appear elsewhere, in print or electronic formats, before being published in the anthology. (Most of the time, publishers of book-length works want first print rights as well.) An appropriate grant of rights in an anthology contracts would typically read: "Author hereby grants [Publisher] first English-language publication rights" or "Author grants [Publisher] first English-language anthology publication rights."

If the contributed work has been published before, the anthology contract may modify this language by removing "first" and inserting "non-exclusive," or "second" or some other appropriate identifying word. However, the contributing author must let the publisher know about previous publication—normally at the time of submission but certainly before signing the contract, to be sure the grant of rights is properly phrased (and that the publisher is willing to take previously published work).

The contract should also specify that the grant of rights enables the publisher to publish the work as part of a specified anthology only. This prevents the publisher from legally using that grant of rights to publish the contributor’s work in standalone format or use it for other unspecified purposes.

2. Continuing, non-exclusive print or publication rights (as part of, and in reprints of, the specified anthology only).

Grants of rights in anthology contracts should always contain the word "non-exclusive" and clearly state that the anthology's publisher has the continuing, non-exclusive right to reproduce the author's work as part of the specified anthology only. Publishers do need "continuing" rights so the work can be included in reprints and future editions of the anthology. However, the author should never surrender the right to publish the work in other formats, other anthologies, or other collections (for example, in a collection of the author’s own short works).

3. Limitations on how soon the author can publish the work again, or in other formats. Anthologies often want the right to publish works on a “limited exclusive” basis, which is normal—and fine—as long as the term requested is not too long. 6-12 months from the date of the anthology’s initial publication is a reasonable exclusivity period. However, the anthology contract shouldn’t bar the author from ever publishing or using the work again, or demand an excessive exclusivity period.

Note: NEVER grant or transfer your copyright in your work to an anthology publisher. Next month’s post will look at anthology copyrights in more detail, but for now it’s enough to remember: no anthology publisher needs the copyright in your story.

The author should always retain copyright ownership in his or her work.

The Anthology contract should specify that the grant of rights covers English language rights only, unless the translation rights are limited to the translation of the entire anthology (as a whole) into other languages. Translation of anthologies is rare, and most of the time the publisher needs only English language rights to contributed works. Although translation of short stories and other shorter works is rare, the author should still retain the rights whenever possible.

Anthology contracts should never contain grants of subsidiary rights like film, television, app and gaming, graphic novel, and merchandising rights (to name a few). The only time these rights should show up in an anthology contract is when the contract states that the author retains these rights exclusively.

Finally, anthology contracts should always contain a statement that the author retains all rights not expressly granted to the publisher in the contract. This is standard but needs to appear in the contract to ensure that ownership of the rights (and the right to exploit them) is clear.

Anthologies present many authors with valuable opportunities to publish shorter works, “cross pollenate” readership, and gain publishing credits. Authors simply need to ensure that the grant of rights is clear—and not overreaching.

Do you write for anthologies? How do the grants of rights you’ve seen compare with the ones we’re talking about today?

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About Susan

Susan Spann writes the Shinobi Mysteries, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo. Her debut novel, CLAWS OF THE CAT (Minotaur Books, 2013), was a Library Journal Mystery Debut of the Month and a finalist for the Silver Falchion Award for Best First Novel. BLADE OF THE SAMURAI released in 2014, and her third novel, FLASK OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER, releases on July 14, 2015.

Susan is also a transactional attorney whose practice focuses on publishing law and business. When not writing or practicing law, she raises seahorses and rare corals in her marine aquarium. She was recently named Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2015 Writer of the Year, and you can find her online at http://www.SusanSpann.com, on Twitter (@SusanSpann), and on Facebook (SusanSpannAuthor).

Les Edgerton

This week at WITS we are on a roll with the key characters in your story. Monday was 10 Tips for a Strong Protagonist from Shannon Donnelly. Today is a fantastic in-depth post from Les Edgerton. His last article for us was about how character's actions determine both their character and their character arc.

Take it away, Les...

The following is part of another chapter of my proposed writer’s craft book, A WRITER’S WORKSHOP AT THE BIJOU, currently being marketed to publishers. All the material in this book is based on the movie Thelma & Louise.

