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Request from publishing company to use excerpt from my book
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I can't tell you anything about the request, other than its being so undefined, from a company that one would expect to be more specific, seems odd.So, other the usual, send them no personal account information or money, a thought:
Did you verify their actual sender's email address? Some mail engines display a title that the sender supplies, as against the actual "xxxx@xxx" address. I get lots of phishing emails that say they come from Amazon, or other legitimate places. But, when I hover over the "from" address and click on the arrow that calls up the actual sender's address, it's obviously phony.
Jay's right. I always hover over the fishy ones. But even if the email address is right, I don't think I'd grant them 'rights' without further investigation or even a solicitor looking over the contract.
Thank you, Jay and Anna, for your input. I did check out the sender's email address by both hovering over it and by doing some more research into the company. I agree that the request was very vague, and I have requested more information from them before granting any sort of permission to use my work.
Before you do anything else, I suggest taking a look at the "WRITER BEWARE" blog. If there's nothing there about the company, I'd ask her to look into it.It seems that there are a lot of companies out there who are using legitimate sources to send illegitimate offers. This smells like one to me.
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Sorry Anna :( No links
Ooh... sorry. I agree there should be no links. I forgot!
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No worries :)
Thank you to everyone who helped out with suggestions. I did hear back from Pearson and got a detailed explanation of what they want to use and how. As info, it will be used as part of a test. They will use a few paragraphs of my novel, then have students answer questions on what they read. They showed me exactly which text they would use (interesting, though, because a few words were changed to make it British English instead of American English), and asked for permission to use for a period of ten years.
I don't have problem with them using it, but sill unsure if I should ask for payment and if so, how much. I wish they would have just said, "This is what we pay for use." That would make things much easier!
Margaret wrote: "Thank you to everyone who helped out with suggestions. I did hear back from Pearson and got a detailed explanation of what they want to use and how. As info, it will be used as part of a test. Th..."
Short of a consultation with an intellectual proeprty atty, or with someone who has experienced it, you may hav to come up with an amount you think is equitable.
If it's an educational institution, you may consider donating the paragraphs, then monetising them and deducting the yearly amount from your taxes. Just a thought.
I am curious whatever happened with this. Did you end up doing it, and if so, did you get money or at least credit?While to me this does sound legitimate, it also sounds terribly odd. These types of companies have (or at least historically have had) a staff of exam writers so why they'd need your particular paragraph rather than writing a similar one of their own is somewhat baffling.
So, what was the ultimate result? And if you did give it to them, did you get an automatic A on the exam :) ?
You might have already resolved this issue with Pearson since I am coming in late. But, I would consider three aspects: Is Pearson requesting your banking info or money? Will Pearson benefit financially in using material from your book? Will Pearson declare where the information was obtained every time it is used? If you are satisfied with the answers to these questions, seeking payment for the use of info from your book might not be an issue to push, or hold out on. Because Pearson would be an avenue of advertisement, and that could certainly contribute to skyrocketing sales of your book.
If Pearson pays for using material from your book (depending upon it's viability, and preferably also gives the whereabouts of the material (depending upon it's viability), then why not allow them for doing so.But who decides all these, beforehand or afterwards?
For anyone still interested in the outcome of my adventure with Pearson, I did grant them the right to use an excerpt from my book, they did pay me for use, and I will receive acknowledgment when the excerpt is used. It was a long, drawn out process, mostly because communication with the agent assigned my case was very slow, and being such a large company (and a foreign company) the payment process was complicated, but after nearly ten months, everything is finally wrapped up. In the end, it was a learning process, another adventure in the life of an indie author! Thanks again to all who offered advice and opinions.
Glad to hear that it all worked out. Thanks for sharing.I was curious, did you deal with the Dutch branch or the English offices? Presumably the English offices?
I've lived in both countries (and the US). Funnily enough, the English offices were quite close to where I used to live, if I'm not mistaken, but I don't think I've ever dealt with them.
I've done some work for the Dutch offices in the past, though, and I've been to one of their receptions in Amsterdam, although that was years ago. Anyway, if anyone ever wants me to check something out that's Dutch, if that might be helpful, feel free to let me know as I'm Dutch.
I've been self-employed for a long time, working with all kinds of parties in various countries. The larger the company, the longer payment takes, usually. It's the smaller companies that have adaptable processes.
Before you start your blurb, do these 2 things first. These 2 together will clarify what your blurb is really about--the main idea of your story. A logline is one sentence. It includes:
1. Who the story is about
2. The protagonist’s goal
3. What blocks the protagonist’s goal (antagonist, or antagonistic force)
Protagonist. Antagonist. Conflict. Motivation (Stakes). Must be included.
Emotional Set. Genre should be implied. Ideally slip in the setting.
Sometimes a logline also includes the set-up.
A log line is 25-35 words, so you d need to drill it down to the bare bones.
Controlling premise:
A controlling premise is three to five sentences. It’s an amplified logline. .
Your controlling premise is your elevator pitch.
If your controlling premise has more than five sentences, tighten.
If your controlling premise has really long sentences, cut it down to minimal. get rid of adjectives and adverbs.
And your controlling premise needs to be memorable since it will be your elevator pitch.
This is usually about 75-100 words
Blurb is usually 2 SHORT paragraphs that expand on the controlling premise with only a few more details such as setting, time period, etc. It should be 150-250 words since it need to fit of the back of the book if you are doing a print book. Short it better.
Notice how you are only expanding a bit on that log line. Google loglines to get more information on them. but that is the basis of your blurb.
What I read above is confusing with too much information. Use the KISS principle--Keep it simple silly. And it will take practice. Go to a book store or even in your grocery store and read the blurbs on the back of the books. They all follow who, what, goal, stakes, what's stopping them. And they do it in that less than 300 words.
Today I received an email request from Pearson Education, a publisher of educational material, to use part of one of my books in an upcoming publication of theirs. I’ve researched the company and do not have any doubts as to the legitimacy of the company, but I’m wondering if anyone has experience with this sort of request and can provide any advice.
The email didn’t give much detailed information regarding how much of my book they want to use, where they want to use it, etc.
The letter stated:
“Pearson Education Limited and its worldwide affiliates and subsidiary companies (collectively, “Pearson”), respectfully
requests certain rights to use the Materials (defined herein) as follows to be used in a forthcoming exam paper:”
A rather lengthy explanation of terms of the agreement followed.
I emailed back and asked for more information on what they want to use and how, but haven’t yet received a response. Given the time difference, I don’t expect to hear today. I don’t know if asking for more information was acceptable, but it seems like if they want to use my work, I should know what part, exactly, and for what purpose.
Included on the form for me to sign if I choose to grant permission is a spot for my fee, if any. That’s a big question mark for me. What do I do about that? I have no idea what sort of fee to ask for, if any. Sure, I’d like to get paid, but how much?
Is there anyone out there who has experience or advice? I’d be very grateful for any you wish to share!