Customer Reviews

The Writer's Legal Companion: The Complete Handbook For The Working Writer, Third Edition

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Without this book, I would never have been able to negotiate my first book contract. Bunnin and Beren gave me the necessary tools: book contract language and what it means, fair and unfair clauses, negotiating tactics, and how to get most of what I wanted. The sections on contracts alone are worth the price. They are by far the most valuable aspect of this book

But there is more here than information about book contracts. This book will teach you the necessary skills to be a business person, to think like the small business owner you are. Writers have a tendency to want to deal with art only, shying away from finance and law, but the authors point out time after time how dangerous this stance can be. With the knowledge provided here, you will protect yourself and your career.

Whether you are a new writer or an experienced professional, this book is a must-have.

To understand why, I will begin with a page on author-publisher contracts from my own book: Successful Nonfiction: Turning Thoughts into Books.

"The contract you receive from your publisher may be in two colors and printed on fancy paper but it is not chiseled in stone. Only new authors sign and return a publisher's first offer. You may make changes to the contract and return it-that is a "counter offer". The contract may go back and forth until someone "accepts it."

"I took a distressing telephone call from an author who had just received a contract from a large New York publisher. There were a total of 21 items in the contract she didn't like or didn't understand. After discussing some of them, I suggested she call her editor and have a discussion. Better communication was certainly required here.

"She called back two days later, both astonished and delighted. When she asked about the first paragraph in question, the editor said, "that's okay; you can have it." She got what she wanted on the next paragraph in question too. On one other paragraph that concerned her, the editor said something like, "Well, that sounds like this but in the book trade it really means that; so it isn't a big issue."

"The result: she got 19 out of the 21 things she asked for. So contract discussions do not mean pulling the wool over the eyes of your publisher. This was a win-win negotiation.

"Take the contract to a book attorney (not just any attorney, not a contract attorney and not a media attorney). When it comes to literary properties and money, you need professional help. And make a counter offer.

"As Joe "Mr. Fire" Vitale says: "Remember, all of this is negotiable. The contract looks like it is set in stone when you review it, but anything can be scratched out or inked in. If you want more books, a better discount, or more help with marketing, negotiate for it. You may not get it, but you never know if you don't ask."

"And remember: The big print giveth and the small print taketh away."

The Writer's Legal Companion covers contracts (intimidation, negotiating, terms), publishing in magazines (contracts, serializations), collaborations (problem areas, alternatives), agent relationships (finding contracting), defamation (intrusive fact gathering, invasion of privacy, libel), copyright (the old law and the new, establishing, categories, length, derivative & collective works, notice, registration), protecting copyright (proving infringement, what to do), taxes & the freelance writer, resources (where to find a lawyer, how to choose, fees & bills), business (editor's role, the marketing process, non-traditional sales, premiums, special sales, the book trade, selling to libraries, subsidiary rights), new technology (eBooks, downloads, electronic media, negotiating), and much more. The appendix is filled with resources: There is a glossary of terms, sample contracts, comparisons of the copyright acts, permission guidelines, author's questionnaire and an index.

Brad Bunnin is a skilled book attorney.

Peter Beren is a well-known author, agent and publisher.

As the author of 113 books (including revisions and foreign-language editions) and over 500 magazine articles, I have kept (previous editions of) this book within easy reach for almost twenty years and have referred to it often. DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com.

This is a guide to copyright, contracts, agents and all of the messy "non-creative" part of writing that you need to know if you are writing for commercial publication, even if you are acting as your own publisher.

The great benefit is that it takes the arcane business of contract and copyright law and presents it in terms that a non-lawyer can understand. It will help you to ask the right questions before you submit a poem, article or manuscript. It will teach you what copyright is, what it protects and what you need to do to ensure and enforce it.

Seriously, if you write, you'll find this at least as useful as Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style."

While many books are designed to help writers navigate the increasingly complex array of legal and marketing issues, most just skim the surface. This book is a rare exception. Not only does it help writers avoid awkward business arrangements, but it provides specific examples of wording which would be essential to include in contracts. But is this book an absolute must? Only for the writer who is serious about avoiding problems and making sales. Buy it!

The Writer's Legal Companion is a must for the reference shelves of writers who want to make money at their craft.

By explaining common contracts section by section and adding helpful hints regarding the types of clauses likely to cause grief later, the book helps writers avoid common causes of legal headaches.

The Writer's Legal Companion is forward-looking, addressing issues like electronic rights and the contract clauses that pertain to them. The book tells writers what to do to remedy infringements on the copyrights of their works, as well as how to avoid infringing on those of others.

Along with the explanations and examples in the book are sample contracts covering a variety of situations including hiring an agent, serializing a novel and granting publishing rights.

Examples of the forward-looking consideration of the authors are the use of 20__ in the date area of each sample contract and the inclusion of Web resources for writers. The authors are correct in their assumption that this reference will be useful well into the next century.

Aside from writing every day and knowing his craft like a master, the best thing any writer can do for himself is to understand writing as a business. "The Writer's Legal Companion" is an excellent tool to get you started down that road.

You don't have to wonder at what will happen when you get an offer. You don't have to guess at what this clause and that one means, or what your rights are. You don't have to blindly put all your faith in an agent's say so on what is good and what is bad. The information you need to make confident and informed decisions on your own career is right here.

Do yourself a favor. Become an informed writer. Keep a copy of "The Writer's Legal Companion" on your reference shelf.

I didn't have time to read this book from cover to cover so I went to the resource section and boy, did I get a wealth of information. As a soon-to-be author at the time I needed to know more about the publisher that had solicited me for my manuscript. Ironically this publisher recommended "The Writers Legal Companion" and I found some legal people who could tell me if I was signing up with a reputable company (free-of-charge). After they reviewed the contract (which I faxed to them) they told me not to go with this publisher as they were considered a vanity press which is bad news for new authors. So I cancelled my relationship with them and saved myself thousands of dollars and a world of headaches. So I recommend this book to any first-time author or writer. You can find all kinds of help just going to the back of the book. Fantastic!

The Writer's Legal Companion proved to be a great aide to me as I was involved in writing my first book. Since I was a total novice in this arena I appeciated the input that was vital to me as I searched for a reliable publisher. I was able to study about copyright issues and things to be aware of prior to signing a contract. I actually spent several months trying to determine which publisher or agent to work with. I finally chose Strategic Book Publishers. I have since completed my book "The Twilight Zone of The Huntress" which is a collection of short stories detailing my adventures with my big game hunter husband beginning at the age of 54. We travelled around the world and experienced many thrilling adventures, some were life threatening. My book is currently available for sale through Amazon.com