Writers in the Storm

by Susan Squires

Whether you’re just starting out or under contract, being productive isn’t easy. There isn’t enough time. Or enough space. Or enough quiet. Or enough organized thinking. There isn’t enough something, always.

How many times have you heard writers say, “I sure wish I had more_______. Then I could write.” If wishes were horses we all would ride, as my mother used to say. It being the New Year, you might think making resolutions will do the trick. But we all resolve every year to get more writing done. The problem is, resolving to write more is too vague. How will you accomplish that goal?

I’m here to tell you, it’s all about identifying your barriers and negotiating your way out of them.

1. Broaden your definition of Negotiation

I can hear you say, “I’m not a corporate raider or a diplomat. What does negotiation have to do with me?” Everything. Negotiation is defined as “a discussion aimed at reaching agreement.” We negotiate every day, with husbands, children, bosses, friends. Negotiation is everywhere, and you’re already an expert negotiator. So let’s get started.

2.   Identify barriers to writing

Think hard and be honest. Is it that you don’t have a personal space in which to write? Does childcare leave you no time for writing? Does your family constantly interrupt you? Is your desk such a mess that it depresses you? Do you dread sitting down because you’re afraid what you write won’t be good enough? Do you find yourself watching TV every night in what could be productive writing time? Make a list of your barriers.

3.   Pick one barrier to handle first

You can’t tackle everything at once. If you take on too much, you may just throw up your hands in disgust and do nothing. So pick the most pressing barrier to work on first. Put your list away. It has done its job for now.

4.  Decide who has the power to make the barrier go away

Whoever has the power to make the barrier go away is your negotiating partner. Hint: it could be you!

5.   Decide what you want as an outcome

Be realistic here. For instance, if you don’t have a writing space in the apartment you share with your significant other, is it really realistic to negotiate a move? Maybe. Maybe the time and the finances are right. Maybe you both want to move. In that case, what you want as an outcome is agreement that you’ll try to find a place with some writing space. But if it isn’t realistic for you to move, maybe the library can be your writing space, (it was for me during the remodeling of our house) or the Starbucks at the corner, or your mother’s house, etc. and what you really want is agreement from your partner that you can set aside time to go to your writing space. So, decide on a goal for your discussion (negotiation) and write it down.

6.  Decide what you’re willing to give up to get your outcome

Negotiating is a two way street. No one gets everything they want without giving up something in return. If you want your husband to take the kids on Saturday afternoon, are you willing to give him a golf day, or basketball with the guys on Thursday nights? If you want your kids to leave you alone when they come home from school, can you promise them time after dinner for help with their homework? If you want a space for your writing, can you give up some furniture in the spare bedroom to create one? (I’ve even seen closets used to advantage). If you want more time to write in the evenings, which TV shows are you willing to give up?

If fear is keeping you from writing, negotiations are a little tricky. Is it possible to  negotiate with fear? Try vowing to allow yourself to write badly in your first draft, because, as Hemingway said, “Great books aren’t written, they’re rewritten.” Promise to give up on having your writing be perfect, and allow yourself the satisfaction of completing something. Perhaps all you can manage is to promise yourself you can be afraid later, after you’ve written the book!

7.   How to start the discussion

If your negotiation is with someone other than yourself, be sure you set some time aside. This isn’t something you do on the way to soccer practice. Begin by telling them how important writing is to you, and why. You might talk about needing balance in your life to be a happy and productive member of the family. You might talk about writing as something you do to take care of you, so you’re there for the family when they need you. Give examples of ways they take time for themselves, so they can understand and compare. Don’t be emotional. No crying. No shouting. This is a discussion to get an outcome that works for everyone. If you are negotiating with yourself, give yourself some quiet time to have the discussion too. Don’t make commitments to yourself lightly that you know you can’t achieve. Go easy. Slow and steady wins the race here.

8. Listen

Don’t be so focused on what you want as an outcome that you don’t listen to others’ points of view. They may see your writing as taking something away from them. If you hear that, you can reassure them that just because you need writing in your life doesn’t mean you love them less. They may be defensive about not having realized what you need. Cut them some slack—don’t back them into a corner and make them feel like bad people. “I’ve decided this is really important to me just recently. How could you know?” If it’s yourself you’re negotiating with, listen to that little voice that says you’ll be really unhappy about giving up Downton Abbey.

9.  Propose your solution, and what you’re willing to give up in return,then prepare for your partner to propose an alternative.

Agree if you can. If you want Saturdays to write and instead your partner wants to give you evenings, maybe that would work for you if you could get started writing earlier than your usual dinner schedule would allow. Don’t be afraid to propose an alternative. “I’ll try that, but I need to get started by eight p.m. If I cook dinner, will you do the dishes three nights a week to make sure that happens?” Right about here is when your partner, if they’re not used to negotiation, realizes that they’re going to have to make SOME compromise to keep you happy! Be gentle. If you need to postpone the discussion at this point, do. “Maybe we should wait to discuss this again when you’ve had a chance to think about what might work for both of us. How about Friday over a glass of wine?” Notice that you need to set a specific follow-up date. Otherwise this might get swept under the rug.

