E.C. Adams's Blog, page 3

28/02/2013 – Vampire Code is getting a book trailer !!!

It’s official – two teams from the local Arts and Design School are going to compete to make the official book trailer for “The Vampire Code”. YAY !!!

I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am that my book’s trailer is going to be handled by local talent. I cannot reveal much at this stage, but they’re brewing with ideas and so am I.

Happy days…

26/02/2013 – Toxic Boyfriends

So I was having this discussion with my new friend Sherry and I used the word “toxic boyfriend”, in the sense that I told her, “Didn’t we all have a toxic boyfriend at some point?”

After I said the words, I kept thinking about it. I don’t know the first thing about this woman and I’m assuming that she, like me, and well… virtually all of my friends, dated someone “toxic” at some point.

But what is a “toxic boyfriend”? I guess it means different things to different people, but the underlying, common denominator should be that he’s “BAD” and that he brings out the worst in you.  And it’s a recurring theme in the books we read, isn’t it?

Only, usually the “bad boy” in books is redeemable if he finds true love.

It’s so unfair though, to fill the minds of young “impressionable girls” [Quoting “The Prime of Ms Jean Brodie” here] with the unrealistic idea that they can “fix” someone, or inspire him enough to fix himself at any rate.

Forget it girls. It’s called fiction for a reason.

A “bad boy” will not change. It’s who he is and it’s supposed to be what you like about him in any case, right? Why fix him? Why change him? And as my friend Sherry said, “At least you know where you stand.” (with a bad boy). I second that.

But a word of caution: bad boys will bring out the worse in you, make you paranoid, insecure, jealous, hysterical and yes, even aggressive. You might not even recognize yourself. So handle with care!

And if you have an opinion on this topic, do share.

25/02/2013 – Copyright

So I looked into the issue of Copyright, hoping there might be such a thing as an “international copyright”, and thought I’d share. Turns out there is no such thing as an “international copyright” that will automatically protect an author’s writings throughout the entire world. [Boooo!!!]

Protection against unauthorized use of your work (in my case literary work) in a particular country depends on the national laws of that country. However, most countries are signatories to international copyright treaties and conventions, which means that there is a degree of harmony among different countries’ copyright laws.

What is Copyright?

Copyright in most countries, and certainly in the U.S, protects the authors of “original works of authorship,” (referred to as “original intellectual works” in some countries), including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works.

In the U.S. and most other countries, this protection is available to both published and unpublished works because Copyright protection in most countries is considered to subsist from the time the work is created in fixed form. In other words, no publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. Copyright is secured automatically upon creation.

It is still beneficial however to (1) Register your Copyright (it will strengthen your position should you need to sue) and (2) Give Notice of Copyright on your work with the symbol ©, or the word “Copyright,” or the abbreviation “Copr.” AND the year of first publication of the work.  [Example: © 2011 John Doe]

And in this spirit, I end this blog post with © 2013 E.C. Adams

24/02/2013 – Movie rights? Options? What are they?

Okay, so basically, my research has revealed that you can make money from the movie industry for doing nothing. (GASP!)

Your book might never be made into a movie or series, but you get paid for the mere fact that your writing was optioned – ie– A production company or studio reserves the right to make your work into a movie or TV series for a specific length of time.

Apparently, some writers depend on this sort of income to make ends meet, even though their optioned manuscripts / books are never actually turned into feature films. Who would have guessed huh?

But the question we all want answered I suppose is: How much is an option worth?

According to Fred Rosen (a former columnist for the Arts and Leisure Section of The New York Times turned true crime author):

           “ Options start at $500 and go up. In today’s market, $5,000 is excellent. It’s impossible to offer an average because it depends on so many factors, the most important being how much the production company wants the work. As my professor A.D. “Art” Murphy used to tell us, the movie business operates on the junkie/pusher principle: Someone has something that someone else desperately wants.”

And how much will you actually make if your story goes into production?

You can expect between 2% and 3% percent of the production’s budget, with a cap. So, at 2 percent, if a film is budgeted at $10 million, on the first day of principal photography you get a check for $200,000. If the cap is $225,000, that means even if the film is made for $50 million, your fee is still $225,000.

And WAIT FOR IT… if your story is made into a series, you will also get paid extra, per episode, over and above. ($$$$)

Great. So how do you tap into this market?

The path of least resistance is to try and find a movie agent who believes in your product / story enough to try and sell it for you. The alternative is to query producers directly, after researching what they’re traditionally interested in producing. Whichever path you decide to take, there is only one rule: hire a professional, such as a lawyer, before you sign any contracts, and READ THE FINE PRINT.

23/02/2013 – How to build your platform in 5 minutes a day

So I’m going to publish a book, right? As part of the process, and as all experts in the field recommend, I’m trying to build “a platform”.

Now, until I resolved to publish my manuscript, the word “platform” held a direct association with trains inside my head. I had a lot of catching up to do.

