Clean Pain and Dirty Pain

One of the consistently interesting newsletters I receive is Creating Space, by Anna Paradox, available at www.annaparadox.com/newsletter. The following essay on Clean Pain and Dirty Pain is something I thought would be of benefit to many writers, so here it is:

Clean Pain and Dirty Pain (by Anna Paradox)

I was running late on doing my taxes this year, and I felt a terrible dread about the task. I fortified myself with chocolate, and enlisted my husband for moral support. I shied away from starting several times, finding other tasks that "had" to be done first. Finally, I decided to take just the first step, just open the program, maybe gather a few documents...

Once I started, I did it all, and it really wasn't that bad.

Come to think of it, this happens a lot. The dreading is often much worse than the doing.

Martha Beck taught me a distinction she calls clean pain and dirty pain (which she gathered from Steven Hayes). The clean pain is the actual physical and emotional sensation from the event. If you break your leg or fall out with a friend, it legitimately hurts. Much of the time, the stories we tell ourselves about the pain hurt much worse than the direct sensation. That's dirty pain.

Here's an example:

Suppose I sent a story to Asimov's and they sent it back with a form rejection slip. So, this story did not sell to this market at this time. That hurts a little. And I can shrug it off in a few minutes.

Suppose, instead, I start telling myself "Nothing I write ever sells. Here's proof that I am a talentless know-nothing who ought to be relegated to digging ditches. Lacey in eighth grade was right when she said I would never have any friends or any success. I am as worthless as cat vomit and I should just give up doing anything creative ever." That could be the start of a good three day depression.

The dirty pain - the suffering from the stories I inflated around the real event - is much more severe than the direct impact of the original event.

Investigating the line between the clean pain of reality and the dirty pain of our interpretations of reality can open our eyes and free us from suffering. I would be glad to help you explore the difference. Call me and we'll set an appointment.

Until next time, may your stories of struggle feed your fiction instead of draining your life.

THE END

Easter Treats for Writers

I've been saving up some goodies. I noticed all the Easter goodies out in the stores today, so I thought I would give my readers a few sweet gifts for the season.

NASA's Launchpad Workshop for Science Fiction Writers

This has got to be the greatest deal going for writers. Launch Pad is a free, NASA-funded workshop for established writers held in beautiful high-altitude Laramie, Wyoming. Launch Pad aims to provide a "crash course" for twelve attendees in modern astronomy science through workshops, guest lectures, and observation through the University of Wyoming's two large telescopes.

Applications are now open for 2008's workshop, and will be accepted until March 31st, 2008. See the website: http://www.launchpadworkshop.org/ for more details.

I attended the first Launch Pad last year, in 2007. It was a stunning experience. I knew a lot of astronomy from 50+ years ago, but what was a lot then is merely a small fraction now. As I'm writing some "space fiction" now, this was the perfect workshop for me. And for the eleven other participants, who were all terrific people to get to know. And, the faculty were superb: Michael S. Brotherton and Jerry Oltion, both writers and astronomers.

It's all expenses paid, folks. What's not to love?

Creating a Sense of Urgency Among Agents and Editors

My writing buddy, Scott William Carter, has a great blog, including his "First Book" feather I wrote about recently. Now he's written a blog entry

Selling Your Book: Ten Tips on Creating a Sense of Urgency Among Agents and Editors


This is great stuff. Read it. Print it. Post it at the place where you write your submissions.

Thank you, Scott.

Nine Stories in Nine Weeks

My dear friend and student, Dwayne Phillips, set himself the challenge of writing a short story a week for all of 2008. The first nine weeks of production are posted in a blog format at http://dwaynephillips.net/shortstories.

Dwayne would appreciate any feedback on any of his stories. I appreciate him showing some of the sluggard writers out there what is possible if you set your mind to it.

What is Science Fiction Anyway, and Does it Matter?

If you're interested in writing science fiction, and even if you can't get to Launch Pad this year, take a deep draught from Steve York's post on What is Science Fiction Anyway, and Does it Matter?

Lots to think about. Don't write another word without it.

Howdya Like Them Eggs?

(If my readers like this sample, I'll post more goodies in the future, and perhaps I won't wait until next Easter.)

On Book Contract Provisions, Part 2

Am I Protected Against Mutilation of My Work?

One contract provision states: "When we have mutually agreed upon the final manuscript including artwork, index, and all material needed to create the final, publishable, version of the book, we will begin publication and distribution as quickly as possible consistent with our normal quality procedures."

This is too vague, and almost all on the side of the publisher. But it does say "mutually agreed upon," so you do have the legal right to stop publication if they've done something you don't like. This may be hard to enforce, but it's there, on your side. Once upon a time, I had to invoke this provision when the publisher's copy editor completely changed my ms. The publisher, McGraw-Hill, honored my request and ordered a new copy edit, which was terrific and improved the book immensely.

