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Mary Rosenblum
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Hello all.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I hope you had a lovely
Christmas or a great holiday weekend anyway. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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I don't know about you, but I
find it kind of amazing that this weekend is the final weekend of 2006.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Seems as if it just started
last month. Time flies, I guess. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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Since we talked about agents
at our last Friday Forum, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about
contracts and rights today.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Since most of the time we'll
actually be dealing with those issues on our own, rather than through an
agent.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you're selling to the
magazine market or to the small press publisher, you'll be handling
contracts on your own, and they can be very daunting if you don't have a
clear idea of what exactly you are selling.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Alas, with the proliferation
of new, small publishers, many very poor contracts are kicking around, not
because the publisher intends to cheat you
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Mary Rosenblum
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but because the new publisher
may not know anything about writing a contract.
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Mary Rosenblum
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When you write anything, you
own those words as soon as you write them down or hit save on your
computer.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That is the copyright and it
is yours.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Nobody can use those
particular words without your permission.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You don't have to register the
copyright to have that control. It's automatically yours, although you can
later register the copyright to, say, your novel to add an extra layer of
legal protection.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Now you CAN write 'work for
hire'.
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Mary Rosenblum
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In this case, you sign a
contract ahead of time to produce a particular body of work for a set fee.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The rights to those particular
words belong to the person you're working for. Not to you.
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Mary Rosenblum
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This is common in 'technical
writing' where you might be writing, say, a manual on how to use Word.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I wrote the Long Ridge novel
course as a work for hire. They rights belong to Long Ridge, not to me.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It does happen in the fiction
world, usually for a book written in an established universe, say a Star
Trek book.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But more commonly, you own the
copyright and you LICENSE a publisher to use your words in a very specific
way.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That is, you sell them
specific rights.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That right allows them to
publish your words in a limited way, usually for a limited time.
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geezer
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Do you get any royalities for
work for hire?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Depends on whether or not it's
specified in the contract, geeze.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Sometimes it is, sometimes you
merely get a flat fee.
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info
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In case of Star Trek novels, do
you get a percentage of royalties as long as they are published or does
that remain with the Star Trek people?
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Mary Rosenblum
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I'm not actually familiar with
the specific contract, info.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Many 'universe' work for hire
contracts give you royalties as long as the book is in print, but that 'in
print' decision is entirely in the hands of thepublisher.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You can't publish the book on
your own.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The thing to keep in mind with
fiction particularly is that you can publish a story more than once...IF
you retain your rights.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Each time you sell specific
rights, you are selling permission for the publisher to publish that story
in a limited way.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You can sell rights to other
publishers to publish that story in other limited ways.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You can sell First Rights.
These grant the publisher the right to publish this story FIRST.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They can be more
specific...First North American Rights (The US only).
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Mary Rosenblum
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First Foreign language rights
(first publication in a language other than English)
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Mary Rosenblum
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First World Rights (first time
published anywhere on the planet).
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Mary Rosenblum
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These days, I see more 'first
world rights' than anything. That covers electronic publications as well as
print, by the way.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Then, once that publisher has
published it FIRST, you can sell an even larger number of 'secondary
rights'
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Mary Rosenblum
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meaning that the piece has
been published once already.
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Mary Rosenblum
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These are often collectively
called 'reprint rights'.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Generally you get less money
for these 'second rights' but you know what? You don't have to do any more
work.
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geezer
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How would one approach a
publisher with a story that had already been published? I don't remember
seening anything like that in their submission guidelines.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They will tell you in the
guidelines if they want reprints, geeze.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If the guidelines say they are
looking for 'original work' they probably aren't much interested in
previously published work.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Some markets do accept some
previously published work and they'll say so in their guidelines.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Some theme anthologies will
mention that they're open to previously published work.
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Mary Rosenblum
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What you want to beware of are
the contracts that purchase All RIghts.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I see that more and more and
it's a big caveat.
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illegible
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Are non-premium publications
more likely to take reprints?
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Mary Rosenblum
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In nonfiction, yes. I solicit
reprints for the LR Website.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It's less common in fiction,
although as I said, the occasional anthology will accept reprints and of
course, the 'Best of the Year' antholgies all do. :-)
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yarnsome
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What does the term "kill
fee" in market listings mean?
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Mary Rosenblum
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It means that if the editor
decides not to run your piece or publish your book after all, you get a
payment anyway.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Usually it's about half of the
initial offering.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But that is only after the
contract is signed.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If an editor holds your story
for an anthology but hasn't sent you a contract yet, and then the editor
decides
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Mary Rosenblum
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the anthology is too full and
rejects it, you don't get a kill fee.
