FAQ: rec.arts.sf.composition (incomplete)

(This is in progress; volunteers to write, draft, or just make
suggestions on the unfinished sections are most welcome. Also, I'm
planning to post it fortnightly unless anyone objects.)

rec.arts.sf.composition Frequently Asked Questions

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title
Table of Contents
Introduction
What is on topic in this newsgroup?
What we are here to talk about
Critiquing policy
Announcements, URL sharing, and Advertising policy
What posting formats are acceptable?
Quoting
Replying from Google Groups
Crossposting
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar
Courteous conduct
How does one start posting to rasfc?
The proper way to not introduce yourself
Red-flag topics that might best be avoided and why
What do the group members mean when they say...?
Terminology, Acronyms, Common Abbreviations
Where else can I go for help?
other newsgroups
other resources online
critique groups online and in person
reference librarians
What do I need to watch out for?
Regional Specific Advice
Writer Scams
Copyright Issues
What do I need to know about the business of writing?
Manuscript Format
Word Count Calculation
Submissions Process
Advances
Agents
What legal issues should I be aware of?
Your copyright
Other authors' copyright
Trademarks
Assignment of Rights
Miscellaneous Questions
Additional resources (our links section)
Writer's Resources
Netiquette
Acronyms and Abbreviations Listings
Appendix A: FAQ Technicalities
Appendix B: Newsgroup Charter

1. INTRODUCTION

This FAQ will be written by Michelle Bottorff based on comments and
suggestions from various members of the group, and is maintained, and
posted by Michelle Bottorff (mbottorff@xxxxxxx) and Zeborah
(zeborah@xxxxxxxxx). The general purpose of the FAQ is to inform
newcomers and to serve as repository for useful information.

This FAQ is in the process of being rewritten, and has not been
copy-edited yet, please forgive any spelling errors and typos you may
find. If you have any comments, questions or contributions, please post
them in the newsgroup or send them to the FAQ maintainer (see above).

2. WHAT IS ON TOPIC IN THIS NEWSGROUP?

What We Are Here To Talk About:

This group is for the discussion of the writing of speculative fiction,
(hereafter shortened to "sf"), or in other words fantasy and
science-fiction. (It is NOT for discussing music composition in San
Francisco!) The writing of any work of another genre that has strong
fantasy and/or science fictional aspects will probably also be
considered on topic.

Appropriate topics of discussion include the process and details of
developing settings (world-building), the business of selling the stuff
once it's written, the physical environment in which one writes and how
it effects one's writing, and, of course, the writing process itself.
The posting of actual sf works is NOT on topic. (see Critiquing Policy
below.)

Sometimes topics are introduced that seem insufficiently sfnal in nature
or that would be better addressed in another newsgroup, in which case it
is commonly requested that the discussion be moved elsewhere (and not
everyone who makes the request will do so politely). If you are not
familiar with the group, please check section 6 "Where else do I go for
help?" before posting, to make certain this is the right place for your
query/comment. Also read Section 4. "How does one start posting to
rasfc?"

Critiquing Policy:

This is a discussion group, not a publication venue or a critiquing
group. However, it is difficult to discuss writing in detail without the
posting of illustrative examples and it is hard to discuss the cures for
a problem unless we understand what the problem is. Short examples (two
or three paragraphs) of your own composition may be posted freely as
part of a discussion of writing technique. (We frequently see, for
example, story beginnings posted with a "does this catch your interest
or not?" or an interior paragraph or two with a "does this sound too
much like an info-dump, how else could I convey this information?" This
sort of posting is quite welcome.)

It is also allowable to post not more than 500 words worth of something
for general critique if they are posted under a subject header that
begins with "CRIT'. These works must be "in progress". If you are not
intending to change them based on the comments you receive, do not post
them here. Even then it is strongly recommend that you find another
source of critiques. There are many online and in person critique groups
available. This subject is discussed in more depth in Section 6.

