Monthly Archives: February 2019

February 22, 2019 · 2:07 pm

Who Owns Your Book Manuscript “Edits”?

Who owns your edits?

Are you considering traditional book publishing? Do you have a contract in hand but haven’t signed yet? Did you work with an editor? Then beware.

Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware has another warning for you—and for those of you considering self-publishing your out-of-print books.

Check out the contract language from these publishers claiming that, once your book manuscript has been edited for publication, you can’t claim that version as yours anymore. Not even if you’ve gotten your rights back. Some of these seem to say you can’t republish.

Thanks for about the thousandth time to Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware for keeping abreast of these publishing-contract traps.

Share if you’ve had a publisher (or an editor) claim that once your manuscript has been edited, it’s no longer your book!

3 Comments

Filed under Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, business of writing, Copyright for writers, Editing your novel, indie publishing, Publishing, publishing contracts, reversion of rights clauses, Self-publishing, small presses, Working with literary editors, writing novels

Tagged as #amediting, book contracts, book editing, book publishing scams, creative writing, fiction, publishing, republishing your book, writing, writing novels

February 18, 2019 · 1:51 pm

2018 Best of Writer Beware!

Need to know what to watch out for when you publish your book?

Writer Beware shines light where it’s most needed!

If you’re canvassing book publishers and publishing packages, you should always check out Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware. She’s onto every wrinkle and scam in the publishing business, whether you’re self-publishing or submitting to agents and editors. Here’s a super list of her best tips and warnings about the book-publishing business from her 2018 blog.

The Em Dash— #amwriting

I often turn to Connie J. Jasperson for good common sense about writing, in this case an issue that looks as if it ought to be simple, yet plagues many of us. I also note the use of an em dash to indicate interrupted dialogue–another use that can be overdone! (em dash intended). Thanks, Connie!

Life in the Realm of Fantasy

Over the years, I have seen many books written by wonderful authors who overuse em or en dashes.

I also tend to do that in blogging and in Facebook posts, and my first drafts can be peppered with them. Em dashes are a kind of author’s crutch because it is easy to rely on them.

Trust me, readers find it distracting to see an em dash in every paragraph. Some editors don’t want to see one on every page. Their point of view is that the em dash is like any other repetitive word in a manuscript. As a tool, it’s useful as a way to emphasize certain ideas, and can also be used to good effect in the place of a semicolon. In my opinion, the em dash should be used sparingly to be most effective.