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sss1208
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Do you get your ms returned?
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Mary Rosenblum
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That depends on the
publication. Usually if you send in a SASE the mss will come back to you.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you don't include a SASE
when submitting by snail mail your submission goes directly into the trash.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Editors are adamant about
that.
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info
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Could you explain what a
non-premium publications is?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Small circulation, info.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The larger the circulation,
the more ad money the mag tends to make, and the more they can spend on
purchasing good quality articles from high-end pros.
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sss1208
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I meant do you get your ms
returned along with kill fee
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Mary Rosenblum
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Oh yes, sss, you certainly
should.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The publisher would be highly
unprofessional not to do so.
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janecj333
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Can you give us some info about
advances, what's typical? I read that Orson Scott Card didn't earn out his
advances until after his ninth novel.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I had a glitch up here.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Did Jane's question about
advances show up in the auditorium?
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andi
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yes
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Mary Rosenblum
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Oh good. It vanished off my
screen.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Advances are something you
encounter mostly among big NY publishers and a very few high end small
presses.
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Mary Rosenblum
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This is an 'advance against
royalties'.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The publisher guesses how many
of your books they'll sell and they pay you the equivalent to the royalties
you'd make on those sales up front.
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Mary Rosenblum
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So you can eat while you're
waiting for the books to sell. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you don't sell as many
books as they guess...you will not 'earn out' your advance
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Mary Rosenblum
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and the publisher loses money.
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Mary Rosenblum
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No, you don't have to repay
that advance money. It's yours.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But the publisher will be less
willing to buy your next book.
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yarnsome
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Is there a good online reference
site for contract terms?
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Mary Rosenblum
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There is indeed, yarnsome.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The ASJA publishes a Contracts
Watch Newsletter
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Mary Rosenblum
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This is worth reading.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They discuss current issues in
publishing, all concerning contracts and rights.
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Mary Rosenblum
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http://www.asja.org/cw/cw.php
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Mary Rosenblum
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http://www.asja.org/cw/cw.php
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Mary Rosenblum
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The ASJA by the way
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Mary Rosenblum
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is the American Society of
Journalists and Authors.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You have to make your income
primarily as an author or journalist in order to join.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But their website is well
worth a visit in terms of useful information.
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yarnsome
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How do you know if your article
has been published if the
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yarnsome
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magazine doesn't publish it for
a year or two?
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yarnsome
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And the mag pays on publication?
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Mary Rosenblum
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This is a real headache,
yarnsome.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Payment on acceptance used to
be the rule but that has changed.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Now it's payment on
publication most of the time.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Read your contract. Usually
you will receive one or two contributors copies when your story or article
is published
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Mary Rosenblum
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and that will tell you that
your piece has been published.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Some contracts will give you a
time frame -- within two years of acceptance or something like that.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Most won't.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You can always query the
editor and ask when a particular piece is scheduled.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Most magazines operate on
about 6 months lead time, so the editor knows well in advance when your
piece will run.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And realize that you CAN alter
a contract.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You and the editor can
negotiate points that you are not happ with.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Some you may be able to
change, others you may not be able to change and thus you'll have to decide
if you really want to publish here or not.
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yarnsome
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I didn't know you could alter a
contract.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Oh yes. My agent alters
something in very single paragraph of my ten page NY publishing contracts!
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Mary Rosenblum
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I've renegotiated contract
issues with magazine publishers.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I used to routinely cross out
one paragraph of the Asimov's contracts, back when they tried to acquire
all electronic rights.
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illegible
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Does your agent cover much of
the contract work for you?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Only on book contracts,
illegible.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I handle all short fiction and
nonfiction contracts.
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yarnsome
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On to books...what's a typical
royalty?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Depends, yarn.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The big NY houses that
typically offer an advance usually offer about 8 - 9% for mass market and
10-12 % for hardcover.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I think it's running around
10% for trade paper.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The small presses usually
offer a larger royalty since they don't offer and advance and the sales
numbers will generally be much smaller.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The 'quantity publishers' who
publish nearly anyone who submits often offer a very high royalty
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Mary Rosenblum
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but that's because the sales
numbers are so very low.
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illegible
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Trade paper?
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Mary Rosenblum
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those are the larger paperback
books, the ones you see most often from small press publishers.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They cost 11- 12 rather than
the 6 - 7 of most mass market paperbacks.
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yarnsome
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What are some rights an author
should NEVER relinquish?
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Mary Rosenblum
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All Rights.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That means you sell your words
and you can never use that story or that article again ever.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I see that more and more in
contracts from new ezines.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I think they simply don't know
how to write a contract, but don't do it unless you don't mind
relinquishing that story or narrative.