Announcements, URL sharing, and Advertising policy:

Officially all advertisements are off topic. Be warned, "advertisement"
also includes postings saying "I just wrote this book, it's available at
[url] go check it out." Anything that is posted with the intent to get
people to go look at a particular website, or just to spend time on the
poster's behalf, without a commensurate offer of recompense is treading
on dangerous ground. Only the following specific types of "ads" are ever
welcome here:
Requests for manuscripts from venues that pay professional rates. Make
sure the actual rates offered are included in the advertisement.
Rare public service announcements posted by people who are very familiar
with the group and know that what they are posting will be considered
useful and relevant.
Notices of the publication of works that were discussed in the group by
their author *as they were being written*.
If an ad, announcement or URL posting does not meet one of these three
criteria, it will be treated with contempt, and may result in a
complaint to the poster's ISP.

URL postings should contain a summary of what is there that people might
want to look at, providing enough information to determine whether or
not one wishes to do so, and whether the site is connected in any way
with the poster.

3. WHAT POSTING FORMATS ARE ACCEPTABLE?

The posting conventions of this group are as follows:

Use only ASCII, no MIME or HTML.

Quoting: Quote the *relevant portion* of the text you are replying to,
and place your comments BENEATH the quoted section. If what you are
replying to is long, snip out unnecessary portions of the quoted text,
and interleave your own replies between the quoted sections. Try to
leave the attribution headers intact, so that people will know who said
what in your quote portions.

Replying from Google Groups: When you're looking at a message, instead
of hitting "reply" at the bottom of that message, hit "show options" at
the top of it. Then hit "reply" from the list of options that brings up,
and it will give you proper quoting and even attributions.

Crossposting: If you wish to discuss something in more than one
newsgroup, please post separate messages to each group instead of
crossposting by sending the same message to more than one group at a
time. When replying to a message that has been posted to more than one
group, please remove all groups from the posting header except the one
you are in, or the one that your reply would be most relevant to.

Style: Try to always use proper spelling, punctuation and grammar. It
makes your postings easier to read and sets a good example. Keep in mind
that many group members speak English as a second (or third or fifth)
language. It also makes a better impression on the professional writers
and editors that participate here.

Courtesy: Please observe this and other 'netiquette' conventions and be
courteous and considerate in your conduct. If you are not familiar with
proper net etiquette and conventions, we will be providing a list of
netiquette resources in Section 11. "Additional Resources."

4. HOW DOES ONE START POSTING TO RASFC?

The accepted custom for joining in the discussion is to simply start
contributing to one of the threads already in progress. If you have an
experience to share that is relevant to something other people are
talking about, share it. If you are having a problem with something you
are writing, ask us a question about it. If you have advice to give or
information about something under discussion, tell us. Introductory
messages telling us your name and background are not required.

It should perhaps be noted, however, that there are a few hot topics
that are not really good ways to start yourself off.

If you share a new "rule" of writing you have just discovered, or
suggest that something that works for you will obviously work for
someone else, you will have pointed Kipling quotations jabbed in your
general direction. "There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal
lays, And every single one of them is right!." ( see "In The Neolithic
Age" at: http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/kipling_ind.html
) It is safer to say something on the order of "this technique may be
helpful...", or even "this technique was helpful to me..."

If you say that you have just written a great book and it is available
to be read at such-and-such a location, you will likely be ignored, and
possibly even flamed. (See "Announcements, URL sharing, and Advertising
policy" above.)

If you use the term sci-fi you will start a long argument over whether
or not this term is derogatory and demeaning. The short form 'sf' is
much safer, if somewhat ambiguous, and writing "science fiction" out the
long way always works.

Although it is allowable to start out by posting something under a CRIT
header, you will usually get more responses to such a posting if you
have been around for a while and people recognize your name.

Also, please remember, if you ask a question and you are told to go
elsewhere for the answer, it isn't because we don't want to be helpful,
but because we think there are sometimes better places to find answers
than rasfc, even when the question itself is on topic.

5. WHAT DO THE GROUP MEMBERS MEAN WHEN THEY SAY...?

If you are not familiar with general usenet terminology and common
acronyms, please check the links in section 11. This listing only
includes terms common here, but relatively uncommon elsewhere. To save
space, I have removed all referents to group in-jokes, however I am
collecting these and hope to get them up on a web-page (after the FAQ
itself is completed.)

