Posting Victor’s covers reminded me that I never shared with you the evolution of the FAST TRACK movie/sales poster. There were several steps in between, but these three pretty give you a sense of how it evolved. The third poster is the final one…
Lee Goldberg
Evolution of a Cover
Here are three versions of the cover for Victor Gischler’s new book GO-GO GIRLS OF THE APOCALYPSE. Which one do you like best? I’ll tell you which one was picked after the jump…
Who Needs Tums? Read My Books Instead
Today I was on a panel with Steve Cannell, Harley Jane Kozak, Dr. D.P. Lyle and my brother Tod at the spectacular Cerritos Library for their annual "Mystery on the Menu" program. It was my first time there and I was stunned by the library — it looks like Rick Caruso (developer of The Grove) and the Disney Imagineers teamed up to design the place. I have never seen anything like it, so rather than describe it, you can look at it for yourself here in 360 degree views. The visit to the library alone was well worth the trip. I had a great time, and caught up with Kirk Russell, Richard Greer, Patricia Smiley, Jerrilyn Farmer and Earlene Fowler, among other authors.
The "Murder on the Menu" program is a lot like the "Men of Mystery" event…each author is at a table with ten guests and does a "table talk" at lunch, giving the attendees a chance to get up-close-and-personal with the authors. I had some really interesting discussions with a lot of bright and creative people. But I also had more than my share of strange encounters.
"I love your books," one woman said.
"Thank you," I replied.
"They are so relaxing," she said. "And they really help my digestion."
I think I am going to put that on the cover of my next book. It’s the best comment I’ve had since the San Francisco Chronicle called my book UNSOLD TV PILOTS "The best bathroom reading ever."
Another woman picked up one of my books and asked:
"Is this one good?"
"No," I said. "It’s awful. I wrote it while I was trying to kick my heroin addiction."
"Really?"
"No."
"Then why did you say that?"
"What did you expect me to say?" I replied. "Of course I think it’s good. I wrote it."
"Well," she said. "I was hoping for your honest opinion."
Not one minute later, another woman (the audience was 99 % women) picked up one of my books and asked me:
"How much did it cost you to publish this?"
"Nothing," I said.
"Really?" she asked. "What about the other authors? What did they pay?"
"Nothing," I said. "We all got paid to write our books."
"Is that something new?"
"No," I said.
"I thought everybody had to pay," she said.
"No," I said. "That’s not the way it works."
"That’s not what I’ve heard," she said.
I quickly educated her in how the business works. And after my long speech, she nodded and asked.
"How much did it cost you to get an agent?"
A woman at my able bought Doug Lyle’s excellent FORENSICS FOR DUMMIES book and asked me:
"You’re friends with Dr. Lyle, aren’t you?"
"Yes, I am," I said. "He’s also my doctor."
"How did he get away with calling his book FORENSICS FOR DUMMIES without getting sued by the DUMMIES people?"
"They were the ones who hired him to write the book," I said.
"Really?" she said. "So that’s how you do it."
But I think the best question I got asked came from a woman at my table who said she’d been writing novels for years but hadn’t had any luck getting them published and wanted my advice.
"I write them by hand in spiral-bound notebooks," she said. "I have written a dozen novels."
"And then what do you do with them?"
"I put them in a box in my attic," she said.
I looked at her. "You haven’t sent them to any publishers?"
She shook her head.
"You haven’t written any query letters to agents or publishers?"
She shook her head again.
"So how do you expect them to get published?"
She shrugged.
"Did you think someone was just going to knock on your door one day and ask if you have any novels written on spiral notebooks that he can read?"
She shrugged again. "That’s the part I was hoping you could clear up for me."
I haven’t compared notes yet with Tod to see what strange conversations he had, but I’m sure he’ll blog about it if he had any…
Can Barnaby Jones Save The Human Race?
I’ve stumbled on something extraordinary … a BARNABY JONES novel written by Buddy Ebsen with Darlene Quinn and "published" by Authorhouse, the print-on-demand vanity press. I couldn’t resist buying the $4.95 ebook version. What’s interesting about SIZZLING COLD CASE is that it was published in 2006, three years after Ebsen’s death, and is copyrighted by Ebsen & Quinn, even though they don’t own the copyright to the TV series its based on.
In other words, it’s fanfiction…and it’s being sold on Amazon and on Authorhouse’s site. That’s a big no-no, as Lori Jareo could tell you. She wrote her own unlicensed STAR WARS novel and sold it on Amazon…and was promptly slapped down by Lucasfilm.