Hope folks find this one informative as well and that it helps in their writer’s journey. Thanks for reading.

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The two most important characters in a novel are the protagonist and the antagonist. I'm going to define those terms as are many misconceptions about their roles in the story.

The Protagonist

The protagonist is simply the person through whose eyes and viewpoint we experience the bulk of the story. I feel it a mistake to assign moral qualities to either the protagonist or the antagonist. Therefore, I believe it’s misleading to use terms such as “hero” or “heroine” to describe the protagonist. Doing so assigns a moral value to him or her that is not only inaccurate, but that often leads to creating poor characters.

When you think of protagonists as “good guys” and antagonist’s as “bad guys” or villains, the temptation is great to create one-dimensional, cardboard, almost “cartoonish” characters. Dudley Doright and Snidely Whiplash.

By the same token, the term “antihero” is misleading. By its very name, it also implies a moral quality assigned to the character. The protagonist is neither a hero nor an antihero. They’re simply the person through whose persona we experience the story.

Do yourself a favor. Don’t think of these two characters as “good” and/or “bad.” I think you’ll find you create far more complex and compelling characters by not doing so.

Same way with that term that’s crept into our writing lexicon in the past few years. That main character thingy, or that even more insidious appellation, that “MC” monstrosity. That says… nothing.

Of course the protagonist is the “main character.” But, to refer to him or her with that term, negates somewhat the value of the protagonist. Describing the protagonist as the “main character” implies that it’s the story that’s mostly important (at the expense of character) and that’s simply not true.

All stories, regardless of genre, are pretty much the same. It’s the protagonist in his/her battle in the story to resolve the story problem that’s important. Plots are limited—there are only 6-8, depending on the source. Characters—particularly protagonists—on the other hand, are limitless.

The life of any story isn’t the plot. It’s how the protagonist and antagonist operate within the plot, not the clever and various ways in which the killings, bombings, kidnappings, love and/or sex scenes, naval button contemplations or whatever are depicted. Those things are incidental to the characters and only exist to serve the characters and provide the obstacles for the struggle.

The Antagonist

Likewise, don’t think of the antagonist in terms of villains. He or she is simply the person whose goal(s) conflict with those of the protagonist’s. Period. Again, just as with the protagonist, no moral value is assigned, at least in relationship to the definition of their character. Not the “bad guy” or “bad gal.” If you think of antagonists as villains, you’ll end up with Snidely Whiplash-type characters. One-dimensional, cardboard, cartoonish characters.

The antagonist, just like the protagonist, can be a good guy or gal or a bad guy or gal. Doesn’t matter. Novels aren’t morality plays. As Samuel Goldwyn said to the screenwriter who sent him a script with a theme of good and bad (badly paraphrased): “Don’t send a message. Western Union sends messages and they do it well. Send me a story.”

Can there be more than one protagonist or antagonist?

Nope.

One protagonist, one antagonist per novel.

Now, that doesn’t mean they each can’t have multiple allies. They both can and both most likely will.

Are there exceptions? Probably, although I can’t think of any right now. Remember that just because a novel was published doesn’t “prove” it was any good. Doesn’t mean it’s a good model to follow, necessarily. Bad novels get published just about every day. But, do yourself a favor and don’t use a bad novel for a template. I can pretty well guarantee you that there aren’t very many good novels with “co-protagonists” and “multiple antagonists.”

One of the reasons this is true is that when you begin creating more than a single protagonist and/or antagonist, the reader’s focus begins to get diffused. We can “see” an individual. Once you begin creating crowds, it becomes harder to figure out whose story it is or who we should follow.

Let’s look at Thelma & Louise for particularly great examples of a powerful protagonist and an equally-powerful antagonist.

By the way, the strength of your novel depends on the strength of your antagonist, not your protagonist. Write that down.

The antagonist should be at least the equal in strength of the protagonist, and preferably stronger. This includes all forms of strength, including physical, mental, emotionally, resource-wise… in every way you can dream up. If the antagonist is weaker in any way than the protagonist, then the protagonist doesn’t have to do much to prevail, does he? And, you want the protagonist’s struggle to be uphill all the way.

