So nice to receive this review from Olivia Emily of “More Than Best Friends,” an anthology to support the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. I was fortunate to have contributed a story about my dog, Diego.
Category: Uncategorized
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Editing vs. Proofreading
This was one of the best articles I’ve seen on editing vs. proofreading, via Writer’s Assistance, Inc.
http://www.writingassist.com/resources/articles/editing-versus-proofreading/
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Working with a Small Publisher
I thought this was the single best article I’ve seen about working with a small publisher. I’ve published both my books with a small press, J.B. Max Publishing, out of Vancouver, BC. I agree with many of the points in the article by WritersDigest.com editor Brian Klems, but here are my top three:
1. A small press can take on projects that don’t conform to the mainstream commercial market.
2. A small press cares about the success of a book beyond its initial release. To quote: “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
3. Small press authors can expect to have a personal relationship with small presses, or as one small press publisher cites it, “Tender, loving care.”
Thank you, Writers Digest, for covering this subject. For the full article, please see the following:
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Answers About Illustrators and Copyrights
The following is an email I received from Jon Bard, CEO of the Children’s Book Insider Clubhouse. Anyhow, since both of these questions had come up at times in the Accokeek Women’s Writing Group, I thought I would share this on my blog and on the writing group’s blog, Women’s Pages. The copyright response is applicable to all writers, not just children’s writers. Happy writing, all!
“Hey there, it's Jon from Children's Book Insider. Hope you're busy working
on your children's book! 🙂I’m back with quick answers to the two most common questions new writers
ask us.1. I’m only a writer, not an artist. Do I need illustrations to send my
manuscript to a publisher?A: It depends. If you’re sending your story to a traditional publisher
(someone like Scholastic or Random House, let’s say), the answer is “No.” If a publisher buys your story, their art director will match your words up with the right illustrator. The publisher will pay the illustrator and you may share royalties for books sold.If you’re self publishing — either electronically or in print — it is up to
you to find and pay an illustrator. You can find illustrators many places, but one resource we really like is http://99designs.comIf you’re hiring an illustrator, you most likely will do it on a “work for hire”
basis (you’ll pay the illustrator a flat fee for the work and the you will own
it and not pay royalties for further usage fees).2. Do I need to copyright my work?
A. Here’s what the US Copyright Office has to say:
“As soon as the idea for your novel, poem, or manuscript
is written down in a fixed copy, the work automatically
has copyright protection. “(Fixed copy means that the idea has been fixed in a material
object that can be read or visually perceived directly or with a
device — for example, either with a computer or a physical
copy of a book.)So, essentially, if you create a story and place “Copyright (year) (name)”
on your document, it is copyrighted.There are some advantages, though, to formally registering a copyright.
To learn about those, along with complete instructions on how to do it,
go to http://bit.ly/copyright-basicsI highly recommend you check out this link – understanding the dos and don’ts
of copyright is vital.That’s it for new. Keep writing!
All the best,
Jon Bard
* Managing Editor, Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s
Writers* Fightin’ Bookworm in Chief, The CBI Clubhouse — The Essential Children’s
Writing Resource. Visit http://cbiclubhouse.com and Come Join the Fightin’
Bookworms!”