But this blatant violation of copyright isn’t likely to turn Quinn into another Jareo, mainly because BARNABY JONES isn’t a huge media property like STAR WARS, isn’t protected by lawyers as vigilant as those at LucasFilm, and is based on notes from Ebsen, who played Barnaby Jones, the elderly private eye. That doesn’t mean Ebsen actually owns the character…but hiding behind Ebsen’s ghost and his heirs will probably protect Quinn from a cease-and-desist letter. Besides, it’s not like anybody gives a damn about BARNABY JONES…and that probably includes the studio that owns the property. Can you imagine any studio suing Buddy Ebsen’s family for publishing and selling "Barnaby Jones" fanfic? I can’t. Even so, publishing the book and copyrighting the character of Barnaby Jones as if it was their own was a pretty ballsy thing for Quinn and the Ebsen estate to do.
I must confess that I haven’t bothered reading the book. I couldn’t get past Quinn’s fan lyrics to the "Barnaby Jones" theme in the opening pages. I was laughing too hard:
Though many dangers now surround you
And evil lurks beneath the night
One man will fight the wrong around you
And strike a blow to make it right
When naked terror rides the highways
And sudden death waits in the street,
one man alone will roam the byways
confronting crime he must defeat
Barnaby, Barnaby — what driving force has set your pace?
Barnaby, Barnaby — can one man save the human race?
You can sing along with this:
Rowling Protects Her Copyright
When the Harry Potter Lexicon website announced plans last fall to publish a book based on their fan-written content, JK Rowling and Warner Brothers sued for copyright infringement. A Federal judge halted the planned November publication of the book while the lawsuit plays out. Now Tim Wu at Slate argues that Rowling has gone too far.
Are fan guides actually illegal? As sympathetic as I am to Rowling and her rights as an author, the answer is no. There is a necessary and healthy line between what the initial author
owns and what follow-on, or "secondary," authors get to do, and Rowling
is running over that line like the Hogwarts Express. The creators of
H.P. Lexicon may not be as creative as Rowling, but they are authors,
too, and deserve a little respect from the law.[…] Rowling takes the position that she, as the original author, has the
right to block the publication of any such guide. In her words:
"However much an individual claims to love somebody else’s work, it
does not become theirs to sell." But Rowling is overstepping her bounds.
It appears he is wrong, at least from a legal standpoint. A reader on Rebecca Blood’s site refers to previous court precedents that support Rowling’s claim:
Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publ. Group, 150 F.3d 132 (2d
Cir. 1998), aka, the Seinfeld Trivia case. Someone created and
published an unlicensed book of Seinfeld trivia, with details about
characters and lines in the show, arguing that doing so was fair use
and merely a compilation of facts. The court held that the facts about
the show weren’t really facts, but rather expressions of the creators’
imaginations, and the most important fair use factor of effect on the
market was in Seinfeld’s favor since they had plans for their own
derivative books based on the show. See also Twin Peaks v. Publications
Int’l, Ltd. 996 F.2d 1366 (2d Cir. 1993), which was plot summaries and
quotations from the TV show Twin Peaks – again, the court held that the
amount of material taken from the original was substantial and
adversely affected the market for authorized books about the show, and
so denied a fair use defense to copyright infringement."
Variety reports that Rowling is taking action because interferes with her plans to do her own compendium.
"I cannot, therefore, approve of ‘companion books’ or ‘encyclopedias’
that seek to preempt my definitive Potter reference book for their
authors’ own personal gain," Rowling said in a statement, released by
Warner Brothers.[…]The lawsuit doesn’t seek action against the Web version of the Lexicon,
but criticizes it for numerous sections it said "regurgitate Ms.
Rowling’s original creative expression with minimal additional
commentary."
The CBC reports that Rowling isn’t happy about having to take the fans to court.
Rowling had been a supporter of the website and in a statement
released on her website, Rowling admitted she took "no pleasure" in
launching the lawsuit."I feel massively disappointed that this matter had to come to court
at all," the statement said. "Given my past good relations with the
Lexicon fan site, I can only feel sad and disillusioned that this is
where we have ended up."
The outcome of this case, if it goes to trial, could have far-reaching impact on how far fans can take their so-called derivative work and claim it as their own.
(Thanks to "Calistoy" for the heads-up).
Things Aren’t Bleak for Bleak House
The MWA has been criticized in some quarters for favoring the big houses over small presses. But as Publisher’s Weekly notes, the Edgar nominations this year tell a different story:
To nobody’s surprise, when the Mystery Writers of America announced the
finalists for the 2008 Edgar Awards last week titles from the large
New York houses dominated the eight (out of a total of 13) categories
dealing with books. But one small Wisconsin press is more than holding
its own among the 35 books and five short stories selected as this
year’s Edgar Awards nominees. Three of the 15 titles released this past
year by Bleak House Books in Madison, an imprint of Big Earth Books,
have been nominated for 2008 Edgar Awards in three different
categories: Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman (Best Novel), Head Games
by Craig McDonald (Best First Novel), and "Blue Note" by Stuart M.
Kaminsky from the Chicago Blues collection (Best Short Story).