AYKB: As you know, Bob. A reference to the technique of passing on
background information to the reader by having a character tell another
character something he already knows. This is a part of the Turkey City
Lexicon (see TCL below).

BIC: *** in chair. Also sometimes lengthened to "*** in chair, fingers
on keyboard." This is a frequently recommended method for getting past a
variety of writing problems. Sometimes you just have to roll up your
sleeves and get to work.

cat-vacuuming: An activity that pretends to be useful, but is actually
being done so that you can avoid writing.

cinquenta: A story that is exactly 50 words long. At the time of this
writing, cinquentas by rasfc participants are being collected at
http://www.nbarnes.easynet.co.uk/50/ If you wish any of your cinquentas
to be included in this collection email them to Neil Barnes at
nailed_barnacle@xxxxxxxxxxx

EFP: Extruded Fantasy Product. This generally refers to highly
derivative fantasy epics.

Eye of Argon: A story so badly and yet boldly written that it stands as
a classic. Eye of Argon reading sessions are occasionally held at sf
conventions, with the rule that you can only read for as long as you can
keep from laughing. Available online at:
http://ansible.co.uk/misc/eyeargon.html and
http://www.wulfarchives.com/eyeintro.html

IWriSloMo: International Write Something Month, an alternate to
NaNoWriMo (see below) for those who think that slower is sometimes
better. See http://iwrislomo.blogspot.com/

incluing: A term coined by Jo Walton, referring to the process of
scattering background information and other hints throughout the text,
rather than placing it all together in a lump. (see info-dumping below.)

info-dumping: Writing a large segment of expository information on
historical background, technology, or other aspects of the setting,
rather than conveying the same information by using scattered
references. (See incluing, above.)

McGuffin: A term coined by Alfred Hitch***, referring to something that
is central to the plot, and motivating to the characters, but doesn't
actually mean anything in and of itself. The quintessential example is
the Maltese Falcon.

mode: A term referring to the overall character or personality of a
story. Some writers come up with a mode for their story first, and
choose a narrative voice, structure and mood to match. Other writers
start with the narrative voice, structure, and mood, and end up with an
overall mode. This is another of Jo Walton's terms, and she says the
definition here isn't quite right. A google search of the term will
reveal extensive discussion on how to define it.

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month, which encourages aspiring
writers to take part by attempting to write a 50 000 word novel in the
month of November. See http://www.nanowrimo.org

plotnoodling: the activity of discussing the plots and characterization
in general terms, usually with the intent to solve some kind of problem
that one of the participants has been having with a particular work.

POV: Point of View, a technical writing term referring to the apparent
position of the narrator in relation to the story he is telling.

stet: let it stand, used to mark passages in the manuscript that the
line editor wants to change, or that you think the line editor will want
to change, such as words spelled wrong on purpose.

TCL: Turkey City Lexicon, a compendium of terminology compiled by the
critique group "Turkey City". Opinions about the usefulness of this
lexicon vary widely. Some rasfc regulars find its overall tone snide and
feel that it dismisses techniques that can be used effectively in the
right circumstances, and others think that as a list of "common errors"
it can be most helpful in evaluating manuscripts. See
http://www.sfwa.org/writing/turkeycity.html

WIP: Work in Progress (WIR: Work in Revision, WIS: Work in Submission),
a short hand way of referring to one's current writing project.

world-building: This is the process of creating new worlds for your
stories to be set in. Really elaborate world-building occasionally gets
in the way of actually producing the stories themselves. (See
cat-vacuuming, above)

6) WHERE ELSE CAN I GO FOR HELP?

