As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, I’ve been taking a pretty extensive Entertainment Law class. Initially, I took it to learn about industries related to mine, as I get back to licensing. But I found the first semester fascinating, because it filled in a lot of gaps in my learning. It also filled in a few gaps in my teaching. For years now, I’ve […]
Business Musings: I Spent Decades Developing My IP (Contracts/Dealbreakers)
I was trained in traditional publishing, where writers go begging for opportunity. Writers are taught to beg, from professors (let me into your class!) to critique groups (is my writing good enough?) to agents (will you take me on?) to publishers (will you buy my book?).
We’re not trained to value what we’ve built.
Business Musings: How To Hire A Lawyer (Contracts/Dealbreakers)
I have to berate writers to get an attorney. Writers are terrified of attorneys. Writers think attorneys are expensive and impossible to work with. Writers think hiring an attorney will harm them.
Writers are wrong.
Business Musings: Other Evil Clauses (Contracts/Dealbreakers)
Writers tend to go through their business life like Pokémon Go players, looking for something that isn’t there, hoping to score a magic number of points, and not seeing what is there.
It’s impossible to show you all the bad contract terms. I’ve delineated several that you need to watch out for. I’m going to go through some important ones quickly in this blog post…
The Business Rusch: The End of Reversion Clauses (Deal Breakers 2012)
Dean Wesley Smith and I have spent a good part of this summer teaching, as well as talking to other professional writers. One thing we discuss is the history of the business because it helps us understand how we got to where we are. In the beginning, publishing was a handshake operation. Writers and publishers were often friends who lived and worked in the same […]
The Business Rusch: Deal Breakers Continued
The Business Rusch: Deal Breakers Continued Kristine Kathryn Rusch Before we get too deep into this week’s blog post, let me point you to a few things that came up in the last few days. Last week, I recommended that all writers, even those with an agent, hire an intellectual properties attorney to vet new contracts. Most agents do not have a law degree, […]
Freelancer’s Survival Guide: Incorporation
Artwork donated by Pati Nagle. The Freelancer’s Survival Guide: Incorporation Kristine Kathryn Rusch I spent most of this evening putting another Freelancer’s Survival Guide Short Book together. The first short book, When To Quit Your Day Job, is available now in an electronic edition. It’ll be on all the sites eventually, but right now, you can get it on Smashwords (in any e-format). What I’m […]
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