Unreliably reproduced from memory

SCENE:  Garage sale in the Midwest.  Conversation ensues when a woman introduces her daughter as a “famous author” to a homeschooled aspiring writer.

HIM:  You’re an author?  Me too!

HER:  Cool.  What are you writing?

HIM:  Um, well, I’m kinda into superheros.  Look, here’s my notebook.  This is my brainstorming chart, and this is my plot outline, and this is my list of characters.  I read this book that said you have to get to know your characters before you write about them, so I made a list of stuff about them.  Yeah, and here are some sketches—I like to illustrate my own books.

HER:  Wow, looks like you have a really great start.  Good for you!

HIM:  Thanks.  Anyway, what are you writing?

HER:  I’m working on a novel.

HIM:  A novel?  Is that, like, fiction?

HER:  It’s very much like fiction.

HIM:  But your other books—the ones you already wrote—your mom said they’re for kids?  How do people get them?

HER:  They buy them at Amazon or other stores on the internet.

HIM:  Really?  Awesome!  Mom, can we buy…awww, Mom.  Hey, have you read that book—it’s for kids, and it’s about a mouse that has a funny name and he has to save a princess…

HER:  Oh, The Tale of Despereaux?  I love that book!

HIM:  Me too!  It was really cute.  It had some serious stuff too, though, like that guy that was always hitting her ears.  Hey, how long does it take to write a novel?

HER:  For me, apparently longer than anyone could have anticipated.

HIM:  What’s it called?

HER:  I have a “working title,” but nothing definite yet.  Which doesn’t really matter, because the publisher always wants to get in on that decision anyway.

HIM:  The publisher can change your title?

HER:  Yeah, if they think they have a better one.

HIM:  That sucks!

HER:  Yes it does.

HIM:  Cause it’s your book.  I mean, you came up with it and everything.

HER:  True. But, see, the publishing house has a stake in how well it sells.  They’re the ones spending the money to get the book out there.  So they want it to have a title people will remember and want to buy.

HIM:  Well, if they want to change it, you can just find another publisher, right?

HER:  Wouldn’t that be nice!

HIM:  But they couldn’t claim the book was their idea, could they?  I mean, how do you prove you wrote it?

HER:  Intellectual property rights.  You automatically own any idea you come up with.  Publishers generally aren’t in the business of stealing ideas, but to be safe, when you publish a book, information gets submitted to the Library of Congress and then they keep a record on file that shows you invented the characters and plot.

HIM:  Hey, what if somebody wants to make my superhero book into a movie?

HER:  That would be cool, right?

HIM:  They can’t do that without my permission, can they?

HER:  If they do, you can sue them and get back all the millions they made off it, right?  Intellectual property rights, remember.  But that’s why the contract you sign with a publisher is important.  When you sell them the rights to publish your book, you decide if you want to sell the subsidiary rights, too—the rights to translate the book into other languages or make a movie based on your book.  If you sell the rights to someone to make the movie, and you put in the contract that you have to be involved in the writing of the screenplay, then they have to let you.  If you don’t put that in the contract, you probably won’t get to be involved.  Moral of the story: always pay attention when signing a contract.

HIM:  Can I make my own movie of my book?

HER:  Sure.  How much filmmaking experience do you have?

HIM:  Not very much.  So, what advice do you have for someone like me?  How do I get good enough to publish my superhero story?

HER:  Write, write, write.

HIM:  Um, yeah, ok.  So how famous are you?  I mean, are you famous enough to know other famous writers?

HER:  Nope.  Why?

HIM:  I was wondering if you know Lemony Snicket.  He hasn’t written anything lately.  Do you know if he’s dead?

HER:  I don’t think so, but I’ll ask him next time I run into him…

Anyway, kid, if you still have this URL I wrote down for you and you’re reading this, it was great talking with you.  Keep writing!

05. September 2008 by Mindy
Categories: On writing | 4 comments

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