Yes, the contract.  That moment that all of us, as writers, dream of, where our work gets picked up and takes that first step down the long road to actually being published.  Now, while I don’t have expert knowledge of the ins and outs of the whole publishing industry, I can however offer my views on that niche of it that I am currently entering.

Online publishing.

The Licensing Agreement

When I received the licensing agreement this week, it was exciting and terrifying in equal measure.  Here it was.  This makes it all feel much more official.  I am actually (hopefully) going to get my work published, in the public domain!  That’s the exciting part.  The terrifying part is actually reading the damn thing.

Yes aspiring writers, there will come a point (hopefully) when we all have to be prepared to give up a piece of work.  By that I don’t mean throw it in the trash!  Because of the way that this project works (i.e., serialised fiction) I believe (from what I have gleaned in what could laughingly be referred to as the “research” I’ve done in this area) that the agreement that I have is much like the agreement that a creator of a TV show must deal with.  Yes, you have your series picked up, but there are always conditions. 

Obviously, retention of intellectual rights to the property remain yours.  You created it after all.  But there is a point when you have to surrender some rights.  I know it’s your baby, and you’ve nurtured it, weaned, it, given it life, but then when you have to hand it over, it can be tough.  You have to sacrifice some responsibility.  This is what I feared amongst all the legalese.  But hey, dude’s gotta eat right?

Giving Up the Baby

So, how exactly do you give it up?  And what exactly does this mean?  Primarily for me (and I believe this stands for everything) the company retains exclusive rights to distribute any material for a standard period of seven years.  This means no sneaking off and getting it (or any related work), published on the side through somewhere else.  So ownership of the actual intellectual property remains with the author. Distribution rights lie with the company. This is all good, right?

Well, if you are writing a TV show, and it is picked up, yes, this is good.  Unless your show (which you’ve had a long term plan for) gets cancelled, then you have to wait seven years before you regain control over any kind of distribution rights, and therefore cannot do anything with the material, despite what your loyal fans may want.

In terms of what I’m doing, an online serialised story doesn’t have nearly the same kind of ramifications.  The ramifications that concern me are that the company retains not only exclusive rights to this piece of work, but to all my work.  Obviously this is why you have to read the small print.

While I wouldn’t in theory have an issue with this (I have several projects that could work on the site) my main project, that one that I’ve spent so much time pouring my very soul into (yes, its all very melodramatic) would most definitely NOT work in this format.

I’m not saying this is a bad thing!  Show me a writer who doesn’t want a multi-project deal, and I’ll show you a worthless liar!  Luckily, the project I’m writing does have a lot of follow up potential.  I’m unsure whether I’ve mentioned this before, but the way I’ve structured the project means that I could, essentially, write this thing forever, or until the readers get bored.  However, I do have this fear that by signing this thing, I may have to face the idea of giving up my original baby, which tears at me much more than having to write this online project in the directions my editors wish me to.

In Essence

So how do you proceed?  I’ll attempt to make some points…

1. ALWAYS read the small print carefully.

   This was the part that terrified me.  I know it’s no ones favourite pastime to wade through legalese, but make sure you know exactly what it is that you’re signing.  You don’t want to just skim over it, sign it, then find out three months down the line that you no longer have the rights to your own work.

2. ASK about anything that is unclear, or you’re unsure about.

   This sounds like a no-brainer, and you may be reluctant (as I was) to ask questions for fear of sounding like a moron.  But you want to make sure that when it says “the licensor retains any intellectual rights”, or something to that effect, it means more than you get to claim you created the world of the characters, while all the franchise/action figure/lunchbox tie ins are out of your hands, as are the profits that any of these generate.

3. Make sure you know what you’re getting into.

   It’s no good signing something only to discover that you’re bound to something that you don’t want to be bound to.  If you are signing a multi-book contract, then congratulations! That’s fantastic! However, make sure that you know the terms by which this three book deal is being signed. If you only envisioned your characters in one story, without any continuation, and you discover the three book deal is for three books with the same characters, you’re gonna have a bit of trouble getting the other books done aren’t you?

4. Find out exactly how the royalties work

   Again, I can’t speak for the whole industry, but I imagine this is pretty standard – you will only get paid royalties at a standard value rate.  By this I mean, you wont get a cheque at the end of every month for say, £3.57.  The royalties your work may generate (in my case, how much revenue it generates for the site, but generally the number of book sales) will accrue until they reach a particular value, and THEN you’ll be paid your royalties.  Yes, this may mean you may never see any more money after your initial payment, so be aware.

‘How did we ever get this far? I don’t know.’

The Godfather

Many people have asked me how I came about to get this far with the writing. I love when people ask me that as if I’m polishing my Pulitzer Prize for Literature already. The fact is, I know that this is going to be a long arduous journey. I know that I won’t be published with the next month or even six months. Hell, it could be a year before I see any results, but what I have now is:

• Step One
• And light at the end of the tunnel.

I shall explain why.

Writers are often stuck in a limbo when it comes to actual writing. We have an idea, we think it’s great and so we think, “you know what, I’ll draw up a treatment, write the first few chapters or pages and then shoot it off”…

BUT…

What if they love it? What if they say, “this is great, we want the rest in six weeks!”

So instead you think, “I’ll write the book. I’ll go from page one to page two-hundred and one and get this done. Then I’ll shoot it off”…

BUT

What if they hate it? Then I’ve wasted all that time for nothing!!!

Then comes our own personal Catch-22:To get published, you must have an agent. To get an agent, you must have been published.

Does your head hurt reading that? I know mine does.

The only thing I can suggest for those who are wanting to write is this:

DO EVERYTHING!

When you approach an agent you must have EVERYTHING that they want, from a synopsis to a character breakdown, to chapter analysis to who your target demographic is. If you are able to, post sections of it online (as I am doing now) get some feedback on what people like or don’t like. Find your audience and use that knowledge to your advantage. You are not selling a book, you are selling a product and so you must approach it like you are marketing a chocolate bar or a mobile phone.

• What makes what you have written special?
• Who will buy it?
• How many do you think you will sell?
• Is there an International market?

And the most important thing you should know:

EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT EDIT

Those of you who think your first draft is perfect, take your head out of your ass and get someone else to look at it. Fresh, critical eyes, who can say ‘man this needs some work’. There is nothing worse than thinking you have a best seller on your hands, only to find it is riddled with plot holes and half of the time makes no sense! And don’t be afraid of criticism. It only makes us better writers. If you can’t take it, then maybe you should let go of the idea of publishing and maybe just write for yourself.

And of course to quote Yoda, “patience you must learn”.

Don’t think the first agent you contact will want you… or the second or third… I sent this book to twenty-six agents before I was accepted and even then who’s to know whether they can deliver on their promises and I end up being screwed over. (Touches wood!) But if you are determined and you want to keep going then do just that, don’t get disheartened by rejection, just see it as someone who missed an opportunity… add it to the pile of people you will laugh it when you do pick up your Pulitzer or like JK Rowling laughing at publishers like Penguin and Harper Collins who couldn’t see potential in a little book about a wizard at school. (400 million copies sold across the series and counting!)

And above all else:

Believe in yourself… there’s a fine line between confidence and smugness, which is where the editing and the criticism comes in… if you can ride that wave you will come out stronger and more able to take anything the world can throw at you.