Guest Blog: Raelene Gorlinsky: Your Books Will Live On...

Your Books Will Live On…
By Raelene Gorlinsky, Publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, I am not offering legal advice. You should consult an experienced and licensed attorney regarding wills, trusts, copyright, intellectual property rights.

You are going to die, but your books don’t have to. (How’s that for a grabbing first sentence?) My list of EC authors has “Deceased” next to nine names. Most of them still have books for sale through EC—the author’s death does not mean the death of her or his published books.

Your books (copyrights, intellectual property rights) are assets you own, just like real estate or investments or family heirlooms. So you need to make plans for what will become of your literary assets when you pass on.

Your publisher most likely continues to hold the right to publish and sell the book for the term of the contract, even after your death. Standard publishing contracts typically state something to the effect that the contract terms are binding on your heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns. Check each of your book contracts for wording dealing with this. But the publishing contract does not cover who inherits your royalty income or your copyrights, who has the right to make decisions—you need to deal with that in your will or trust.

~ Make a will! Consult an attorney with the appropriate experience and knowledge. The family lawyer may know little about intellectual property or copyrights, so you may need to consult a specialist or do thorough research yourself.

~ Create a file for your executor and heirs with all the information about your books: copies of contracts and correspondence, any other relevant legal documents, contact data for publishers, agents and editors.

~ Make sure someone (your executor?) knows to notify your publishers/agent in the event of your death. Check with your publishers—would it be helpful for you to provide them a letter stating who to deal with when that sad event occurs? Because your editors/agent/publishers are likely to find out about it pretty quickly via social media. Right now I’m dealing with a situation where I do not know anything about a recently deceased author’s family, all I have is the author’s email/phone/mailing address. It is uncomfortable to just call her number and say “Hi, who do I talk to about the dead person?” How long should I tactfully wait to do this, will I even reach anyone, and will they assume I’m another casket salesperson and hang up on me?

(As an aside, I strongly recommend Good to Go: A Guide to Preparing for the End of Life by Jo Myers. She makes the topic entertaining while being practical and realistic.)

Publishers have a legal process to go through when a contracted author dies. They may require a copy of the death certificate or other legal proof. Once the estate is settled, they need legal documentation about the heir. They can’t make royalty payments based on “Hi, Annie Author has died, I’m her spouse/sister/son; send me the money.” And only the legally designated heir can act upon any contract terms. A quick summary: http://www.dklex.com/payments-under-a-publishing-agreement-after-the-death-of-an-author.html

So plan now to ensure your books are cared for as you want them to be after you are gone.

BTW, I intend to die with a book (or e-reader) in my hands.

BIO:
Raelene Gorlinsky has been with Ellora’s Cave for twelve years, starting as an editor, becoming Managing Editor and then Publisher. She loves books in all formats, and collects antique dictionaries and the most beautiful of illustrated children’s picture books.

Ellora’s Cave is a digital-first publisher of erotic romance (Romantica®) and erotica fiction (Exotika®). Founded in 2000, EC has published over 5600 ebooks from more than 800 authors. EC is always open to new submissions, plus does several special theme calls each year. Please read the Author Information brochure to learn what we’re looking for and how to submit. (Available at www.ellorascave.com/write-for-us.)

Books Published by Ellora's Cave:

The Spitfire by Bertrice Small  
http://www.ellorascave.com/the-spitfire.html
Blurb: The year is 1483. Tavis Stewart, Earl of Dunmore, abducts beautiful Lady Arabella Grey, cousin of King Richard III, as she is about to marry Sir Jasper Keane. Tavis wants revenge for Jasper’s murder of his fiancée. Irresistibly, deliciously, Arabella surrenders to her enemy with fierce abandon--knowing that there may be only one way to get what is rightfully hers.





Cowboy Gone Wild by Brit Blaise  
http://www.ellorascave.com/cowboy-gone-wild.html
Blurb: Cowboy Ray Wilde has a secret. To the fans, he’s a bull rider. But in private, when the moon is high over the Arizona desert, he gets more than a little hairy. Rachel Benson is searching for her missing sister and she suspects one of two men is involved in the disappearance, but which one? Is it the doctor or a handsome, shape-shifting bull rider who’s into bondage?

