Ask Miz Ging

Dear Miz Ging:

I signed with a publisher who evidently wants to hold my book hostage.  The contract has expired, and despite my sending emails and asking for a release of my rights, I cannot get an answer.  What would you advise?

Signed,
Perplexed

Dear Perplexed:

I found myself in a similar situation, and it's a shame that some publishers can't play fair.  The reality is that some small presses are started as home businesses, and not always by people with business savvy or common sense.  One valuable lesson I learned: When reading a contract, always check to make sure there is not an automatic renewal clause.  I found myself caught in one, and since I didn't notify said publisher of my intent to withdraw my book, it automatically renewed with a new set of rules.  I was forced to notify the publisher by registered mail of my intent, and then allow her 90 days to respond. Of course, she didn't, which wasn't a big shock since she didn't respond to any of my emails either.  BUT....I had her signed and dated signature on the return receipt request.

Some authors with that house engaged attorneys since they had more than one book there, but since I couldn't afford the expense, I kept my return receipt, notified her by email again, and demanded that she take down my book immediately.  When I noticed the book was missing from the publishers site, I did a screen shot for further proof and checked the  other sites where it had previously been featured.  Finding no trace of the book, I reworked the story a bit, submitted it to another publisher (this time, one with scruples) and my story was released with a new title and name.

I am no longer associated  with the previous publisher, no do I wish my name linked to that house in any way.  I wish I could warn others, but I don't dare mention the name.  I will however say the problem was so large, a yahoo support group was formed to help authors navigate the stormy waters.

So...I'm not versed in legalese, so please don't consider this advice.  This is just what I did in my own situation.  The best advice I can give is to solicit input from other authors published with a place prior to signing on the dotted line.  The best source of information you can get is from those who have experience with the house.  Read the contract carefully, and make sure you maintain some control over your work.  I wish you luck in getting back your book.

Thanks for the question.

Miz Ging

Note from Ginger:  If you have any questions, big, small,  insignificant or otherwise, I'd love to hear from you.  Always looking for good discussion info for my blog.  I can't keep up with Rita.  :)

Holiday Hiatus

I'm taking a little break and resting up for the New Year.  I just wanted to alert you to the fact that my first post in January will be a return of Ask Miz Ging!  So...get your questions ready and remember, the only dumb or bad questions are ones that are never asked.

See you in January!  Be on the lookout for this woman:

Ask Miz Ging

It's Wednesday, and time for another session of Ask Miz Ging.  I saved some of the questions I received last week so I'd have some to use today, so please...please, ask me more.  I need fodder for next week.

Michele has two questions:

1) what do e-authors do to gain publicity since we can't have traditional book signings.


Good question, Michele.  Anything we do to keep our name in the limelight is publicity.  Since many of us don't have print copies to sign, there are other ways to attend book fairs, festivals, etc.  I have used Vista Print to create postcard-sized copies of my book covers.  You can either leave the backside blank or personalize it with a blurb, tag or excerpt.  This still leaves room for you to autograph the card.  It's always a good idea to put the url where the book is available for download and your own website.  If you get promotional copies from your publisher...I received ten...I put them on business card CDs, made labels using business cards that displayed the cover, and I can autograph and sell those.

2) what age do you think is too young for an author to expect their readership to be in the e-publishing world? In other words, I have a MG book that I'd like to publish. Is it something that would do well in an e-publishing format? Or, since it is for children, would parents lean more toward buying traditional paper books?


Another good question.  Kindle, Nooks, IPADS, etc., have opened the reading world a lot wider.  Many young people received e-readers as holiday gifts, so it's up to us to join loops and groups that target their attention.  Even young children picture books are hot items these days with the e-readers that display the pictures in color at the touch of a finger.  I recently wrote and contracted a YA novel which I hope to promote through the local schools as soon as I conquer my current health issues.

 Larion aka Larriane Wills asks:

Miz Ging,why is it every time I'm in a hurry, the guy ahead of me in a no passing zone insists on doing the speed limit?

Lar, this happens to all of us.  I think it has something to do with Murphy's law...anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.  If you weren't in a hurry, you probably wouldn't be as annoyed.  You can't change the stupid habits of others, but you can alter your own.  Leave earlier so you aren't in such a rush, enjoy the ride and smell the roses.  Then flip the creep off as soon as you pass him.  :) 

Diane Wylie asks

Miz Ging, why can't other people do what I want? After all, aren't I always right? LOL!

Gee Diane, we all like to think we're right all the time, but for everyone to agree with that would mean we would have to relinquish our rights to be right.  That ain't happening anytime soon, so just keep on thinking you're right and don't expect people to agree with you.  :)

Gail Roughton Branan asks:

Miz Ging, please elaborate on Barbara E's question, why are men so stubborn? Why are men men and couldn't there have been a better way to propagate the species?




Barbara E (Lionmother) asked this question last week, and I thought I provided a stunning answer, but I'll happily harp a little more on the topic.  Consider Larion/Larriane's question above.  Men are stubborn because it's their way of asserting power, even though it might be as minimal as driving slow in the passing lane.  We've created the monsters they are by always taking care of them.  Unfortunately, God in his wisdom decided we need two genders in order to procreate. Some believe God is a woman, but this decision alone provides a big shadow of doubt on that for me.  I think a female higher power would have made sexual encounters much easier, less time consuming, and eliminated the need for the headaches for which females have become so familiar.  Consider sex organs in the palms of our hands.  We could clasp palms wherever and whenever we wanted, and voile...the whole thing would be over and done in moments...no fighting, no fuss, no muss...and no need for lubricants.  I think you get the idea.

