{"id":5558,"date":"2010-06-10T08:00:15","date_gmt":"2010-06-10T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shilohwalker.com\/website\/?p=5558"},"modified":"2010-05-31T14:46:16","modified_gmt":"2010-05-31T18:46:16","slug":"thursday-tips-newby-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shilohwalker.com\/website\/2010\/06\/thursday-tips-newby-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Thursday Tips…Newby Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Okay, so I’m going to start a new thing.\u00a0 On Thursdays, (maybe not every Thursday), I’m going to post some random tips for the writers who are newly contracted\/newly published-basically the sort of things I wish<\/em> I had known early on.\u00a0 When I’m done, I plan on putting the whole guide together and posting it somewhere like scribd or something.<\/p>\n

First post? On contracts, even though hopefully, if they’ve already signed the contract, they did this sort of thing already.<\/p>\n

FIRST AND FOREMOST\u2026 THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.\u00a0 I AM NOT A LAWYER.\u00a0 PERIOD. DO NOT TAKE THIS AS LEGAL ADVICE.\u00a0 THIS IS JUST STUFF I\u2019VE LEARNED, PICKED UP OR MY THOUGHTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS.<\/p>\n

Intro<\/h2>\n

So here\u2019s the deal.<\/p>\n

A lot of writers are really good at offering craft advice.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not.<\/p>\n

I can write, and I know what works for me, but I\u2019m kind of lousy at explaining how I do it, what works for me, what doesn\u2019t work\u2026<\/p>\n

But the writing community is really good at giving back and I kind of want to do that, but I never really know how<\/em>.<\/p>\n

One thing I do think maybe I can talk about, though, are things that I learned the hard way.
\nNow I\u2019ve got no problem with how I learned things\u2014learning them the hard way means I don\u2019t<\/em> forget them, but sometimes the hard way is just the slow way and if I can cut down on some of the time\u2026share a few of the insights?<\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s a way I can give back.<\/p>\n

So that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do.<\/p>\n

And although you can tell I already mentioned it above, again, <\/strong>let me say it AGAIN\u2026<\/p>\n

FIRST AND FOREMOST\u2026 THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE.\u00a0 I AM NOT A LAWYER.\u00a0 PERIOD. DO NOT TAKE THIS AS LEGAL ADVICE.\u00a0 THIS IS JUST STUFF I\u2019VE LEARNED, PICKED UP OR MY THOUGHTS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS.<\/p>\n

Also:<\/p>\n

Please note that these are my<\/em> opinions and viewpoints expressed.\u00a0 People may or may not agree with them, and they are entitled to do just that.\u00a0 However, as they entitled to their<\/em> opinions\u2026I\u2019m also entitled to mine, and I\u2019d appreciate their respect on that.\u00a0 I\u2019ll respect your right to your opinion as long as you respect my right to mine.<\/p>\n

The Contract<\/h2>\n

So you\u2019ve been offered a contract.\u00a0 AWESOME.\u00a0 Wondering what to do next? Well\u2026hopefully, you didn\u2019t just sign<\/em> it.<\/p>\n

And yeah, I do mean that.<\/p>\n

As awesome as it is to be offered a contract, if you just blindly rush in and sign it without fully understanding it, I\u2019m sorry, but it\u2019s the absolutely worst mistake an author can make.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got a good agent on your side, you\u2019re in good shape, although that doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t look the contract over and ask questions.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t<\/em> have an agent?\u00a0 It\u2019s even more important to read the contract through and ask questions, and even after asking those questions, I wouldn\u2019t sign without paying a contract attorney to review it for you.\u00a0 Generally, it will cost a couple hundred dollars.\u00a0 Yes, that\u2019s a chunk of change, but this is your work, something you spent a lot of time, a lot of work on.\u00a0 It\u2019s worth <\/em>it, trust me.\u00a0 Misunderstanding even one<\/em> part of a contract can cost you years of trouble.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t just trust the publisher to explain the contract terms to you.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t saying the publisher is out to screw you.\u00a0 The good publishers aren\u2019t out to screw authors, but they are<\/em>, first and foremost, looking out for their best interest first.\u00a0 The publisher\u2019s best interest and the author\u2019s best interest are not always the same thing.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why having an agent or a contract lawyer review the contract is crucial.\u00a0 Talk it over with them, talk it over with the publisher.<\/p>\n

And ask questions\u2014lots <\/em>of questions.\u00a0 Question every single thing you don\u2019t understand and don\u2019t worry about sounding like a newby.\u00a0\u00a0 You are<\/em> and there\u2019s nothing wrong with not understanding all the details.\u00a0 We were all new at the business once and you actually look a lot more professional when you\u2019re willing to admit that you don\u2019t understand certain details than just trying to fake it, then later on, it turns out that you didn\u2019t understand those details but you weren\u2019t willing to admit that.<\/p>\n

Questions I\u2019d want answered:<\/h3>\n

v\u00a0 Is there a \u2018publishing fee?\u2019<\/p>\n