The protagonist in Thelma & Louise is Thelma. Period. I know the title says Thelma and Louise, but it’s Thelma’s story. Louise is along for the ride and the primary role she serves is the Mentor role. Khouri was well-aware of that. If they were co-protagonists, wouldn’t she have given Louise’s big sex scene the same big stage as she did Thelma’s? She didn’t. It’s Thelma’s story, all the way.

Another factor that determines the protagonist is the character arc. You know, that old Freitag scheme that looks like a roller coaster? Only the protagonist gets that. His or her character has to undergo a significant change as a result of the struggle she’s undergone to achieve the story goal.

Only Thelma undergoes this change in the story. Louise changes a bit, but by and large, at the end of the story, she’s pretty much the same as she was at the beginning. Thelma, on the other hand, has had a profound change from where she began. You’ll see that change as we go along here.

And, the antagonist is… Hal the cop as played by Harvey Keitel. Is he a villain? Nope. Not in the least. He’s undoubtedly the single most moral character in the story. His goal is completely honorable and good… for those looking for good guys and bad guys in their fiction.

It’s just that his goal is in direct conflict with Thelma’s. His goal is to rescue Thelma and her friend, Louise. To save them first from going to jail and then, as the story evolves, to save them from being killed. Absolutely, 100% honorable goal.

Can you see how the terms “villain” doesn’t have a thing to do with Hal’s character? Do you think for a second that if Khouri thought in those terms—heroes/heroines vs villains—she could have possibly written these characters—particularly Hal’s? Not a chance in hell! If her knowledge of story had rested on those kinds of definitions, she would be writing direct-to-video screenplays, if even that.

Please—if you get nothing else from this post—never again think of your characters as hero/heroine and villain!

Are there characters in the story who provide obstacles for Thelma? Sure. Her husband Darryl is about as “villainy” as you could ever wish for.

Just about every male character in the story provide opposition. J.T. steals their money even though he does afford Thelma respect in their love-making. The state cop with the tailored uni and mirror sunglasses and male chauvinist hog attitude is villainy. The tanker driver with his pig-like gestures and intentions is villainy. Harlan, the would-be rapist is definitely villainy. The guys manning gas pumps when they stop, or are leaning up against building posts ogling them, are all minor variations of villainy.

And, guess what? Just about all of those characters fit the Snidely Whiplash mold. No antagonists in that bunch, except in a very limited, stereotypical role, basically as villainous. Louise’s boyfriend Jimmy, is pretty much a good guy, but he’s definitely not an antagonist. He’s one of their few “helpers” when he comes to Louise’s aid (and, by extension, Thelma’s). No opposition to Thelma’s goal there.

The one character whose goal provides consistent and powerful opposition to Thelma’s goal is Hal. She wants to escape; his goal is to catch her.

And it’s that dynamic that makes for complex characters and complex stories. Two individuals, each with a goal at odds with the other. Both with worthy goals. No “good vs evil” going on here at all. Each the very model of a great protagonist/antagonist. A very powerful antagonist.

Look at Hal’s strengths. He’s a lawman with tons of experience catching criminals. He’s got all the technological advantages possible. He’s got a virtual army of people to help him find and catch them. He’s got state of the art computers, communications, transportation, radar, phone tracking capability at his disposal. He’s got the state police along with the FBI at his disposal. He’s got a frickin’ helicopter!

He’s got all this arrayed against a housewife and a waitress in a car and little money and their destination known. He’s extremely powerful and about as strong of an antagonist as you could ever invent. When Thelma defeats him—which she does in the final scene—it resonates with the viewer since she hasn’t beaten a weakling at all but an antagonist that was stronger in just about every single way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQOuGXTYAj8

 

Think about how this story would have been had Khouri made Hal a nasty guy who hated women and just wanted to either kill Thelma and Louise or just wanted to put them in jail. She could have done that… if she thought in terms of “heroines” and “villains.” But she didn’t. She created a protagonist and gave her a worthy antagonist.

