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Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Copyright, literally, is "the right to copy." It guarantees the authors of creative works--including books, artworks, films, recordings, photographs--the exclusive right for a set period of time to allow other people to copy and distribute the work, by whatever means and in whatever media currently exist. It also prohibits copying and distributing without the author's permission. You own copyright by law, automatically, as soon your work is fixed in tangible form--i.e., the minute you write down the words. Contained within copyright is the entire bundle of rights that an author can grant to others or utilize him/herself. For book authors, this includes the right to publish in book or other form, to make translations and audio recordings and films, to create serializations or abridgements or derivative works...the list goes on, and continues to expand as technology makes different forms of publication and distribution possible...

Unlike commercial or trade publishers, whose business model is based on book volume (selling as many books as possible from a limited number of authors), author mills' business model is based on author volume (selling a limited number of books from as many authors as possible). The most famous example of an author mill is PublishAmerica , but there are others, such as VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller , an academic author mill. Unlike vanity publishers or self-publishing services, author mills don't charge upfront fees--which is why they can convincingly present themselves as "real" publishers--but they often do their best to turn their authors into customers, heavily encouraging them to buy their own books, or incentivizing self-purchases with special offers and discounts. Because of the need for author volume, editorial gatekeeping is lax (though many author mills, knowing how much authors crave validation, claim to be selective). Author mills protect their profits by doing ev...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware This is a followup to my post on Thomas Nelson's new self-publishing division, West Bow Press --specifically, on Nelson's plans to pay referral fees to agents and others who refer writers to West Bow. Agent Rachelle Gardner has written a thoughtful blog post on West Bow (I agree with much of her analysis), which has generated a lively comments thread. The issue of referral fees is discussed by a number of commenters, including Nelson's Michael Hyatt, who says : With regard to agents getting a referral fee, I don't see how that is much different than the way it is now. (I was an agent myself for eight years, so I am speaking from my experience.) While the agent represents the author in a traditional relationship, his or her money comes from the publisher. In this case, the same is true. Obviously, as an agent of integrity, you wouldn't make this recommendation to your client unless you (a) disclosed your compensation and ...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware As reported today in the Wall Street Journal , Thomas Nelson , a major independent Christian publisher, is adding a self-publishing line to its business. Books from the new imprint, West Bow Press, will be designed, printed, and distributed by Author Solutions , the self-publishing mega-company whose brands include AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford, Xlibris, and WordClay. Per the WSJ article, "Thomas Nelson editors won't edit the self-published manuscripts, but they will monitor sales to identify potential big sellers. Specific terms of the arrangement weren't disclosed." Certainly this is an indication of the ambition and clout of Author Solutions, which over the past couple of years has acquired several rival companies , and attempted--in my opinion extremely misleadingly--to reinvent itself as an "indie publisher" . But might it also be a sign of things to come in the commercial publishing world? According to ...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware EDITED JULY 2013 TO ADD: Black Rose Writing now says that it no longer requires its authors to buy books, and has sent me a sample contract that does not include a book purchase clause. I've received emails from authors confirming this, and there's also confirmation in the comments on this post. Nevertheless, the general caution applies: if a publisher asks you whether you plan to buy your own books, be on your guard. Here are eight words you never want to hear from a publisher that is considering your manuscript for publication: "How many books are you planning to order?" Many writers are aware that it's a major red flag when a publisher's contract includes a clause requiring authors to buy their own books, or to commit to some kind of sales guarantee. Since an outlay of cash is a condition of publication, this is vanity publishing--what we at Writer Beware call "back-end" vanity publishing, since you...

Posted by Victoria Strauss As I close in on the end of my current writing project, the issue of self-promotion is much on my mind. I don't mind admitting that it's a prospect I contemplate with dread. I'm one of those I-just-want-to-sit-in-my-room-with-my-laptop writers who really is not constitutionally suited for a world in which the definition of "author" also includes "huckster" (or, if you want to be a bit more diplomatic about it, "entrepreneur"). Nevertheless, self-promotion is a fact of life for today's book writer, an issue that's explored in an interesting article by Neely Tucker of the Washington Post . The article explores the dizzying array of self-promotional options that are made possible, in large part, by the Internet. To relatively old-school methods like readings, signings, and author websites, the Web has added blogs, blog tours, social networking, book trailers, and more. "Being an author has become much more ...

Imagine you're a new writer. You've just completed your first manuscript, and are on fire to get it published. You don't know a lot about the publishing world, or how to identify a good publisher for your book--but that's okay. You have the Internet. So you open a search engine--Google, let's say--and type "publishers" into the search box. Here's what you get . The two top nonsponsored listings are for Random House and HarperCollins --big names that you may recognize. You navigate through their websites for submission information...bummer. In your genre, they won't look at any manuscript that doesn't have an agent. The sponsored listings look a lot more encouraging. Instead of "Agented submissions only," they say things like "We Want to Read Your Book!" and "Get your book published today--the industry leader for new authors!" and "The only choice for new authors." There's just one problem. Of the ele...