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Archive for October, 2008

TypePad – QuickPost

30 Oct

TypePad – QuickPost.


Hello everyone at Wicked —


My name is Robert Walker, and I have had the honor of having a few items published here thanks to the fine work of Angela Wilson (applause here!!).  I am intending to have a running “column” here on tips and insider “trading” for any and all who want to dare try to understand the madcap world of book publishing.  Rule number one, don’t even try.  Rule number two, reread rule number one.  It that sounds fatalistic, well, I have had my teeth kicked in by the zany world of publishing on more than one occasion.  However, I will as always remain upbeat and my first go-round will be commercially viable titles — the most important short-short story you will ever write is your title, and if it does not meet the standards of eye-popping these days…well it can lose you a reading.


Rob Walker — back at you soon


meantime find me at www.robertwalkerbooks.com – new site, new giveaways!

 
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Posted in Uncategorized

 

Google Settles Author Lawsuits

29 Oct

Google will pay $125 million to settle a two-year battle over the search engine giant's plan to scan books and make them available to the public. Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers had sued Google over copyright infringement, saying the company would profit from displays portions of books on the Web.

Authors Guild President Roy Blount Jr, had this to say:

The settlement, which must be approved by a federal judge before it takes effect, includes money for now and the prospect of money for later.  There’ll be at least $45 million for authors and publishers whose in-copyright books and other copyrighted texts have been scanned without permission.  If your book was scanned and you own all the rights, you’ll get a small share of this, at least $60, depending on how many rightsholders file claims.

Far more interesting for most of us — and the ambitious part of our proposal — is the prospect for future revenues.  Rightsholders will receive a share of revenues from institutional subscriptions to the collection of books made available through Google Book Search under the settlement, as well as from sales of online consumer access to the books. They will also be paid for printouts at public libraries, as well as for other uses.

Read his full statement

The New York Times offers an insightful look at the deal.

 
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Posted in Google Book Search

 

Mystery Contest Deadline

14 Oct
The Mystery Writers of America/St. Martin's Best First Book contest deadline is fast approaching. Your MS should be at lest 220 pages, never been published before and be original work.

For more details, and specifics on what "published" means, visit the contest Web site.

Good luck!

 
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Posted in Contests