Heather Haven asks:

Miz Ging - I am suffering. I just saw Sex and the City II and realized I am deprived and fashionless. Is this true? or am I being too hard on myself? Am I 20 years too old and 60 pounds overweight? Help me! 

Oh, Heather, Heather, Heather.  Don't let TV be your fashion guide.  How many friends do you have that look like anyone you see in something like Sex and the City?  I think perhaps you might follow my lead and settle for something like the Golden Girls.  *lol*  True, they are all dead except for Rose (Betty White), but Blanche proved you can be older and sexy, and look at Rose...she's still going strong at 89.  What are a few pounds and extra wrinkles?  It happens to everyone.  Don't be depressed by something you can't change.  My mother used to say, "Clean your plate, kids in China are starving."  To you, I alter that.  "Cheer up, you can't throw a stick without hitting a fat and wrinkled woman in Tennessee."

Again, I apologize if your question didn't appear today.  That just means I'm saving it for next week.  Keep on posing these stimulating questions.  I love coming up with the answers.  Ask Miz Ging...if you dare.

Ask Miz Ging

If it's Wednesday, it must be Ask Miz Ging day.  I was counting on people out there to provide me with a myriad of questions to cover a broad spectrum of topics and I wasn't disappointed.  So, let's get on with why we're here:

My first question comes from Anna K.  Why is the sky blue?

First and foremost this question brought back shivers of being in science class during high school. It wasn't my favorite topic mainly because I sat behind a guy who didn't know about soap.  :)

As for the color of the sky...there is, of course, a logical reason that has to do with gases and light waves in the atmosphere. Hey, I deserve a star for remembering that all these years.  :)

You'll notice the sky is blue during the day but changes at sunrise and sunset, allowing in different hues of pinks, oranges, yellows, and even purple.  I could go on all day trying to explain prisms, rainbows, lightwaves, and while I could cheat and look up the "scientific" answer, because there is an answer for everything on the Web...I choose to say the sky is blue because if it were white you wouldn't be able to see the clouds.

But in keeping with accuracy and research, as I try to do with my writing, I'll point you to an official explanation, if you can understand it.  Geez, and they say this is simple?
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/sky_blue.html  That's the most confusing answer I've ever seen.

Next, Karen asks...what advice can you give new authors at their first book signing event? Is there anything you've done that was really a hit to the people there?
Well, new author, people like anything for free.  I'm certainly not a veteran signer, but I've found that candy lures them in like flies...chocolate especially.  When I do a signing, I try to have a few freebies to offer, and I think it's the shame of scooping up goodies that makes them stop and actually buy a book.  Before you go, practice pouting in the mirror.  Make sure you get the look down perfectly to flash at those who just meander by and show little or no interest after they've nabbed a chocolate from you dish.  Guilt works wonders.  I've used it on my kids for years.

Lionmother has a burning question that women have asked for years...Mis Ging, why are men so stubborn?  

Well, my friend, I fear we've made them that way. I think some people, men especially, dig in their heels when they aren't in control, and let's face it...men are never in control of their emotions, from the time they're born until they die.  They always have a woman telling them what to do.  Mom takes care of keeping him in line until he marries, and then the wife steps in.  Being stubborn is the only way someone of male persuasion gives the illusion of control.  I don't think we can change that.

Diane wants to know...  why we have to wait for tomorrow? I am impatience-challenged and don't think I can wait that long to ask my burning question.

Diane, in this case I'm in charge, and if I put everything on my blog today I wouldn't have anything for tomorrow.  Your impatience-challenged self will just have to suffer.  *lol*

Tanja has the most difficult question of all, why?

Because.  That's the best I can do with that one, Tanja.  Now if there was something attached to the why, like "why oh why can't I," I might be able to come up with an answer of more substance.

Vonn Lane poses this...Miz Ging, why does my cat bypass every piece of comfortable furniture in my house only to sleep on my black slacks laid out for work the next morning?

It's pretty evident to me.  This follows the same path as stubborn men.  Cats are territorial, but unlike men, hardly ever in control because they just don't give a crap about things that don't directly affect them.  By shedding on your black pants, your cat is making a statement.  "Steer clear, this woman already has a pet."  I'm pretty sure everyone at work has commented behind your back that you surely own a cat because of the hair you display all the time.  If the cat just shed on the furniture, how would the message get out? 

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Friends, I have been simply overwhelmed with the helpful questions sent.  I'm stopping here today so I'll have some left over for next Wednesday.  I have already four, but let's not stop there.  I know there are lots out there needing sage advice.  In the absence of it, I offer up my own.  Tell you friends to tell their friends, and so on and so on.  Let's make Ask Miz Ging another Dear Abby, only more fun.  Don't forget to tune in next week for more fascinating questions and answers.  Ask Miz Ging...she'll tell you what she thinks.

Ask Miz Ging

It's time again for my most favorite feature on my blog...Ask Miz Ging.  Go ahead, ask me anything except my weight, and I'll try my best to answer.

Just so I haven't totally blown any promotional opportunity, while you're here, check out my trailer for Odessa, my latest historical western romance from Eternal Press.

It's Ask Miz Ging Day Again...

Yep...it's Thursday and I've dedicated one day each week to host your questions.  Nothing is sacred, except my weight.  So...c'mon, ask those burning questions and let's see if we can find some answers.
I hate playing to an empty room, so who's first?

Ask Miz Ging...anything except how much she weighs.

A new feature to my blog.  Thursdays will be devoted to all those burning questions you may have.  You know what "they" say...opinions are like a**holes, everybody has one, but we just might stimulate some great advice here.  Pass the word...first thing Thursday mornings, I'll put on my thinking cap and strive to solve the problems of the world. If nothing else, we may share a laugh or two.

Ask Miz Ging...what have you got to lose except your sanity?