Re: Digest Number 3199

Emily wrote:

> However it is a widely used and not unreasonable defintion that if  
> the author pays money for anything beyond the stamp or internet  
> connect that sends the manuscript to the press, that crosses the  
> line from third party to subsidy.

That's a standard writers' group generalization. It's wrong. I'm  
sorry to be so blunt, and it's not normally my style, but this is a  
common myth.

I have NEVER seen a large publishers' contract that didn't include  
consequences for writers who screw up the process in a big way for  
all concerned. And I've worked for two of the world's dozen largest  
publishers, and with literally HUNDREDS of other small and large  
publishers.

These things aren't often invoked, but trust me, there are times when  
you NEED them. Get together with a bunch of old managing editors (the  
folks who run production departments, not the editorial directors).  
Ask them for their "nightmare author" stories, and you'll quickly  
understand why these clauses exist.

Because you, and almost all other authors, aren't that kind of  
person, you'll also see why these things don't  impinge upon the  
writers' zeitgeist.

The fact that no reasonable person causes these things to be invoked  
doesn't mean that you don't need them in a contract. Contracts are  
MOST important when one party turns out not to be a reasonable,  
normal human being. And sooner or later, every publisher messes up  
and signs one of those folks.

FWIW,

Marion Gropen
Gropen Associates, Inc.
By-The-Question Consulting,  Tools for Publishers, & Classes
www.GropenAssoc.com
Her blog: www.GropenAssoc.com/blog




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