Helen Sedwick's Blog, page 5
July 19, 2014
Hiring Freelancers; Contract Basics
You have chosen an editor, book-cover designer, interior designer, photographer, illustrator, audio book narrator, or other freelance contractor. Now what? How do you spell out your mutual expectations or, to put it in legal language, the terms of engagement?
Most likely, your freelancer has a form agreement, which may be a description on a website or an email only. These form binding agreements even if they are electronic. However, make sure the agreement covers the following:
Describe what se...
July 10, 2014
Joining THE BOOK DESIGNER as a Contributing Writer
Like many writers considering the plunge into self-publishing, I started my research on the internet. Without exaggeration, the best resource I found was, and still is, Joel Friedlandler’s THE BOOK DESIGNER.
THE BOOK DESIGNER website covers everything from structuring your novel to choosing fonts for your book cover. The advice is practical and professional, and writers can download free and inexpensive handouts, videos and templates to study and use.
Joel’s monthly E-Book Cover Awards will tea...
July 6, 2014
Beware of Contests Offering Publishing Contracts
Even though words are our stock-and-trade, many writers are intimidated by contract wording. The pages look fuzzy and convoluted, like the remnant of some math-test nightmare from high school. Writers assume they won’t understand the contracts, so they close their eyes and click SUBMIT.
Nonsense. If you can write a book, then you can read a contract well enough to spot a bad deal. The trick is knowing where to look.
This post is the first of the Highlighter Series in which I will take actual co...
June 30, 2014
Goodreads Giveaway: Enter to Win One of Ten Free Copies
Now through July 7, 2014, I will be running a giveaway on Goodreads. Please sign up. The copies will be signed by yours truly!
The post Goodreads Giveaway: Enter to Win One of Ten Free Copies appeared first on Helen Sedwick.
June 22, 2014
Creative Commons: A Blogger’s Gold Mine
Creative Commons is one of the best innovations to grow out of global interconnectivity.
Under copyright law, rights to use copyrighted materials are granted on a one-by-one basis. Traditional copyright law does not provide a practical way to permit wide-ranging use of copyrighted work. Creative Commons stepped in to fill this gap.
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that has developed a set of off-the-shelf licenses for use by copyright holders who wish to make their work widely avai...
June 15, 2014
Stock Images; A Little Money Goes A Long Way
EUREKA! After searching the four corners of the internet, you have found the image that captures the essence of your story. You want to use it on your cover, website, bookmarks, ball caps, t-shirts and coffee mugs. And perhaps you want to crop, color, distort and enhance it, insert a smoking gun, voluptuous lips, or a devil’s tail.
Slow down. First, where did you find the image? By now, you have read the warnings – DON’T USE IMAGES PLUCKED OFF THE INTERNET WITHOUT PERMISSION. Maybe, just maybe...
June 7, 2014
What’s the Worst Mistake an Author Can Make?
What is the worst mistake a self-publishing author could make?
A bad book cover? No.
A poorly edited manuscript? No.
A hokey website? No.
It’s losing his or her copyright.
Your copyrighted work is valuable property, just like your car or home. You wouldn’t hand over your keys to a stranger you met on the internet. You wouldn’t let someone with a slick website move into your guest room. Yet everyday, authors click ACCEPT to contracts with so-called self-publishing service companies which engage in...
May 10, 2014
How Many ISBNs Does One Writer Need?
More than you realize.
An ISBN, short for International Standard Book Number, is a unique identifier for a particular version of a book in a specific format.
You will need one for each edition of your book, each format, and every translation. For example, if you use one ISBN for your paperback, here’s when you will need a new ISBN:
Fixing typos
No
Price change
No
Redesigned cover
Yes
Kindle version
Yes
Audio book
Yes
Hardcover
Yes
New publisher
Yes
New size
Yes
Translation
Yes
Adding a preface, introduction, appe...
May 9, 2014
Can Your Million-Dollar Idea be Protected?
Here’s a scary thought–ideas are not protected by copyright law, no matter how unique and valuable. If you give your elevator pitch in an elevator, anyone who overhears you may snitch it.
Copyright law applies only when a work is fixed into tangible form, such as a notepad or computer file. Even then, copyright law will not protect a core idea. But contract law might.
Some people will advise you to have agents, editors and beta readers sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, commonly called an NDA, be...
May 8, 2014
COYOTE WINDS Ebook on Sale for 99 cents on Amazon
Now through Mother's Day, the ebook version of COYOTE WINDS is on sale for 99 cents on Amazon. Please help me spread the word4.7 out of 5 Stars on Amazon.
Some of my favorite blurbs:
"Sedwick creates authentic moments that showcase the American West.” ForeWord 5-star review
“Sedwick's prose possesses an underlying beauty that captures the world in which her story takes place.” Publishers Weekly
"The book tells the story of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl in a way that encourages readers to think, and to want to know more. It helps us to understand both the harshness and the beauty of farm life on the southern Plains.” --Pamela Riney-Kehrberg, contributor to Ken Burns’ film, The Dust Bowl
