I’m starting a tiny new series because of everything that’s been in the news of late. But first, let me give you a caveat. For decades, Dean and I have said “Hollywood” when we really mean the film and/or TV industry. That word wasn’t accurate 30 years ago; it’s less accurate now. The industry has mushroomed. It’s not even one industry anymore. You can do […]
Business Musings: The Licensing Business (Rethinking The Writing Business Part Two)
When a writer dies, usually one of three things happens to her writing estate: It goes dormant. This is the most common thing. Most heirs have no idea how to deal with the mass of writing and published materials left over. The heirs might noodle with it for a while, but after that, they’ll accidentally or maybe even purposely forget about it. It gets subsumed […]
Business Musings: Too Much Stuff (Estates Again)
Aretha Franklin died in August. She was 76, and her death is a great loss. I have loved her music for as long as I can remember, and I’m so saddened by her death. I’m also sad that she shows up in this blog. Aretha Franklin died of pancreatic cancer, after being diagnosed in 2010, eight years before her death. She also had diabetes, although […]
Business Musings: Agents and Estates (Contracts/Dealbreakers/Estates)
Last week, I posted a blog on Prince’s lack of a will, and talked a little about estates. Of course, some people (who apparently never read my blog) asked me if agents should handle a writer’s estate. No, agents should not. Before I even get to the issues below, let me tell you this: Many literary agencies are small businesses, just like your writing business […]
Business Musings: Prince, Estates, and The Future (Contracts/Dealbreakers/Estates)
Last week, the death of Prince hit me hard. I was in the middle of teaching the Romance Workshop, here on the Oregon Coast, and working my tail off. A satellite radio station that I always listen to had breaking news—something they never do (which is why I listen to them)—that I could barely hear. I heard “prince” and “died” and “young” so I’m wondering […]
Business Musings: Hidden Treasures
What a fascinating few weeks I’ve had. At the end of May, I hit most of my major writing deadlines. I’m turning my attention to short stories and to a massive project I’m doing for Baen Books, under the unwieldy title Tough Mothers, Great Dames, and Warrior Princesses: Classic Stories By Women in Science Fiction. (Yes, I’m considering another title, but still haven’t come up […]
The Business Rusch: The Gift That Keeps On Giving
I have been down the rabbit hole, and it is labeled “Philip K. Dick.” I had a simple question: Who benefits directly from the Philip K. Dick estate? I found websites, wikipages, arguments, lawsuits over movies, and all kinds of other things, none of which directly answered my question. Until I located an interview conducted by the Library of America with Jonathan Lethem and Laura […]
The Business Rusch: Fearless Inventories
First, an anecdote: It comes from the November issue of Vanity Fair. The magazine published an excerpt—if that’s the right word—from Truman Capote’s legendary unfinished novel, Answered Prayers. In an accompanying article, Sam Kashner describes the history of the novel, why it remained unfinished from the 1960s to Capote’s death in 1984, and how it became one of those legendary unfinished works, more imagined than […]
The Business Rusch: Ghosts of Writers Future
Earlier this week, I sat down with the pile of estate planning books I’d bought to prepare for this series of blog posts I’ll be doing on estate planning for writers. My plan is this: I’ll blog about this topic about once a month as I research it and as I determine how to improve the wills that Dean and I already have. I wrote […]
The Business Rusch: Want To Be Read 100 Years From Now? Here’s How.
So, you want to be an artist. You want to be one of those writers everyone has read, even though you’re long dead. You want your work in libraries, on bookstore shelves, and in digital format. You want professors to assign your work, or kids to sneak that “crap” that everyone decries but everyone loves. There are two very simple ways to do this: 1. […]
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