Business

It’s a (Mad, Mad) Marketing World — So Plot Your Marketing

June 2, 2017 By Guest

Please welcome novelist and screenwriter (TV, film) Dale Kutzera to Writer Unboxed today!

Dale grew up in the Pacific Northwest and worked as a screenwriter for over ten years. Among his credits are the VH-1 series “Strange Frequency,” the CBS drama “Without a Trace,” and the independent film “Military Intelligence And You!” He is a recipient of the Carl Sautter Screenwriting Award, and the Environmental Media Award.

His novels include the “Andy McBean” middle-grade adventures.

He has recently released a plotting guidebook for novelists called “The Plot Machine.”

Dale’s “The Plot Machine: Design Better Stories Faster” is a book spot-on for the WU audience; it’s for intermediate writers, not beginners, and proposes a fresh way to think about story — through the design of the plot itself.

You can learn more about Dale and The Plot Machine on his website, and by following him on LinkedIn and Facebook.

It’s a (Mad, Mad) Marketing World

Now more than ever, writing has become a matter of quantity as much as quality. You can blame the 500 channels on your television, the game machine below it, and the millions of books just a click away on your phone or tablet.

That’s a lot of options for story-consumers and a lot of competition for story-producers.

Standing out in this crowd is either impossible or insanely expensive. Television networks, movie studios, and traditional publishers can no longer rely on old-media to reach a wide audience. The top concern of every agent, editor, development executive, and producer is marketing. The first question asked of every manuscript, screenplay, and television pilot is, “How would this be marketed?”

Genre, plot, characters, setting—the traditional elements on which a work is judged—all take a back seat to marketing. This isn’t to say that leaders in the story-industry are blind to quality, just that ease-of-marketing is the first hurdle a project must clear.

1. Branding

If given a choice, would you market a stand-alone story, or the first in a series? Assuming both are of equal quality, the smart choice is the series, because the marketing dollars spent on story #1 would build an audience for story #2.

Franchise or branding potential is the second hurdle a story must clear. A major decision for writers today is whether their property can become a series (the same characters in many stand-alone stories) or a serial (one story spanning several episodes). Star Trek is a series. Harry Potter is a serial.

This pressure to brand has lead to the decline of stand-alone stories, whether individual novels, anthology TV series, Movies of the Week, or the sort of high-minded theatrical films that win Oscars.

2. Name Recognition

The impact of marketing and branding are all around us. These days, it is hard to find a theatrical film that isn’t a sequel, a reboot, or an adaptation of some pre-existing, pre-marketed property.

Stand-alone books or films are typically the work of name creators who have become a brand unto themselves—for example, the comedies of Judd Apatow, or the horror novels of Stephen King. Traditional-media is like a popular nightclub. Only the hipsters with name recognition get past the velvet rope.

3. Changing Distribution [Read more…]

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

March 27, 2017 By Susan Spann

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 some or all of the editing, publishing, and/or distribution costs to produce the book. Often, the costs are not listed up front, leaving the author on the hook for undisclosed (and generally, enormous) sums. Where costs are listed, they normally exceed the amount the author would pay to hire professional developmental and copy editors, cover designers, formatters, and printers in order to produce and publish the work herself.

In a traditional publishing deal the publisher, not the author, pays the publishing and distribution costs. [Read more…]

This Way Be Dragons: How to Evaluate a Publishing Contest

January 30, 2017 By Susan Spann

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 them or not – and those terms are a legally binding contract. Read the terms, and do not enter if you see anything that you consider unacceptable or inappropriate.

Beware of copyright grabs.

Unscrupulous contests try to take ownership of entrants’ copyrights via copyright grabs (or “assignments of rights”) in the entry terms. Don’t enter contests that require you to assign your copyright to the contest sponsors (even for a limited term). The copyright should always remain yours and yours alone.

“Winning” should not cost you money.

Some contests require “winners” to purchase something—most commonly, copies of an anthology or the winner’s published book. Generally, this is a sign of a scam, or at least a contest designed to take advantage of author-entrants. Winning should never, ever cost you money.

If the prize is a contract, ask to see it . . .

…Or at least make sure that the terms are reasonably negotiable. Don’t agree to contracts sight-unseen, in a contest or otherwise.

Consider entry fees carefully.

