Joseph L. Persia's Blog, page 11
April 3, 2014
Court Sentences Authors to Go Down With Ship.
“In March, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District...
Court Sentences Authors to Go Down With Ship.
“In March, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, sitting in Manhattan, handed a victory to HarperCollins in its lawsuit against Open Road Integrated Media over the e-book publishing rights of Jean Craighead George’s award-winning children’s novel, Julie of the Wolves (1972).”
In 1971, author Jean Craighead George signed a contract. The contract was far from boilerplate just like her book titled, Julie of the Wolves that was published for a measly $2,000 advance by HarperCollins (then Harper & Row)
A clause in the contract clearly intended for the book to be published in book form only. As the article linked below reveals, in (Paragraph 20) of the contract, it clearly states: “the Publisher shall grant no license without the prior written consent of the Author with respect to the following rights in the work: use thereof in storage and retrieval and information systems, and/or whether through computer, computer-stored, mechanical or other electronic means now known or hereafter invented … and net proceeds thereof shall be divided 50% to the Author and 50% to the Publisher …”
The contract had clauses stipulating that any e-version rights then and in the future would remain with the author, but a contract isn't a contract these days when comes down to it.
However, up until now, I was assuming there would be a traditional publishing from which an author can choose, but with maneuvers like these from traditional publishers and decisions like this one from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, sitting in Manhattan, I believe their end must be very close at hand. This must be their dying gasp. I mean, to be so, “toasted” as to hold hostage in court your authors, really, traditional publishers.
What do you think; one of many sadly desperate acts of traditional publishers arising from their lack of knowledge about their own line of work and for today's authors, is it not a fool who stays in a burning publishing house?
Link to the article at The Misfortune of Knowing for more: http://misfortuneofknowing.wordpress.com/tag/open-road-integrated-media/
“In March, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, sitting in Manhattan, handed a victory to HarperCollins in its lawsuit against Open Road Integrated Media over the e-book publishing rights of Jean Craighead George’s award-winning children’s novel, Julie of the Wolves (1972).”
In 1971, author Jean Craighead George signed a contract. The contract was far from boilerplate just like her book titled, Julie of the Wolves that was published for a measly $2,000 advance by HarperCollins (then Harper & Row)
A clause in the contract clearly intended for the book to be published in book form only. As the article linked below reveals, in (Paragraph 20) of the contract, it clearly states: “the Publisher shall grant no license without the prior written consent of the Author with respect to the following rights in the work: use thereof in storage and retrieval and information systems, and/or whether through computer, computer-stored, mechanical or other electronic means now known or hereafter invented … and net proceeds thereof shall be divided 50% to the Author and 50% to the Publisher …”
The contract had clauses stipulating that any e-version rights then and in the future would remain with the author, but a contract isn't a contract these days when comes down to it.
However, up until now, I was assuming there would be a traditional publishing from which an author can choose, but with maneuvers like these from traditional publishers and decisions like this one from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, sitting in Manhattan, I believe their end must be very close at hand. This must be their dying gasp. I mean, to be so, “toasted” as to hold hostage in court your authors, really, traditional publishers.
What do you think; one of many sadly desperate acts of traditional publishers arising from their lack of knowledge about their own line of work and for today's authors, is it not a fool who stays in a burning publishing house?
Link to the article at The Misfortune of Knowing for more: http://misfortuneofknowing.wordpress.com/tag/open-road-integrated-media/
April 2, 2014
The "same" that connects us.
The link below is to a short film about finding the things that connect...
The "same" that connects us.
The link below is to a short film about finding the things that connect us. Inspired by George Orwell's '1984' (Book 1, Chapter 10)
March 29, 2014
The "same" that connects us.
The "same" that connects us.
The chillest way to watch all your favorite Vimeo videos from the comfort of your couch, Lay-Z-Boy® or any other plush sitting apparatus.
Do we live only for ourselves or are we like a thousand beads connected by a single strand to each other; and among those beads a friendly fellow feeling threads a common cause and if broken, we run across the floor towards and away as an effect.
The link below is to a short film about finding the things that connect us. Inspired by George Orwell's '1984' (Book 1, Chapter 10)
March 25, 2014
Big Words Are Fading, But Many People Still Love Them
In this article in the Wall Street Journal there...
Big Words Are Fading, But Many People Still Love Them
In this article in the Wall Street Journal there are many statements such as the following below.
“There isn't room for big words in a text or a tweet or even a quickly dashed-off email. We're communicating across so many different channels that, by sheer necessity, our language is becoming abbreviated ("R u with me?").”