Bleak House isn’t the only small press represented on the Edgar list this year. There are also titles from McFarland & Co, Serpent’s Tail, Hard Case Crime, Rookery Press, Level Best Books, Akashic, Clarion, American Girl, and Busted Flush.
Mr. Monk is Miserable
Here’s a sneak peek at the cover for MR. MONK IS MISERABLE, which is coming next fall.
The O.T.W. Wants Your Copyright
Novelist and First Amendment attorney Julie Hilden argues that authors and rights holders should be very concerned about the Organization for Transformative Work’s proposal to extend copyright protection to fan fiction. She writes, in part:
Does fan fiction deserve to share the same
respect as original work, for copyright purposes? The OTW’s proposal
suggests so. Recognizing fan fiction as "legal and transformative"
would put it on a par at least with "fair uses" of original works, and
perhaps also with the works themselves. And the recognition of fan
fiction as "legitimate creative activity" seems to put it on, or close
to, the level of original works. But is that the fair or right level
for fan fiction to occupy?
Hilden doesn’t think so. She believes if copyright protection is extended to "fannish works," the original authors or rights holders will suffer a very real, detrimental impact with far-reaching implications.
the OTW is not asking for a fixed, low
royalty rate for fan fiction; rather, it is trying to destroy original
authors’ ability to both silence fan fiction and require
royalties for it. Thus, the OTW has bypassed the more moderate solution
of a low, fixed, statutorily-mandated royalty rate for fan fiction that
effectively sets that rate at zero.
Does that matter?
Absolutely. Even those who strongly value fan fiction may worry about
maintaining authors’ incentives to create the original works that feed
it.
The OTW’s proposal is a complete abrogation of
control with no compensation for taking away rights, or any
substitution of rights (for instance, switching a right to refuse to
license fan fiction with a right to charge a low, statutorily-mandated
royalty.) In this sense, it is the most extreme proposal possible.
And one not likely to succeed, if the OTW is foolish enough to pursue it. It would poke the studios, publishers, and authors right in the blind eye that they’ve been regarding fanfiction with for years. That should have fanficcers very worried. All it will take is one court challenge by the O.T.W for that blind eye to open and view the entirety of fan fiction with a very hostile gaze.
The studios, publishers, and authors aren’t about to sit back and allow such an outrageous rights grab…nor, Bilden argues, should they. She believes that copyright law is rightfully tipped in favor of original creators:
Our Constitution’s Copyright Clause has always
seen original authors as far more important than derivative users.
However, especially in light of the Internet’s influence, many have
taken issue with that hierachy – even to the extreme of ignoring
original authors’ interests.[…]not only does the Copyright Clause in fact
privilege these creators over derivative users, but that hierachy may
be the right one, from the standpoint of policy: Original work may
actually be more worthy, in that it brings something genuinely fresh
and innovative into the world, representing a creative leap and not
just an incremental extension.
But, incredibly, the O.T.W. believes that Harry Potter slash fic is on equal footing with J.K. Rowling’s books and deserves the same protections as her work…more over, that it deserves to be protected specifically from her. And they don’t understand why authors might have a problem with this…
The Mail I Get
I got this email today:
Why are you so hard on print-on-demand publishers? It’s the wave of the future. You seem to think if a publisher is strictly POD that they are a scam.
You are mixing two different thoughts…publishing and technology. Let’s deal with the "publishing" aspect first.
Being a POD press, in and of itself, doesn’t mean
that they are dishonest. But the likelihood of you selling many books, or
getting any critical notice, when going with a POD press are extraordinarily slim.
POD presses are notoriously
fly-by-night and financially unstable. Why? Because anybody with a credit card can start a POD press and call
themselves a publisher, whether or not they have any experience at editing, distribution, promotion, or running a business. So the quality of the editing, cover art, and
professionalism is often iffy at best. Most POD presses are launched by
aspiring authors who want to publish their own work and, sadly, many are also started by scammers who prey on the gullibility and desperation of wannabe writers.
As for the print-on-demand technology, I don’t know whether it is the "wave of the future" but it is being embraced by more and more real publishers for printing galleys and keeping their backlist alive (which presents challenging issues for authors in dealing with publishers, who can use POD to claim their books are never "out of print" and the rights never revert back). Whether POD will ever replace traditional off-set printing of trade paperbacks…well, that’s yet to be seen.
Dell Hell Continues
The technician came yesterday and replaced the motherboard and hard-drive on my XPS M1330 …but he had the wrong back-cover for my machine. So a technician came today with the correct cover and after installing it discovered that my fan isn’t working. He didn’t have the parts or the authorization to fix it. The only things that haven’t been replaced on this lemon are the DVD drive, the keyboard and the monitor.
I talked to a Dell supervisor and the best they can do for me is send me a replacement machine. It will be here in a few days and I’ll let you know how it works.