A writer’s platform is “your visibility as an author”. It’s basically three things: (1) Who you are; (2) The personal and professional connections you have; (3) Any media outlets you can utilize to sell your book. [Chuck Sambuchino, author of Create Your Writer Platform]

I have decided that because I have a day job and a family, and because I live in country which was voted as having “The Best Climate in The World” [International Living's 2011 Quality of Life Index], I needed to figure out how to create my platform quickly, easily and efficiently. My search led me to this article by Christina Katz writing for Writers Digest: “50 Simple Ways to Build Your Platform in 5 Minutes A Day”. Very detailed, and with lots of ideas to keep boredom at bay.

Here’s the link: http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/50-simple-ways-to-build-your-platform-in-5-minutes-a-day

Happy reading…

21/02/2013 – On being synchronized

So now that I have a Goodreads.com approved author profile, I figured I should try and synchronize this blog, which I publish on www.thevampirecode.com, with my Goodreads profile so it appears there.

I toyed with the idea of calling my go-to guy for my IT stuff, Joe, but figured he might have better things to do today so gave it a shot myself. It was laughably easy.

Next on the agenda: A book trailer and a marketing fund.

20/02/2013 – I have an editor, his name is Jim

I took a leap of faith and sent the first four chapters of “The Vampire Code” to an editor from Seattle on the understanding that he’ll do those and if I like his work, we’ll do the rest of the book. I’m excited to finally run the manuscript through a professional. As one might expect, I totally Googled the guy and have full faith in my choice, but I’m still nervous. Will he get it? I mean, to begin with, my target audience is female and he’s male. (Come to think of it, he’s going to be the first man to read the book.) I guess I’ll know in a week’s time.

If any writers and aspiring novelists are reading this, Jim (that’s his name), gave me a link which you might find useful as it gives you an idea of the cost of freelance editing. http://www.the-efa.org/res/rates.php/. I’m also told another good site to visit is http://pred-ed.com/, where writers get to name and shame bad editors / scammers. I’d definitely run a search on this site if you found your editor online and not through a personal recommendation.

19/02/2013 – Let’s talk cervical cancer

So I had intended this blog to be entirely about my book, but I find myself unable to exclude sharing how this week I booked my yearly Pap Smear test at my doctor’s clinic. Why am I sharing this? Maybe someone whose been slacking on their appointments will read this and be jolted into doing theirs. I was reminded to do mine by a post on a friend’s FB page with a picture of a little boy crying and the words: “My mummy missed her smear test. Now I miss my mummy.” So here it is: GO AND DO IT ONCE A YEAR. It’s simple and painless (the instrument looks like a tiny, tiny toilet brush and it’s used to scrape you inside… gross, but there’s worse things) and it will detect potentially pre-cancerous and cancerous cells in the uterus, saving your life in the process.

18/02/2013 – Goodreads.com, Facebook and a Plug-in

Having applied for my U.S International Tax Identification Number and mailed my application, it is now time to wait. I wish I’d realized I needed this sooner. Well, no point crying over spilt milk. Last thing I want is to be arrested at U.S border control some day for not paying my taxes in the U.S. [LOL – now that would make for good blogging material later.]

I’ve kept busy by setting up a profile on Goodreads.com and networking, trying to get The Vampire Code out there. I also set up a Facebook page and just last night, through the efforts of my friend Joe, added a plug-in to my website so I can see statistics. Now I know when people visit and where they’re coming from. It’s already quite clear that there’s more traffic when I’m active on Goodreads.com, chatting and sharing.  How cool is that?

I wish I had discovered Goodreads.com sooner. Or maybe not. Maybe it’s good I registered after the book was finished, or I’d have never finished it.

05/02/2013 – The IRS and the elusive ITIN

I spent the day figuring out how to obtain an International Tax Identification Number (ITIN) from the US Treasury Department. I need this in order to apply for Double Taxation Relief and avoid paying 30% withholding tax in the U.S on the royalties I’ll be receiving for The Vampire Code. The good thing is, I found all the information I needed online on the IRS website, including very detailed instructions on how to fill in the various application forms. I was amazed to note that the instructions even tell you how long it will take you to fill in the application forms!!!

Was very disappointed to learn that it will take the IRS 8 to 10 weeks to issue me with my ITIN. Crap!

I also looked into protecting The Vampire Code under US copyright law. I wasn’t surprised to confirm that “original works of authorship” that are fixed in a tangible form of expression are automatically protected by copyright laws. No need to register your manuscript anywhere. You’re protected even if you’re not yet published. So why register at all? The main advantage of registering one’s original work is that for 35 dollars you have concrete proof that the work was your original creation. There are other advantages but they come into play when you actually file an infrigement suit – things to do with being able to claim your attorney’s fees besides damages. I think paying 35 dollars for peace of mind is a fair price. Non?