Perhaps why she won the Oscar for this story?

Do you have any questions for Les? Who are your favorite protagonist/antagonist duos in fiction? What makes them so compelling?

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About Les

Les Edgerton is an ex-con, matriculating at Pendleton Reformatory in the sixties for burglary. He was an outlaw for many years and was involved in shootouts, knifings, robberies, high-speed car chases, drugs, was a pimp, worked for an escort service, starred in porn movies, was a gambler, served four years in the Navy, and had other misadventures. He’s since taken a vow of poverty (became a writer) with 18 books in print, including Finding Your Voice and HOOKED.

Three of his novels have been sold to German publisher, Pulpmaster for the German language rights. His memoir, Adrenaline Junkie is currently being marketed. Work of his has been nominated for or won: the Pushcart Prize, O. Henry Award, Edgar Allan Poe Award (short story category), Derringer Award, PEN/Faulkner Award, Jesse Jones Book Award, Spinetingler Magazine Award for Best Novel (Legends category), and the Violet Crown Book Award, among others.

Les holds a B.A. from I.U. and the MFA in Writing from Vermont College. He was the writer-in-residence for three years at the University of Toledo, for one year at Trine University, and taught writing classes for UCLA, St. Francis University, Phoenix College, Writer’s Digest,  Vermont College, the New York Writer’s Workshop and other places. He currently teaches a private novel-writing class online.

He can be found at www.lesedgertononwriting.blogspot.com/ and www.lesedgerton.net.

Shannon Donnelly

I’ve been reading some manuscripts lately that have trouble sorting out the protagonist, so this seems worthy of a blog. The protagonist—your central character—needs to be worthy of a story. The protagonist also needs enough going on to carry the story.

One of the big problems I see in a lot of romances that aren’t working is that the writer is trying to make both the hero and heroine the protagonist—that generally flops.

Even a romance needs one central character that can carry the main story arc—which is really the main character’s arc. Even a women’s fiction novel with a group needs one character at the heart of the story. Can you break this rule? Sure—but you do so at the risk of having the whole thing collapse. Think of your protagonist as your central tent post—without it, everything sags or falls.

Now—what about that character being worth of his or own story?

The protagonist needs some things set up so the story works better:

1. Conflict

Yes, it’s obvious, but there’s no such thing as enough of this. And this isn’t just external challenges to overcome. Protagonists are more interesting if they have internal issues. You want to set up issues, and personality clashes, and personal problems for the protagonist.

2. A specific past.

This means a detailed, specific past. This where I see a lot of writers going for vague. How many characters out there have parents who died, or a rough childhood, or were bullied? You can count these by the thousands, because that description is too vague.

If you want your protagonist to stand out and be worthy of a story, make them unique by making their past highly specific. The woman whose parents were run over by a rhino while they were on safari when she was ten and stuffed into a boarding school—that’s starting to shape a unique person. Or the boy who grew up traveling with his parents in a VW bus because they wanted to see the world—he’s got some interesting stories. Details make your characters come alive—never settle for less than highly specific.

3. Strengths and flaws.

It’s too easy to focus on just one side of this. The hero who is not only handsome, but tall and talented, and just too good to be real. The heroine who is beautiful and brave and fearless. Or even the bad guy who is nothing but mustache-twirling evil.

Characters that don’t have both flaws and strengths start to be boring. A protagonist who doesn’t screw up—or who does nothing but screw up—is going to lose readers. Do yourself a favor and make the main character’s main trait something that is both strength and a flaw—most traits come with a good side and bad.

4. Meaningful habits.

We all have these. Twirling a lock of hair. A favorite phrase. A toothpick tucked into the corner of a mouth. Cracking knuckles, biting a thumbnail, tucking a quarter into a pocket. Your protagonist will be more interesting if you figure out not just habits, but specific habits that reveal something about that person.

The person who has to organize any bookshelf she sees by topic is a different person from the one who never steps into a cab with a license plate that has the number thirteen on it. Make your protagonist worthy of a story by giving them meaningful habits.