Virtual Heaven by Ann Lawrence  
http://www.ellorascave.com/virtual-heaven.html
Blurb: Nothing extraordinary has ever happened to Maggie O’Brien until the day she plays a fantasy game called Tolemac Wars. When something goes awry, Maggie finds herself a slave in a very frightening world engulfed in war. How can she escape this strange place where men carry swords and others perform magic? When Kered comes to Maggie’s rescue, she cannot fight the attraction she feels for him. He casts a spell over her heart that has nothing to do with magic, and when she falls in love, she realizes she must choose…his world or hers.

Author's Don't Work, They Just Write

I apologize for recycling this from my blog, but this is a busy time of the year. 

Many people think writing a book is easy, and they don't consider it a real job.  They think all we have to do is sit in a chair typing our stories on a computer, go out to lunch with our friends, eating bon bon's and just working when we feel like it. 

Some of this may be true, but there is so much more involved in writing books. It was at Romance Books 4 Us Yahoo Group we discussed what people think author's do. Writers get irritated by the assumption that there isn't any work involved in writing. 

Often times there's research involved before an author can even start to write.  Unless, you're a panster (someone who writes by the seat of their pants) you have to make an outline or synopsis of your story, so you know where you are going.  You have to have character profiles (descriptions of each character, knowledge of their work, car they drive and their home), and usually that's a beginning. This can be a chore just to do that much. 

I'm a panster because I don't want to get locked in, but I, also, do a general outline of some of the scenes I want in the story.  I always do character profiles because I need to know as much about them as I can at the beginning.  There are times I add more characteristics or back story to these characters as I write.  When this happens I often have to go back to the early part of the story to insert hints relating to the add-ins. 

It depends on the link of the story as to how long it takes to write.  Many authors can produce four or more 200 page books a year, but they work all the time.  I know one author who produces 4 books a year for Harlequin, works full-time and goes to all her kids' sports events. She writes while she's at these events, she writes at the beach, Starbucks and anywhere she can.  Another author just signed a 12 book contract with Harlequin.  She won't have a life for a long time because she'll put one out every two months.

Once an author finishes a book, she submits it to a publisher and waits for it to be accepted.  When it is accepted, she waits for the edits to come to her/him.  Everyone hopes the edits won't be extensive, but if they are they'll be life consuming because you are required to get them back by a certain date.  While the editor is editing your book, you have to give the cover artist a description of your hero/heroine, clothes, come up with a possible blurb, etc. 

Then comes the edits for the author, and she/he will go through this process until the editor is satisfied.  I can expect as many as three edits with my publisher, and then the book is published.  Hooray!  This part of the process of writing a book is enjoyable for me.

Then the not so enjoyable part of the work is next.  To be completely honest this is what I detest.  Promotion is a necessity because when you sign your contract with a publisher it's in your contract that you must promote your book.  If you don't, the publisher can cancel your contract.  If your sales are low, they can cancel your contract.  In that case, you will get the copy rights back to your book and you can do whatever you want with it.  Most go to another publisher, self-publish or rewrite the story completely before doing the first two.

Here's how you promote your book: you can hire a publicist if you're rich, do a blog tour (this can cost unless you just use friends blogs), advertise in magazines (costs), Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and numerous other sites.  It's tiring to do all of this, but it has to be done.  All of this requires coming up with new blogs about your books.  It requires a lot of work, and it seems to never end because with the next book it starts all over again. 

It's a whole different ball game if an author self-publishes.  They have to do the cover art, or hire it done, do formatting for the different sites (Amazon, Barnes and Noble and others), and get their book up on these sites.  Everything is different for each one, and it is work.  I will never do this unless I pay to have it done, and I am critical about the way things are done, so I would need to do it myself.

Many authors suffer burn out because of this process.  I've known many good authors who have quit after their first or second book because of burn out.  But, I know an author in her 80's who is still writing.  Smile!  She doesn't do a lot of promotion, but her work is well known.

I prefer to have a life, and I'm trying to find a balance with my writing and my life.

 

Sandy

http://www.skaymarshall.com