Other newsgroups:

rec.arts.sf.written For discussion of books that have been published
already (and thus are off topic here)
rec.arts.sf.science For all your science fiction related science
questions.
soc.history.war.misc For military history questions
soc.history.what-if For alternate history discussion and advice
soc.history.medieval For questions about medieval times (!)
rec.equestrian For horse related questions
misc.writing For general questions about writing (!)
misc.writing.moderated A more restrained version of misc.writing
(!) These groups are subject to frequent flame-wars. Be wary.
Other resources online:

For imaginary languages, Richard Kennaway's webpage: 'Some Internet
resources relating to constructed languages at
http://www.sys.uea.ac.uk/~jrk/conlang.html

****I hope to eventually include more links here/and or in Section 11
when it is written.****

Critique groups online and in person:

Critique groups are a useful tool in improving your writing. But you
need to find a group that suits your needs, because a group that is
helpful to one writer can be a waste of time, or even damaging to
another writer. If participating in any group seems to make you write
less often and enjoy it less, that probably isn't the right group for
you.

To find a writer's group local to you try asking at the local book
stores, libraries and sf fan clubs. Go to local conventions and ask
around. Most large metropolitan areas will have a writers group for
science fiction and fantasy writers, but in less populated areas there
may only be general writer's groups, or even none at all. Some sf
writers find that they can work well in a general group, but others find
that all the other participants respond to their work with total
bewilderment, and can't find any useful advice to give.

Another source of critiques is to join an online group. The various
groups have different formats and policies. The one totally vital thing
to keep in mind is that any writing posted to a public forum is
considered published, so all legitimate groups are private and require
that you sign up. Here are a few of the bigger, better known ones that
you can try.

http://critters.org
http://www.hatrack.com
http://www.fmwriters.com/
http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com/ (yearly subscription required)
http://www.sfnovelist.com/ (for hard science fiction novelists, yearly
subscription required)

Reference librarians:

Many large libraries will have a reference librarian on staff that can
help answer your research questions. If you are not local to such a
library you can still make use of these resources by contacting such a
librarian via mail, or you can try the Stumpers mailing list which is
primarily for library employees faced with questions they can't answer
from their own resources.

To make use of the Stumpers list, simply send your question via email
to: list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx If you are not a subscriber, your message
will still be answered, only with a slight delay for authorization. Make
the subject line of your email descriptive and precede it with a
question mark. Something like "How many lefthanded policemen are there
in Chile?" is what's wanted, rather than something vague like "Question
about South America". Include in the body a description of where you've
tried to find the information, and what you already know about the
topic. This saves responders from wasted efforts. More information about
the list, including archives, is available at
http://project-wombat.org/. (Information on Stumpers provided by Dan
Goodman)

There are a wealth of resources available on the internet. Learning to
use websearch engines will help you make good use of this material.

7) WHAT DO I NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR?

Regional Specific Advice:

No matter how well intentioned and no matter how expert the advice you
are given, it's not likely to be good advice if it applies to the
publishing industry in another country, or if it applies to a different
segment of the publishing industry. There are participants in this group
from all over the globe; always verify where, what and whom people are
talking about, before deciding to follow advice that might not apply to
you. If you want to know about science fiction publishers in the UK,
don't read up on mainstream publishers in the US and think the same
rules will apply.

Writer Scams:

There are nasty people out there who prey on innocent young writers,
(and even, occasionally, not-so-innocent older writers.) Beware of
anyone who is "particularly eager to work with new writers". Beware of
any editor who offers to "doctor" your manuscript for a fee. Beware of
any "agent" who goes out looking for clients. Beware any publisher who
asks you for money. In short, keep Yog's Law in mind: In real publishing
money flows *to* the writer, not from the writer. For more complete
details on what to watch out for, try the Science Fiction and Fantasy
Writers of America's "Writers Beware" pages at
http://www.sfwa.org/Beware/

Copyright Issues:

There is still a lot of confusion over how copyrights apply to
electronic mediums. Never assume that because something is freely
available online that you have the right to copy it or distribute it.
However, if you post your own material to the web, or in an open forum,
many publishing houses will consider that a "publication" and you have
therefore just used up your "first publication" rights to that material,
and you may find it very difficult to sell it later on, so be careful
about what you yourself make available to the world. For more
information on Copyrights see Section 9.

8) WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BUSINESS END OF WRITING?

