Publication - Seller Connections, Rights

26 November 2011, Publication - Seller Connections, Rights

Introduction: I realized that I need to introduce this blog a little.  I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon.  The working title was Daemon, and this was my 21st novel.  Over the last year, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing.  In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes.  You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published.  I'll keep you informed along the way.  At this moment, I'm showing you the marketing material I put together for a novel.

Today's Blog:  To see the steps in the publication process, go to my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/. 

Let's discuss rights in general.  By producing a work of art (novel) you have an implicit claim to it under law.  You don't need a copyright to make this claim.  You do need to keep proof of the fact that you developed and produced the work.  I save my notes for writing my novels.  In the past, I kept everything on paper.  Now, I keep it in the computer.  To make my claims clearer, I keep track of the dates when I start a work.  When I print out a copy (I save the paper).  I make pdfs of my completed documents.

I make all of these so I have an explicit claim on my writing.  In general, there is little you can do to prove someone lifted your ideas, but there is a lot you can do to protect your competed works or parts of them. 

In my own experience, I was shopping Aegypt around to many publishers in the early 1990s.  Isn't it funny that not many years latter, a movie called the Mummy came out that has a close plot to my novel--and the main character is a French Legionnaire.  I'm not sure if my ideas were borrowed--it really doesn't matter.  My novel is published and it's a much better plot and theme than the Mummy.  As I wrote, you can't protect your ideas, but you can protect your work.

I'll give you more about this topic and then Author Central tomorrow.

I'll repeat my published novel websites so you can see more examples:   http://www.ldalford.com/, and the individual novel websites:  http://www.aegyptnovel.com/, http://www.centurionnovel.com/, http://www.thesecondmission.com/, http://www.theendofhonor.com/, http://www.thefoxshonor.com/, and http://www.aseasonofhonor.com/.