Contests should not be money-making endeavors for the organizers, though sponsors do have a right to cover costs. Slightly higher fees are reasonable when the contest includes a personalized critique, a copy of an anthology composed of winning entries, or something of similar value. Consider whether or not you feel the contest is worth the price of entry.

Evaluate the contest sponsor. [Read more…]

Knowing When to Walk Away from a Publishing Deal

September 26, 2016 By Susan Spann

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 publisher is a vanity press, a scam, or taking advantage of authors.

Legitimate traditional publishers never ask the author to pay for anything out-of-pocket (and should pay royalties based on gross receipts or sales, without deducting publishing costs or expenses before calculating the author’s share). If the publisher asks the author to pay expenses or purchase “mandatory copies” of the work, bullies the author during negotiations (it happens!), or does anything else that suggests the publisher or the deal is not legitimate, the author should refuse the deal.

Investigate publishers carefully before submitting your work or signing a deal. If the publisher’s reputation isn’t squeaky-clean, or if anything seems “off,” don’t be afraid to walk away.

2. When the publisher won’t offer industry-standard terms or negotiate a reasonable contract.

Sometimes, even legitimate publishers’ contracts don’t meet industry standards for fairness. Most publishers are willing to negotiate, but if the publisher won’t budge on terms you consider vital, it’s better to walk away than to sign a contract you consider unreasonable or unfair.

I strongly recommend that authors obtain professional assistance with contract negotiations. Hire an agent or publishing lawyer who knows the industry to advise you or negotiate on your behalf. That said, each author has the right to determine the business terms (s)he is willing to accept. You have the power to refuse any deal that doesn’t meet your business standards.

3. When the publisher lacks the experience or capacity to publish and distribute the author’s work appropriately. [Read more…]

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Response and Responsibility: Writers in Time of Terror

June 17, 2016 By Porter Anderson (@Porter_Anderson)

Image - iStockphoto: Natalia_80 — Image – iStockphoto: Natalia_80

‘The Stocks of Gun-Makers Go Up’

In the wake of the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando Sunday morning, shares of Smith & Wesson jumped 7 percent in Monday’s trading session. Though the stock stabilized in Tuesday trading, it has nonetheless managed to gain 5.5 percent in the last five days of market activity.

This is Forbes staff writer Maggie McGrath yesterday, June 16. She’s ready with the answer to the question I’ve just placed in your mind: Why would a mass killing make gun manufacturers’ stocks go up, not down?

It’s one of the more jarring market correlations that exists in finance: when a gun tragedy occurs, the stocks of gun-makers go up, because firearm enthusiasts rush to buy up that which they fear will soon be unobtainable as a result of tightened gun laws. Then, when gun control measures fail to materialize, the stocks go back down.

It’s not the purpose of Writer Unboxed to debate gun control. Nor is it our place here to ascribe motivations to armed assailants in highly publicized attacks.

Politics are not the issue here for us today, although they are for many in the United Kingdom, where official campaigning both for “Vote Leave” and “Vote Remain” has been suspended ahead of the upcoming (June 23) referendum on the UK’s membership in the European Union. That nation is trying to get to grips with the nightmare of Labour MP Jo Cox’s shooting death yesterday (June 16) in Birstall, West Yorkshire, by a man witnesses say shouted “Britain first!” or “Put Britain first!” during his assault. The organization Britain First is condemning the murder.

Those who do discuss these events as part of our political life, may understandably be inflamed and focused on them. They might very well like to engage you in the debate. So compelling is the Orlando incident, after all, that Democratic members of the Senate have staged a 15-hour filibuster, ending it when Republicans agreed to hold votes on two gun control amendments. The UK already has tight gun-control laws, which is one reason the Cox shooting is all the more shocking there. It was a year ago today that Dylann S. Roof allegedly shot and killed nine people in a church in Charleston.

Naturally, the public conversation is building. And even as we stand down from it here, we recognize its importance. However our nations work through their respective tragedies and controversies, these events and their impact are in our faces, as they must be.

What is our own “item of interest” here at Writer Unboxed is the question of response—of responsibility—in such critical moments, as writers.

The debate around gun control, whatever may be your opinions on the matter, gains traction with each of these unspeakable events. But so does the dilemma faced by many writers, especially in an era when a chatty public presence is something authors are expected to maintain on social media.

It’s my provocation for you today.

[Read more…]

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