Manuscript Format:

Most of the publishing world still runs on paper. Do not send electronic
submissions to any publication unless their writer's guidelines
specifically state that they accept electronic submissions. There is no
industry wide standard format for electronic submissions yet, so the
same writer's guidelines that say they accept electronic submissions,
should also indicate which formats are acceptable. Follow those
guidelines precisely.

Hardcopy (paper) submissions are standardized, and to use anything other
than the standard format will make you look unprofessional. Even though
the rules seem arbitrary there are reasons for every one of them.

Use black ink and a non-proportional "typewriter" font. (12pt Courier
recommended.)
Use white bond paper. US "letter" size to North American markets, and A4
for most other markets. Most publishers can handle the other standard
size of paper, but it is occasionally recommended that if you are
sending A4 manuscripts to North America you make a larger margin at the
bottom so that your manuscript can be copied onto the smaller US paper
size.
Set your margins to 1 inch (2.5 cm) on the top bottom and sides.
The main body of text should be left justified and double spaced.
Indent paragraphs by five spaces. Do not leave a blank line between
paragraphs (other than the one that gets there naturally as a result of
double-spacing).
Indicate scene breaks with a blank line, then a centered '*' or '#' and
then another blank line.
Any text that you intend to be in italics should be underlined in the
manuscript; boldface should have a wavy underline, with "bold" in the
margin. ****couldn't find the bit where people were explaining this bit,
how did it work again, double underline and make a note in the
margin?****
On the first page of the manuscript, your name, address, and optionally
a phone number or email address should be in the upper left corner, and
the word count in the upper right. The story's title is centered in the
middle of the page, with the byline (by Wouldbe Writer) centered on the
line below. The main text starts two lines below that.
On every other page of the manuscript your last name, the story title
(or an abbreviation of it, if it is long), and the page number should be
in the upper right corner.
Do not staple or permanently bind the manuscript pages together in any
way. You may include a removable clip, if you desire.
Do not include on the manuscript itself a copyright notice or a
statement of the rights being offered when submitting to US sf
publishers.
If you do not want the manuscript returned to you, write "DISPOSABLE" on
the title page.
****where should I send people to find out more?****
Word Count Calculation:

The publishing industry is mostly interested in the amount of space the
story takes up, rather than the actual number of words. If you are going
to plug in the word count from your word processor, round it off to the
nearest hundred for short stories, and the nearest thousand for novels.

If you use standard manuscript format you can often estimate wordage
based on your page count.

Submissions Process:

1) Finish the story. Only previously published writers can sell an
incomplete story. However, multi-volume stories can often be sold on the
strength of the first volume, so you don't have to finish the entire
series to sell it.

2) Do market research to determine which houses/imprints publish the
same kind of story you have just written. (Even if your writing is off
the wall and unique, you still need to discover which houses publish off
the wall and unique.) The best way to do this is usually to browse the
bookstores. When you find books that are similar to yours make a note of
the publisher, and then check the author's acknowledgments page --
sometimes they thank their editors or agents, in which case you should
make a note of those names. You can also find out which editors buy
which kinds of books from a study of industry magazines such as _Locus_
and _Science Fiction Chronicle_. Make a list for future reference of
everyone you identified as a potential market.

3) Obtain the writer's guidelines for the markets you have identified.
Often they can be found on the publisher's website, or you can write to
the publishing house for them. The editorial addresses of publishing
houses can be found in _The Literary Marketplace_ (often found in the
reference section of libraries), and in _Writer's Market_. The writers'
guidelines will tell you whether your next step is to send a query
letter (step 4), a portion and outline (step 5), or the complete
manuscript (step 6). If the guidelines say "no unsolicited submissions",
you can still send a query letter. If it says "no unagented submissions,
make a note, and (assuming you don't have an agent) cross them off your
list. (More information on agents can be found below.)