"Don't use any words that are more than three syllables long—you don't want the hiring manager to think you are smarter.”
"If you are using $50 words to show off, and you know people will not understand them, then that is unkind and annoying, and they have a reason to react negatively,"
"Big words have an intimidation factor," Mr. Bahrawy says. "And to be effective, I need to communicate on a level everyone understands."
“Mr. Bahrawy says he limits himself to a vocabulary appropriate for someone with a fifth-grade education.”
It raises many questions for writers. Nevertheless, do you limit your vocabulary to someone with a fifth-grade education or must writers be the keepers of the vocabulary grail to ward off cultural obsolescent?
Full WSJ article here: http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/SB10001424052702304179704579459232432887244-lMyQjAxMTA0MDIwNTEyNDUyWj
In this article in the Wall Street Journal there are many statements such as the following below.
“There isn't room for big words in a text or a tweet or even a quickly dashed-off email. We're communicating across so many different channels that, by sheer necessity, our language is becoming abbreviated ("R u with me?").”
"Don't use any words that are more than three syllables long—you don't want the hiring manager to think you are smarter.”
"If you are using $50 words to show off, and you know people will not understand them, then that is unkind and annoying, and they have a reason to react negatively,"
"Big words have an intimidation factor," Mr. Bahrawy says. "And to be effective, I need to communicate on a level everyone understands."
“Mr. Bahrawy says he limits himself to a vocabulary appropriate for someone with a fifth-grade education.”
It raises many questions for writers. Nevertheless, do you limit your vocabulary to someone with a fifth-grade education or must writers be the keepers of the vocabulary grail to ward off cultural obsolescent?
Full WSJ article here: http://online.wsj.com/news/article_email/SB10001424052702304179704579459232432887244-lMyQjAxMTA0MDIwNTEyNDUyWj
March 19, 2014
Playing his music real good for free may soon no longer be an option if certain powers in certain places...
Playing his music real good for free may soon no longer be an option if certain powers in certain places have anything to do with it.
Talk about your green slime~
Talk about your green slime~
March 16, 2014
The Strength of Just The Ordinary Word.
Some say the only acceptable use for the thesaurus for a writer...
The Strength of Just The Ordinary Word.
Some say the only acceptable use for the thesaurus for a writer is to recall that word the writer already knows. However, others say that it is how you use the word once you found it.
The two points of view suggest the thesaurus may be bad for your writing leading you on to think big words make big emotions in writing.
What do you think?
Some say the only acceptable use for the thesaurus for a writer is to recall that word the writer already knows. However, others say that it is how you use the word once you found it.
The two points of view suggest the thesaurus may be bad for your writing leading you on to think big words make big emotions in writing.
What do you think?
March 12, 2014
Happy Birthday, Jack Kerouac
It's been than half a century since Jack Kerouac wrote a beautiful letter...
Happy Birthday, Jack Kerouac
It's been than half a century since Jack Kerouac wrote a beautiful letter. The director Sergi Castella and filmmaker Hector Ferreño turns the writer’s words into an incredible cinematic adaptation with a Johnny-Cash like voice over that is both riveting and distant by James Phillips and the perfect accompanying music of Pink Floyd!
It's been than half a century since Jack Kerouac wrote a beautiful letter. The director Sergi Castella and filmmaker Hector Ferreño turns the writer’s words into an incredible cinematic adaptation with a Johnny-Cash like voice over that is both riveting and distant by James Phillips and the perfect accompanying music of Pink Floyd!
March 10, 2014
A Dozen Useless Actions for Grieving Blondes by Rosemary Laing
This short video clip transports you...
A Dozen Useless Actions for Grieving Blondes by Rosemary Laing
This short video clip transports you into the Art Gallery of South Australia.
Curator, Nick Mitzevich, "the grief which each of us feels is reflected in this 2009 series of confronting images. The subtle introduction of an unexpected element points to redemption; a hint of humanity in an otherwise bleak portrayal of trauma"
A Dozen Useless Actions for Grieving Blondes by Rosemary LaingThis takes you into the Art Gallery ...
A Dozen Useless Actions for Grieving Blondes by Rosemary Laing
This short video clip takes you into the Art Gallery of South Australia.
Curator, Nick Mitzevich, "the grief which each of us feels is reflected in this 2009 series of confronting images. The subtle introduction of an unexpected element points to redemption; a hint of humanity in an otherwise bleak portrayal of trauma"
