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About Susan Spann

Susan Spann writes the Hiro Hattori Novels (Shinobi Mysteries) featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo, who solve mysteries set in medieval Japan. Her first novel, Claws of the Cat: A Shinobi Mystery (Minotaur, 2013) was a Library Journal mystery debut of the month and a finalist for the Silver Falchion Award for Best First Novel. Her fourth Hiro Hattori novel, The Ninja’s Daughter, releases August 2, 2016 from Seventh Street Books. Susan is the 2015 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Writer of the Year, and also a transactional attorney whose practice focuses on business and publishing law. She founded and curates the Twitter hashtag #PubLaw (for Writers), where she answers questions and provides information about publishing business and legal issues. When not writing or representing clients, Susan enjoys traditional archery, reading fiction and nonfiction, and raising seahorses and rare corals in her marine aquarium. She lives outside Sacramento, California, but you can find her online at http://www.SusanSpann.com, on Twitter (@SusanSpann), or on Facebook/SusanSpannBooks.

Recent Posts by this author:

  • Curses – Foiled Again!
  • Throw Your Writing From the Train
  • How to Prepare and Use a DMCA Takedown Notice
  • Holiday Copyright Tips
  • When Zero Is Greater Than One
  • Fear is a Liar
  • The Hidden Dangers in Short-Form Publishing Deals
  • The Truth Behind Popular Copyright Myths
  • How to Spot, and Avoid, “Pay to Play” Publishing Contracts
  • This Way Be Dragons: How to Evaluate a Publishing Contest
  • Knowing When to Walk Away from a Publishing Deal
  • The Legal Side of Writing for Anthologies

    • Curses – Foiled Again!

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    Flickr Creative Commons: Juliana Coutinho

    It’s almost impossible to overstate the utility of foils in fiction.

    Technically speaking, a foil is either a character that contrasts with another character or (less commonly) a subplot that contrasts with the primary plot.

    When crafting a story, careful use of foils allows a writer to highlight certain qualities in a protagonist (or secondary characters) through action rather than explanation. The differences between the primary character and his or her foil can be physical, but far more often they relate to characteristics like behavior and worldview.

    An effective foil can accomplish several important tasks within a narrative, like highlighting positive characteristics of a protagonist or mirroring the reaction the author wants the audience to feel. Since foils usually fill another (often primary) structural role as well, it’s helpful to identify and craft them from the beginning of the story-building process, to ensure they fit seamlessly into the narrative. A well-crafted foil rarely calls attention to himself or herself as such—although they’re also fairly easy to identify if you take a step back and analyze a story.

    Foils make the story stronger by allowing the author to draw out important characteristics through action, rather than narrative exposition. For example:

    • a selfish foil can give the protagonist opportunities to behave in a caring manner;
    • a rude foil may help even a crusty protagonist look more polite;
    • an aggressive foil gives the protagonist opportunities to act as a peacemaker;
    • a racist or intolerant foil gives the protagonist opportunities to stand up for others.

    Foils don’t have to highlight only positive characteristics, either:

    • a gregarious or popular foil may make it clear the protagonist is a loner;
    • a foil who listens carefully when others speak can make the protagonist seem like a boor.

    When foils have too many negative characteristics (or even too many positive ones) they begin to look like caricatures. Fortunately, it’s possible—and often advisable—to create multiple foils within the same narrative, each of whom fills a slightly different role.

    All well and good, but how do these ideas translate to a realistic foil on the page? Here are some tips I use when creating mine: [Read more…]

    Throw Your Writing From the Train

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    In 2018, I moved to Japan to spend a year climbing mountains and writing both my next mystery novel and a nonfiction book about fighting cancer, facing fear, and breaking free from my old “safe” life to live my dreams. When I planned the adventure, it seemed entirely reasonable to climb 100 Japanese mountains and write two books in a little over 18 calendar months. (Spoiler alert: this was the antithesis of “reasonable.”) As reality closed in and the months flew by, I realized I was going to … [Read more...]

    How to Prepare and Use a DMCA Takedown Notice

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    The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) is a U.S. law designed to protect content creators (and Internet Service Providers), and to “maintain a balance between the rights of authors and the larger public interest.” I could write a book (and people have) describing the DMCA in detail, but the part of the law most relevant to authors – and the topic of today’s post – is the DMCA Takedown Notice.  (Advance apologies for the length of this post, but it takes a little space to describe … [Read more...]