4) Write and send a query letter.
A query letter is one page long.
Start out, if at all possible, by addressing the letter to a specific
editor that you know is interested in the kind of story you have
written.
Tell the editor the title and wordage of your story, and possibly the
genre/subgenre.
Then in three paragraphs or less describe the story in such a way that
it will sound interesting to the editor without: praising it, sounding
like a back-cover blurb, or keeping the surprise ending secret. (Sound
impossible? My commiserations. Writing queries is hard, for more advice
on how to do a good job of it, try ***need recommended books and
urls***).
Next mention any relevant experience you have, writing or otherwise. If
you have published professionally, mention either the latest 2-3 sales,
or the 2-3 most relevant sales. If you have a degree in a subject, or
work professionally in an industry that is directly relevant to the
book, mention that. If you are a graduate of Clarion you can mention
that, but do not mention any other writing courses or workshops you have
taken. Do not list your hobbies, family members or pets.
Included a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) for their reply.

You may send this letter out simultaneously to as many editors as you
desire, and they will generally get back to you in two weeks to three
months. If an editor responds saying you may send them a portion and
outline or manuscript, continue on to step 5 or 6.
If an editor says "no thanks" cross them off your list for this
particular story, but you can still try again with your next one.
If two editors respond at the same time pick one to send your story to
first. You may not send a manuscript (or even part of a manuscript) to
more than one editor at a time, unless the writers' guidelines for both
editors said that they accept "simultaneous submissions". Most sf
publishers do not.

5) Prepare and submit a portion and outline, also called the three
chapters and a synopsis, and other similar variations.
The editor (unless he specifically stated otherwise) wants the first
part of the book. Three chapters is an estimate, if you write
exceptionally long or exceptionally short chapters, you will need to
adjust. Try to send about the first 10 000 words. ****Does 10 000 sound
right?****
There is no set format for a synopsis or an outline. The basic idea is
that the editor has read the first bit of the book, and has an idea of
your style, and your ability to grab the reader, and now they want to
know if the rest of the book is likely to live up to that promise.
Structure it in a manner that suits your story, explain the basic plot
twists, and character growth, and anything else relevant.
The synopsis/outline should cover the entire book, including the portion
you are submitting.
Use a full sized envelope so that you do not need to fold anything.
(Manuscripts with creases are harder to read.) Do not use an envelope
with little metal tabs, because they are hard on fingers and get caught
in mail sorting machines.
If at all possible, address the submission to a specific editor that you
know is interested in this kind of book.
Include an SASE, and a brief cover letter which includes the title and
wordage of the book, and any relevant experience (see query letters
above). If the portion and outline are being sent because of a positive
response to a query letter, say so in the cover letter, (if the positive
response was not a recent one, say when it was,) and put the magic words
"solicited material" on the envelope.
Do not send the portion and outline to two editors at once unless they
have both indicated that they don't mind. (see above)
Editors will take from two weeks to a year to respond. If you haven't
heard from an editor in four months it is generally allowable to send a
self addressed stamped postcard saying "I sent you my manuscript 4
months ago and haven't heard from you since. Did you A)never get it?,
B)send it back already, or C)are still looking at it. Some editors don't
mind you phoning them, check their writer's guidelines to see.
If there is no reply to the postcard and the second postcard sent a
month or two later, you may wish to withdraw your submission. This is
done by sending a polite letter to the editor in question saying that
you are withdrawing your submission, and the title of the book and the
date you sent it to them. Don't get snide or angry, you may someday want
to send this editor a different manuscript.
Once the submission has been withdrawn (or is rejected) you may send the
portion and outline to a different publisher.

6) Send the complete manuscript.
This is just like sending a portion and outline, except that it tends to
be bulkier.
You can send it in a manuscript box, or in an oversized envelope with
cardboard stiffeners to prevent crumpled corners and unwanted folding.
(Elastic bands to hold everything together are optional, if the envelope
is a good enough fit they shouldn't be needed.) If you want the
manuscript returned, you need to include another oversized self
addressed stamped envelope (this is handy, even if you are using a
manuscript box.) If the manuscript is disposable, include an ordinary
sized SASE for the editor's response.
Do not over-wrap the manuscript, editors really hate having to search
for a pair of scissors to cut through layers of packing tape and so
forth.

