The Authors Guild is the nation’s oldest and largest professional organization for writers in the United States, aiding and protecting authors’ interests in copyright, fair contracts, and free expression since 1912. It supports working writers, advocates for author rights, and provides a community for its members. Until recently you needed to be a published author before you met eligibility requirements for membership. This past year the Authors Guild recognized the value of their services to those dedicated writers who actively seek publication or whose income from professional writing did not meet their income threshold for full membership. The Emerging Writer Membership is designed to provide resources, information, and community to writers before they have been published. The Authors Guild provides support as you move through the early stages of your author career—make a decision whether to self-publish, find an agent/publisher, review contracts, negotiate royalties, search for contests, residencies, grants, and fellowships. The Emerging Writer Membership fee is $100 per year and you can JOIN HERE. The benefits of the Emerging Writer Membership include seminars, workshops and events around the country, free website-building platform, discount on media liability insurance, and starting this month, marketing and social media resources and advice. The Authors Guild exists to support working writers and their ability to earn a living from their professional writing. They work to protect free speech, honor copyright, and ensure fair compensation practices. They recently received final approval of their $18 million class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of thousands of freelance journalists who…
As a writer, you may assume you will have the copyright of your book when it is published. If you write for magazines or newspapers, you may need to negotiate rights over your own written material — one time use — but these days, once you write something, you are assumed to own the copyright from that moment on. Although historically there were some European… [Read More]
Filed Under: Berne Convention, bookseller, Copyright, Daniel Webster, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Ledyard, Publisher, Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Not every author has an agent or an intellectual property rights attorney who can advocate for their rights and protect their work. So what do you need to know? You might be surprised if you “lawyer up,” your contract offer may be withdrawn. Why? Most publishers offer contracts which use boilerplate language and they do not negotiate every term and condition for each contract they… [Read More]
Filed Under: advances, Authors Guild, contracts, Copyright, Fair Contract Initiative, remainders, rights, royalties
“You know, there’s no market for writers anymore.” “So, you’re going to be a teacher.” “I hope you like Ramen.” These are the three most common responses when I tell someone my major in college. While poking fun at English majors is one of America’s favorite past times, it is discouraging to have my main interest written off (pun intended) as something I cannot pursue… [Read More]
If you are a writer, you have likely been asked this question. Perhaps more than once. Before you answer, recognize the question is loaded like a gun and it could go off and hurt you. These requests from some authors contain two unjustified assumptions: one, you plan to read it, and two, you will write something nice about it. Caveat emptor – Buyer beware. More… [Read More]
You have polished a piece of your writing and are ready for someone else to read it. You take an enormous risk when you ask someone else for feedback. You make yourself vulnerable to being misunderstood or worse. It’s more than words on a piece of paper which stand in judgment. It’s you—your soul—on the line. Every red pen mark on the page feels like… [Read More]
Filed Under: criticism, Edith Wharton, Ernest Hemingway, feedback, Harper Lee, inner critic, Max Perkins, self-esteem, Tay Hohoff