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kish100
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Why are most movies hacked
versions of the books?
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's what the movie makers
thought the public would go see. Usually they're hacked versions of best
sellers, notice.
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Mary Rosenblum
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What you also want to watch
for is 'movie rights', 'anthology rights' and 'foreign rights' in your
fiction contracts.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You want to sell those rights
to other publishers or the movie industry should you be so lucky.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You do not want your publisher
to sell them and give you a fraction of the money!
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Mary Rosenblum
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A lot of my fiction gets
published in Europe and I get money from that.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Only because I keep my foreign
rights.
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geezer
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Anything to watch out for in
selling movie rights?
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you are fortunate enough to
have an option picked up by a producer, you MUST get a Hollywood agent to
handle the contract.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They make NY contracts look
simple!
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yarnsome
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So if you keep foreign rights,
do you market it overseas?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Yes. And often foreign
publishers come to me and ask to use particular stories in anthologies, or
republish one of my books.
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Mary Rosenblum
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My agent always sends any new
book out to her foreign subagents and they market them in the UK, France, Germany, and eastern
Europe.
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kish100
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What are movie rights...exactly?
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Mary Rosenblum
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The right to turn your writing
into a movie.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Usually, a producer or
screenwriter will 'option' the movie rights. That means they pay you
money...usually about 5000 for a novel...
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Mary Rosenblum
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and for the next two years,
you can't sell the movie rights to anyone else.
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Mary Rosenblum
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At the end of that two years,
they either have to buy the movie rights or relinquish the option.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Many books and even
novellas/novellettes get optioned by screenwriters and producers.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Very few end up as movies.
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Mary Rosenblum
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One thing to look for in a
small press contract for your novel is how the royalties are calculated.
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Mary Rosenblum
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if they are calculated on the
'cover price' then you are getting say, 10% of the cover price, maybe 14.99
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Mary Rosenblum
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But if they are calculated on
the 'wholesale' or 'discounted' price, then they are calculated on what the
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Mary Rosenblum
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distributor pays and that's
about 7 for that 14.99 book.
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Mary Rosenblum
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So your royalty is not 1.49
per copy, it is about 70c per copy.
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Mary Rosenblum
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BIG difference!
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janecj333
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At what point in your fiction
career were you able to attract an agent?
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Mary Rosenblum
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When I had just finished my
first book, Jane.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But I had already published
quite a bit of short SF and was getting a lot of very nice praise from
reviewers.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And actually, my agent didn't
think much of that first book (it wasn't very good) but thought I should do
a novel
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Mary Rosenblum
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set in the universe of several
of my recent short stories.
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Mary Rosenblum
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So I did that and she sent
that around.
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kish100
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Do you get royalties from the
movies?
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Mary Rosenblum
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You get all kinds of money
from your rights if the movie gets made kish...potentially HUGE amounts if the movie is a big hit.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But that is a complex system
and you really will need a Hollywood agent to negotiate that contract.
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Mary Rosenblum
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My agent sends movie contracts
to her Hollywood sub agent.
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Mary Rosenblum
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When you read a contract, pay
attention to when you can republish your work.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Some contracts allow the
publisher to use the story in a later anthology for a nominal fee or
publish it on their website for a nominal fee.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But if you want to publish
that story later on yourself, you need to be sure that the publisher isn't
controlling the story forever.
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illegible
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Without an agent, are rights
management sort done "in the community"? getting help from friend
in the know?
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Mary Rosenblum
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It does help if you ask
someone like me who has had experience with contracts. You can also pay a
flat fee to a publishing lawyer who can tell you what you're signing.
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Mary Rosenblum
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SFWA.org the website of SFWA
has a great page on rights and contracts.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It has some sample contracts
posted there.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The ASJA website is a font of
information.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You owe it to yourself to
learn contract language and rights.
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Mary Rosenblum
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As I said, many new publishers
especially in the ezine world are writing bad contracts because they don't
know any better.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And if you can offer a
reasonable alternative editors can be reasonable.
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msz
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Did you publish your short SF in
magazines?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Yes, MSZ. I started out
publishing mostly in Asimov's magazine, but I've been in all the print SF
mags at this point. I've published more than 60 short stories, all for pay,
and mostly in the large circulation magazines.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Well, this was an interesting
discussion. Next week, the newsletter will focus on Rights
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Mary Rosenblum
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and I'll have some good links
to sites that will help you.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Meanwhile, I'll post the
transcripts of this forum in Writing Craft: Forum Transcripts.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Have a good week, all.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Don't get trampled in the
after Christmas sales!
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