7) What if they say yes?
The editor will probably ask for the name of your agent. Getting an
agent to negotiate your contracts for you is considered a good idea.
(More on agents below.)
The editor will probably also ask for revisions. Unless everything on
that list is something you agree wholeheartedly about, you should
discuss these with your editor.
You make the changes that you and your editor have agreed upon. And then
send in a copy (or two or three) of the revised manuscript.
When sending in the final copy it can be useful to include a style ***
-- this indicates the variations that you were attempting to stick to,
'grey' rather than 'gray', or whatever. List these in alphabetical order
for ease of use.
You may have a chance to review the copy-edited draft. This is where you
get to use "STET" or 'let it stand', and you may use it so much that you
will want a stamp.
***isn't there one last step -- the galleys?***
It can take up to two years from having the editor say yes, before you
actually get to see your book in print.

Advances:

An advance is the upfront money you get from selling a book. The amount
of advance received varies widely based on how famous an author is, how
much the editor liked the manuscript, and so forth. It is difficult to
give a "likely amount": simply assume it won't be enough to pay you back
for the time and effort that you put into the book in the first place.

Advances are only one of the three kinds of money it is possible to make
from selling books. After your book is published, it will begin to earn
royalties. The more copies are bought, the more royalties it earns.
After it has earned sufficient royalties to cover the cost of the
advance (if it ever does,) then you will start receiving royalty
payments. Odd bits of money may occasionally appear from the sale of
"subsidiary rights." Added all together it is still unlikely that the
money will add up to enough to pay you back for the time and effort that
you put into the book. Writers are one of the most notoriously underpaid
segments of the workforce.

Agents:

The job of the agent is to negotiate your contracts. Agents will also
market books for you (but not your short stories, you have to market
those yourself) but that is not their primary purpose. Therefore you do
not need to have an agent to sell a book. In fact it is demonstratively
easier to get an agent after you have already sold at least one book.

There are, however, some markets that are closed to unagented authors.

If you want to get an agent before you have sold any books, the
technique is very similar to the one described in the section on the
submission process, simply replace the word "editor" with agent.

If you have just sold a book, you will probably want an agent in a
hurry, so you can try the sped up version, where you call all the agents
on your list, explain to them that you have just sold a book, what the
book was about and who you sold it to. This will hopefully get several
interested responses. ****Do they ask you to mail them a manuscript, or
do they just take you as is. What about agent contracts?***

WARNING! Beware of any agent who asks you for money. Agents are supposed
to take a proportion (usually 10-15%) of the money you get from the
publisher, and by getting you better contracts, they actually end up
paying for themselves. Any agent who asks you for money may be a scam
artist. (see Section 7).

9) WHAT LEGAL ISSUES SHOULD I BE AWARE OF?

Your Copyright:

As a general rule, as soon as you record a work in any medium, you own
the copyright on that work. You do not need to register the copyright or
to mark the copyright on the manuscript in order to be protected by
copyright law.

However, in order to sue for damages, you do need to register the
copyright. Unless you are self-publishing, your editor should do this
for you.

Other Authors' Copyright:

Works written before a certain year (which varies according to country
of publication) are considered out of copyright and can be freely
quoted.

Under "Fair Use" provisions, it is usually acceptable to quote a small
part of a work that is still in copyright, as long as it is quoted
accurately and correctly cited. "Fair Use" provisions are rather vague
about how much can be quoted; it's best to err on the side of caution.

To quote from very short works such as poems and songs, however, it is
usually necessary to get permission. This is because even a few words
can make up a large percentage of a poem or song. Some copyright holders
will be happy to grant permission; many may charge a smaller or greater
fee; sometimes the fee is not affordable.

In any case, it is the author's responsibility to follow copyright law
and to obtain any necessary permissions.