If you are negotiating with yourself, don’t demand too much of you. It’s okay to keep Downton Abbey and give up some other TV that doesn’t mean as much. You don’t have to give TV up entirely. I wrote 17 books for New York publishers by writing two nights a week and Saturdays. If you try to give up everything you love in order to write, pretty soon you won’t love writing.

10. Write down your agreement

You don’t have to give a copy to everyone, like a contract. But writing it down helps you remember what you’ve agreed to, especially if you were negotiating with yourself! Those are the agreements we tend to fudge on because there’s no one to hold us accountable.

Of course, there may be other barriers to tackle. You can do that. But be sure that when you’ve negotiated your way past a barrier, you take full advantage of the deal you’ve achieved. If you are frittering away the Saturday afternoon you achieved, then there’s a hidden barrier you haven’t addressed and you have some serious negotiating to do with yourself!

I know that the word “Negotiation” sounds intimidating. But remember, you do this every day. You’re just going to apply these ten steps to your writing life in a conscious way. The results with shock and surprise you, in a good way. Happy negotiating.

The large and successful Tremaine family is descended from Merlin of Camelot. The magic in their DNA comes alive when each sibling meets a destined lover who shares that DNA. Just Kee’s luck she’s fallen in love with someone who doesn’t have the Merlin gene. Now she’ll never get magic. She’s afraid to tell her even her best friend, Devin, adopted by the Tremaines when he was nine, that she’s about to give up on her destiny.

Devin harbors a secret that’s driving him to leave the family for good. To repay them for their kindness, he vows to acquire the Talisman that can protect the Tremaines from their enemies, the Clan. And only Kee can keep him from making the ultimate sacrifice.

by Susan Spann

Last month, I kicked off a new #PubLaw guest series here at Writers in the Storm with a brief look at copyright law and the rights it covers.

When authors learn that copyright protection is automatic and attaches to qualifying works at the time of creation, many assume that means the author owns those copyrights.

How could I not own my copyrighted works? Many authors ask. I wrote them, so I own them. Right?

Usually, but not always.

Copyright law recognizes several types of copyrighted works which are not owned by the creator, or which are owned by the creator in partnership with another person or entity.

Let’s take a closer look:

1. The General Rule: creative works are owned by their creator.
As a general rule, ownership of copyrighted works, and all the related rights, belongs to the author or creator.

However, an author may license, sell, or assign part (or all) of those rights to another person or entity.

In the case of a license—such as a publishing contract—the author can retain full ownership of the copyright itself, and merely grant permission for publication and other uses of certain rights. (Note: Be sure your contract states, without ambiguity, that the author remains the sole copyright owner. Unscrupulous publishers sometimes try to grab copyrights via contract.)

In the case of a copyright sale or transfer, the author can transfer ownership to another person (or a business entity) at which time the recipient becomes the copyright holder. This doesn’t change the copyright term, however – that remains “life of the author plus 70 years.”

2. Works for Hire belong to the person (or entity) who commissioned or paid for the work.

Where a person (or entity, such as a corporation) hires an author to write a “work for hire,” the copyright to the finished work does not belong to the author. Copyright to works for hire, along with all related and subsidiary rights, belongs to the person or entity who commissioned the work for hire.

Courts use a two-pronged test to see whether copyrighted works (or other creative works) are works for hire. If either prong is met, the work is a work for hire which belongs to the person or company that commissioned or arranged for the work’s creation:

First Prong: Was the work prepared or created by an employee in the scope of his or her employment? In English: did an employee create the work as part of his or her job?

Second Prong: Was the work specially ordered or commissioned for use as

(1) a contribution to a collective work,
(2) part of a motion picture or audio-visual work,
(3) a translation of pre-existing material,
(4) a supplementary or derivative work,
(5) a compilation,
(6) an instructional text,
(7) a test, answer key, or an atlas? And if so, did the parties expressly agree in a signed, written instrument that the work will be considered a work for hire?

Note that the second prong (which applies to freelancers and other independent contractors) requires a signed instrument or contract which states that the work is a work for hire. Without a writing, the copyright doesn’t transfer and the creator continues to have a claim for copyright in and to the work.

However, it’s vital for freelance authors and other creative contractors to always, always obtain a contract before starting work on a commissioned or freelance project. The contract must be signed and must indicate who owns the copyright on the finished work.

Without it, you’re risking loss of your copyrights.

Note also that even if no contract exists, the entity who commissioned the work might try to claim the work is a work for hire, which means an expensive copyright lawsuit to determine ownership of the finished work. Lawsuits often cost tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees (even if you win) – getting a clear contract up front is always faster and cheaper than litigation.

