... contracts ...
July 27, 1999
6:39 a.m.
Sorry to miss a Monday. Lisa, Brigid, and my parents (and I) took a little trip up north to visit the farm, so I was away from the keyboard. Managed to get some work done this morning, though, pushing myself through about the first third of "1 is True . . ." again. This was the easy part of the rewrite--mostly phrasing and wordsmithing, which is never really done, I guess. Tomorrow comes the meat. And maybe the next day. Controversy continues to brew among SFWA in regard to the Wizards of the Coast Dragon deal. I received my contract right before we left, and I haven't processed it yet (will do it today, promise!). I'll have to admit that it's not exactly writer friendly, but who ever said it's the publisher's job to be writer friendly. It's just business, folks. I'm not going to get into specifics, but I a lot of writers are throwing up their arms and complaining that they don't have any room on it because SFWA "negotiated" this deal. Which, to me, is a total misunderstanding of the situation. SFWA made an agreement, that's true. And I don't care if folks want to complain about it. That's what SFWA is for after all -- keeping each other entertained with our complaining. But any contract you sign is between you and the publisher. SFWA has no part in it. Sometimes you sign a bad contract--sometimes on purpose, sometimes not. When you do, it's your fault. A new writer is faced with a series of problems when it comes to contracts. I mean, we don't know what a good contract is, do we? We look at wording and think, my God, is this going to screw me? What will all the other writers think when I sign this thing? Should I sign it? The bottom line in my vast experience is that publishers try to get the best of the deal. What a surprise, eh? The follow up to this is that sometime you're probably going to get screwed. So what? So here's my advice on the subject. (Finally, eh?) Do your best. Don't worry. It's only a short story, and if you make a mistake it's not very much money. When you read something, ask another writer. Ask two or three if you're really not sure. When you think you understand what the words say, listen to what your gut tells you. If you can handle it--if you're pleased, then sign it. If you don't like wording, consider calling the editor/publisher and mark it up together. If, as in this case, it's a bit of a sticky situation, you still must decide if you can come to a mutually agreable situation. And if you absolutely can't then it's a no-deal. A no deal is acceptable. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SELL ANYTHING. But I think you usually can work things out. Wizards wants to publish. I want to get paid. Wizards has agreed to pay. I like the idea of being paid. all the indicators are good here. So I'll mark up the thing is such a fashion as I'm comfortable with it. And I'll send it back. And they'll either accept it, or they won't. Then we play that lie when we get there. Really very simple.   Have a good one.  Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
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"One thing, and one thing only, seperates the lean and hungry would-be writer from the bloated, conceited, professional. Stamps." Simon Ings on a webzine special thanks for this quote to Dotan Dimet received contributor's copies and check from Artemis |
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