5. Something they want.

The best characters always have something they want—something they really want, something they really, really want, and something they really, really, really want. Go beyond that first want and dig deeper. First, second, and often even fourth ideas are usually clichés. These ideas jump at you because you’ve read them so many times. Always ask more of yourself and your protagonist—get down to what they really, really, really want. Do this not just for the story, but for every scene in the story, too.

6. A unique voice.

Every character needs a unique voice, but a protagonist needs this more than any other character in your story. To be worthy of being at the center of the story, the protagonist needs to stand out—that means his or her dialogue needs to be sharp and needs to be something that would make any ‘star’ want to play this role. To help with this, imagine your favorite actor in this role—give this actor the best lines, such great lines that this actor would come up and hug you.

7. Likeability

A protagonist, to be worthy of his or her own story, needs to be likeable. The reader needs to identify with that person—the protagonist carries the reader into and through the story.

Now, the protagonist can do things that makes the reader want to slap that character, or can make mistakes—in fact, that often leads to a more likeable person. But look closely at what actions your protagonist takes—does he treat others (who don’t deserve it) badly, does she kick the cat, does he make the same mistake repeatedly, does she do too much admiring of her own looks in the mirror?

This is where it’s all about balance. A heroine can kick the cat if that cat is really a demon about to kill her—the action will seem justified. But if it’s a pitiful, cute kitten, that protagonist has just lost the reader’s sympathy. Make sure your readers understand the protagonist’s actions and motivations—we all tend to like people we admire and people whose actions we understand.

9. Friends and/or family.

This can be one friend or several, it can be a big family or a small one, but friends and family serve to give your protagonist three dimensions. Allowing the reader to see the protagonist interacting with friends and family helps make the protagonist more interesting and more likeable by being more understandable. It also is a chance to layer in extra dimensions as the protagonist will interact with different people in different ways.

If you have a really rough, hard-to-like protagonist (who must change in the story) give him or her a best friend who is easy to like—that person’s liking for the protagonist will convince the reader there are good qualities in the protagonist. This is also a great way to show contrasts—the tough hero can let his elderly mom boss him around, or the feisty no-nonsense heroine could be mush when it comes to helping her little sister play dress-up.

Use the characters around the protagonist to make the protagonist more worthy of being at the center of the story.

10. Action

Let’s face it, a character that sits and thinks a lot is just not that interesting. Even Shakespeare sends Hamlet off to visit graves and spy on his uncle and set up plays and a duel—Shakespeare knew enough to put his protagonist into action.

Actions show the reader the character’s personality better than anything else. If you have a protagonist who is a marksman, have him shooting a gun and making patterns on the target. If you have a financial wiz, have her signing a deal that nets her an easy million. A character who is worthy of his or her on story is one who does things.

Above all else, find out whatever it is that you need to know to make your protagonist real to you. If you don’t believe in your main character, it’s just about impossible to get a reader to believe, too.

Who are your favorite fictional protagonists? What makes them stand out? What qualities make a character "worthy of his or own story?"

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About Shannon

Shannon Donnelly’s writing has won numerous awards, including a nomination for Romance Writer’s of America’s RITA award, the Grand Prize in the "Minute Maid Sensational Romance Writer" contest, judged by Nora Roberts, and others. Her writing has repeatedly earned 4½ Star Top Pick reviews from Romantic Times magazine, as well as praise from Booklist and other reviewers, who note: "simply superb"..."wonderfully uplifting"....and "beautifully written."

Her latest Regency romance, Lady Chance, the follow up to Lady Scandal, is out on Amazon.com. In addition to her Regency romances, she is the author of the Mackenzie Solomon, Demon/Warders Urban Fantasy series, Burn Baby Burn and Riding in on a Burning Tire, and the SF/Paranormal, Edge Walkers. Her work has been on the top seller list of Amazon.com and includes the Historical romances, The Cardros Ruby and Paths of Desire.

She is the author of several young adult horror stories, and has also written computer games and offers editing and writing workshops. She lives in New Mexico with two horses, two donkeys, two dogs, and the one love of her life. Shannon can be found online at shannondonnelly.com, facebook.com/sdwriter, and twitter/sdwriter.