3. Joint Works belong to all authors or creators in equal, undivided shares (unless a contract says otherwise).

“Joint works” are copyrighted works with more than one co-creator. As a general rule, joint works belong to all co-authors in equal, undivided shares, meaning that each owns a percentage of the whole. This rule holds as long as each co-author’s contribution contains copyrightable content.

Smart co-authors enter into a contract before the work is written, stating their relative ownership percentages and which responsibilities each co-creator will undertake regarding creation, marketing and sales of the finished work. Include all relevant details and arrangements.

Consult a copyright attorney to help you draft the document – and remember: friendship isn’t a valid excuse for not creating a contract. Memories fade with time, and they fade even faster when tensions arise. Put the agreement in writing while everyone is getting along.

Join me next month when we investigate copyright language in publishing contracts, and how to ensure you protect your legal rights.

If you have questions about this or other copyright issues, I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

 

About Susan

Susan Spann is a publishing attorney and author from Sacramento, California. Her debut mystery novel, CLAWS OF THE CAT (Minotaur Books, July 2013), is the first in a series featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori. The sequel, BLADE OF THE SAMURAI, will release in July 2014.
Susan blogs about writing, publishing law and seahorses at http://www.SusanSpann.com. You can also find her on Twitter, @SusanSpann, or on Facebook.

By Orly Konig-Lopez

Querying authors know the feeling: Your email pings with an incoming message. It's from one of the agents who requested your manuscript. Your heart beats in your ears, you close one eye, tilt your head to a 35 degree angle and squint at the words. Maybe this is "the one."

"Thank you for sharing, blah blah. I liked blah blah. But … "

You groan. It's a rejection.

You keep reading anyway. This is where the "but" gets interesting. There are notes. Detailed notes. And a request to resubmit after you've made the revisions. Whoa!!!!!!!

Once you're done with the "it's not a no" dance (and get an ice pack for the muscle you pulled – not that I’m speaking from experience on this), you sit down to pound out those revisions.

Wait! Back away from the keyboard. Seriously. Hands up. Scootch back. This is not the time for hasty changes. I know, I know … "But the agent is waaaiiiiittttting. And if I don't do it faaaaaast, she'll forget about me."

She is waiting, but she won't forget. You want to make those revisions count.

Hey, I said back away from the keyboard!

Here's what you need to do:

1) Read the revise and resubmit notes again. Walk away. Let them bubble in your head for a day or two. Then read them again. This time highlight the ones that speak to you. You know the ones, those comments that have you smacking your forehead and muttering, "why didn't I see that?"

2) Now pull up every personalized rejection you've received on that manuscript - trust me! Make notes. Are there any similarities to the comments? Is there another agent who rejected the manuscript but sent some feedback that's consistent with the R&R agent?

3) Re-read the manuscript from start to finish. Print it out or read it on your e-reader, whatever will give you a fresh perspective. Don't edit! Just read and make notes. You might be surprised at the things you see this time around.

4) Organize your edits. Between your notes and what the agents have pointed out, you probably have a nice list of changes to make. Compare your notes with the feedback you received from the agents. Which ones are burning to be made? Which ones are changes just for the sake of changing? Highlight the ones that will have the most impact. Jot down notes to keep you focused with any major changes. Personally, if I have a big plot changer, I write it down on a sticky note and post it next to my computer. That way I never lose sight of the "big picture."

Now the fun begins. I look at revisions like a puzzle and I love puzzles. I prefer to edit on hardcopy. When I've done a first pass, I type in my changes. That gives me a second pass at tweaking the revisions.

5) Sit on it. Not literally, you're not trying to hatch novellas. Put the manuscript aside for a few days. Sweet talk a couple of your readers into giving it another look. Then read it again. If you read it last time as a print out, this time, read it on an e-reader. Ignore that little voice taunting you to send it NOW because how much longer do you expect that agent to wait. Don't give in! Patience (not a word that comes easily to me, by the way) is your friend.

Don't skim through the manuscript looking for obvious mistakes. You've made changes, maybe even significant changes. You might have missed something or introduced new problems. Once you've incorporated this last round of edits, read it again.

NOW you can hit send!

Whether that agent offers representation or not, you'll have a stronger manuscript and the best part - at least in my opinion - you just might have learned something about your writing.

Have you had success with a revise & resubmit? What do you do with personalized rejections – delete, file, or analyze?

 About Orly

After years of pushing the creativity boundary in corporate communications, Orly decided it was time for a new challenge. Three women’s fiction manuscripts later (plus a handful of picture books), it’s safe to say she’s found her creative outlet.

When she’s not talking to her imaginary friends, she’s reading or at least trying to ignore everyone around her long enough to finish “just one more paragraph.” Orly is the founding president of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

You can find her on Twitter at @OrlyKonigLopez or on her website, www.orlykoniglopez.com.
photo credit: KatieKrueger via photopin cc