    Holiday Copyright Tips

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    Happy Holidays! ‘Tis the season . . . to stay off the copyright “naughty list” . . . so here are some tips for avoiding copyright infringement—not only through the holidays, but all throughout the year: SONGS (AND LYRICS) ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT During the holidays, it’s tempting to blog or post the lyrics to favorite carols or celebratory songs—not only on your website, but on Facebook and other social media sites as well. Unfortunately, reproducing lyrics, or poems, in their … [Read more...]

    When Zero Is Greater Than One

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    During the early days—correction, decade—of my writing career, before I had either an agent or a publishing deal, I often felt a kind of desperation. When would it finally be my turn? When would I see my work in print? Would my day ever come? I wrote, I researched agents and publishers, I pitched and queried, and—like everyone—I received rejections. Rejections upon rejections, until I almost dreaded opening my email for fear of finding another missive that began, “Although I enjoyed your … [Read more...]

    Fear is a Liar

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    Fear is a liar. Fear will break your courage, steal your dreams, and tell you that neither you nor your art will ever amount to anything. Of all the many hurdles that stand between writers (or any other person) and their dreams, fear is often the hardest to fight, and the easiest to surrender to. For many years, I lived in fear of failure. I refused to write, despite the stories that burned inside me, because I feared that if I tried and failed I would lose the only identity—that of … [Read more...]

    The Hidden Dangers in Short-Form Publishing Deals

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    Authors have many things to watch out for when evaluating a publishing deal, but one of the most common—and most serious—dangers is something the author doesn’t see: the vital clauses and protections that are often missing from “short-form” publishing contracts. Most authors look at standard publishing contracts (which can easily run from ten to twenty pages, or even longer) with a combination of confusion and concern. For those not versed in legalese (or, more precisely, Publisher-ese) … [Read more...]

    The Truth Behind Popular Copyright Myths

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    Copyright law can seem confusing, but authors need to know the basics—especially when (and whether) to register a copyright, and what to do when using a pseudonym. As a publishing lawyer, I work with copyright issues (and authors) all the time, and today, I thought I’d take a closer look at some popular myths about copyright law and how it applies to novels and other creative works.* Myth #1: You have to register copyright in order to own the copyright in your work. False. Registration … [Read more...]

    How to Spot, and Avoid, “Pay to Play” Publishing Contracts

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      In recent months, I’ve seen the resurgence of several terrible "pay to play" publishing contracts that authors should learn to recognize and avoid. My law school contracts professor used to warn us, regularly, that “a person can make as good a deal, or AS BAD A DEAL, as he or she is able.” Accept one of these particular contracts, and you’ll be making a very bad deal indeed: BAD CONTRACT #1: “WE PUBLISH, YOU PAY” In this type of contract, the author pays the publisher for … [Read more...]

    This Way Be Dragons: How to Evaluate a Publishing Contest

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    Contests can be a great way for authors to get professional critiques, or get published, but contests also offer scammers and vanity presses a chance to take advantage of unwary writers. So … beware! Before you enter a writing-related contest, consider the following: Always read the fine print. In this case, that means the contest terms – no matter how long (and boring) they are. In most cases, entering a contest means you agree to the terms as written – whether you actually read … [Read more...]

    Knowing When to Walk Away from a Publishing Deal

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    Many authors spend years (if not decades) seeking a traditional publishing deal. Unfortunately, when the offer comes, it isn’t always a good one—and knowing when to walk away (and having the strength to do it, despite the steepness of the road) is one of the most important business skills an author can develop. While no one can, or should, tell you when to refuse a contract, let’s look at a few situations when wise authors should consider walking away from a publishing deal: 1.  When the … [Read more...]

    The Legal Side of Writing for Anthologies

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    Anthologies offer writers an excellent platform for shorter works and create opportunities for reader cross-pollination. When managed and published properly, anthologies have many benefits and relatively few drawbacks for authors. However, authors do need to ensure–before submitting or signing a contract–that the anthology publisher is offering industry-standard contract terms and proper legal protection for the contributing authors and their works. Today, we’ll review a few of the legal … [Read more...]