This FAQ is not an intellectual properties lawyer, nor are the posters
on rasfc. You can find some official information on copyright law at:

Australia: http://www.copyright.org.au/
Canada: http://strategis.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/cipo/cp/cp_main-e.html
European Union: http://www.eblida.org/ecup/lex/lex.htm#national
New Zealand:
http://www.med.govt.nz/buslt/int_prop/info-sheets/copyright-prot.html
USA: http://www.copyright.gov/

Trademarks:

Copyright law doesn't protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases.
It is possible to protect these as a trademark, which involves paying
fees. For most authors it's simply not worth it.

If you're writing a story and want to mention in passing someone else's
trademark, it's probably not a big deal. If you wanted to use a
trademark in any way that might even conceivably be confusing (for
example, calling your story "Star Wars", your spaceship "Death Star", or
your character "Luke Skywalker") you would probably have problems. There
may also be problems if you use the trademark in a derogatory way.

In any problematic case, it is safest to either invent your own names or
obtain permission to use the trademark; and it is always safest to get
real information from an official website (belonging to the appropriate
country) or even advice from an intellectual properties lawyer.

Assignment of Rights:

When a work is accepted for publication, the author is selling some
particular rights to the publisher. Typically these will be first
publication rights, meaning that the publisher has the right to be the
first person to publish that work. "Serial rights" are to do with
publication in a magazine or other periodical; "electronic rights" are
to do with publication via the internet.

Other rights include foreign rights, audio rights, dramatic rights,
reprint rights, movie rights, among others. Publishers' contracts may
ask for more rights than is strictly necessary; agents can in these
cases be invaluable in knowing what clauses should be cut out before
being signed.

Some more information about contracts and electronic rights is available
at http://www.sfwa.org/contracts/contracts.htm

Sections 10, 11, appendix A

To be written. If you'd like to write, draft, or make suggestions for
any of these suggestions, feel free to post on rasfc or email
zeborah@xxxxxxxxxx

Appendix B: Newsgroup Charter

(Note that the following is included primarily for context and historic
interest. Where the charter disagrees with sections of the FAQ above,
the sections above are more representative of current preference and
custom, and should take precedence.)

Before discussing the newsgroup, one must define 'sf', for which I refer
to the original CFV for the group that created the rec.arts.sf.*
hierarchy: "Both science fiction and fantasy, as well as that vast
blurred mass of material in between." This charter mirrors the position
of the HWA: Horror is an emotion, not a genre. If the Horror takes place
in a speculative fiction book, it can be discussed in an sf newsgroup.
The rec.arts.sf.composition newsgroup would include, but not be limited
to the following types of discussion:

General writing questions, to be answered from the sf perspective. This
includes market research, submission format and discussions on the
process of writing itself, as it connects with the writing of sf.
Discussion of the process of writing speculative fiction between
professionals, aspiring writers or the merely interested.
Discussion of the methods and processes of worldbuilding, the creation
of new, alternate or historically-based worlds in which speculative
fiction is often set.

This newsgroup is not meant to replace or significantly overlap other
groups. As such, topics that are on-topic and useful in other groups
should be kept to those groups. That would include, but not be limited
to the following exclusions:

Discussion connected to writing, but not specifically to sf, nor with an
important sf slant should be posted in misc.writing.
Discussion about the science used in speculative fiction should be
posted to rec.arts.sf.science.
Discussion of existing written work should be left to
rec.arts.sf.written.

As well, the charter specifically excludes the posting of work unless
that posting is specifically related to a topic that is being discussed,
and is used in that context, and quoted briefly. Posting of work to be
read and/or critiqued is excluded from the charter of this newsgroup,
for a number of reasons. For those who wish to avail themselves of the
group's resources, a specially marked header, "CRIT: " will be used to
post short requests for critiquing or reading, with all followups
directed to email, the poster's web page, rec.arts.prose, or any other
valid forum, rather than the newsgroup.

As for advertising, overt advertising is excluded from the group,
particularly off-topic overt advertising (the kind that doesn't care
what this charter says anyway). Tactful, brief, infrequently posted
references to information that can be found elsewhere will be tolerated,
but advertisers must tread that fine line carefully if they wish to
avoid flamage from ad-hating regulars.

--
Gravity is no joke.
http://www.geocities.com/zeborahnz/
.