So, don't forget you have this provision (and if you don't, insist that it be put in). And it might help if it were made more explicit, perhaps an entire sentence or paragraph of its own, just to be clearer. (I think some publishers don't want you to notice it.)

When Will the Book Be Published?

No time is specified in the above contract paragraph. "As quickly as possible" is worthless because it's meaningless. Other such worthless phrases are "in a timely manner" or "when appropriate."

Several of my students have suffered when their publisher delayed publication for such a long time that a timely book became worthless. You should ask for a time limit in the contract (suggest 6 months after you submit the final ms., or some other time appropriate to the material) after which, if the book is not published (available for sale), you can terminate (but don't have to) and offer the book elsewhere.

Who Owns the Artwork?

Another typical contract provision states: "You understand and agree that any cover or other artwork supplied by us belongs to us or the owner of the artwork, and that you may not use it without express written consent from the owner of the artwork."

In the old days, authors seldom provided their own artwork. Now, with computer graphics, the practice is quite common. So, you should insist on a similar statement about any artwork you supply--they get to use it in the book, but may not use it elsewhere without your written consent. A common exception is in promotional material for your book.

If the publisher asks you to supply graphic material, you might also ask for some money up front (not an advance against royalties) for the expense of preparing your own artwork. Nowadays, you've probably given the publisher digital copy of your ms. This saves them the expense of "typesetting" they used to swallow in the old days, but no publisher that I know of has revised their standard contract to give you any credit for saving them this expense. You can ask, but you probably wont' get it. Illustrations, however, were typically paid for in my old contracts, so you have a chance here.

Who Prepares the Artwork?

Still, if you're publishing technical material, you probably want to prepare your own graphics (with advice from the publisher's people on layout). Why? Because you're probably going to have to give them detailed proofs anyway so as to avoid most of the illustrator's mistakes.

But don't be arrogant. Publishers do know something about how things will look in a finished volume, so listen to their advice and ignore it at your peril. Book design is more complex than it looks to the novice, so beware of the suggestion that you provide "camera-ready" copy. More than one book has been killed by an author who thought s/he knew more than the publisher about design.

On Book Contract Provisions - Part 1.

I'm frequently asked by my students to review their first book contract. They are always so excited that they're ready to sign the first boiler-plate version the publishers offer, no questions asked. Half a century ago, I was the same way, But over the years, I've learned that it pays to ask. Nobody has ever withdrawn a contract offer because an author asked politely to clarify or modify some provisions. You might not succeed with your request, but there's no harm in asking as long as you remain cool and businesslike. Contracts are made to be negotiated, and the boiler-plate contract is merely a starting point for discussion.

"Why bother?" you might ask. Well, consider that a contract may very well bind you for the rest of your life--and even beyond the grave. It wasn't always that way, because most contracts terminated when the book went "out of print." Not anymore. Let's look at a typical "out of print" definition from a recent contract.

Out of Print

"The book is defined to be 'in print' as long as it is regularly offered for sale, under our own imprint or someone else's, in any format or media, in any edition, or if there is an option (or contract) providing for publication in another edition or in other media."

This is followed the a paragraph specifying how the author may terminate the contract if the book goes out of print. But, this contract's definition of "out of print" ensures you will never be able to get the book back, making the following paragraph meaningless. For example, the publisher can put an electronic version up on the web and keep it there forever. And now, with print-on-demand, they don't even need to do that. They merely need to keep a master copy and offer to POD a copy to anyone who pays for one. That makes the book "offered for sale."

Before the web and POD, that wasn't possible, and contracts did expire. I recovered several of my books and moved them to another publisher, where they thrive to this day. That will no longer be possible.

Copyright and Rights

The contract goes on to say, under this heading:

"You will grant and hereby grant [publisher], an exclusive license to print, publish, distribute and sell copies of the book in whole or in part, including revisions, in any medium now known or hereafter devised."

This provision is ridiculously broad, and makes your copyright meaningless to you. You should limit, for example, their rights to print editions only. You can accept wording that says you are willing to negotiate other media rights with them if and when the time comes (but you have the right to say no, of course). Translations are okay, for print only, if the royalty rate for those is acceptable.

You should also reserve the right to use the material in the book in your own classes and consulting, without paying any fees to them. I once published an article with a professional society press, an article they requested and for which I was not paid a cent. The contract had a similar provision, but I struck it and sent it back. They said they wouldn't accept my change, so I told them they couldn't have the article. Eventually, they relented.

Some years later, I wanted to use an illustration from the article in a book of mine. I assured my publisher that I controlled the rights, but they were cautious and checked with the professional society. The society said my publisher could use the illustration if they paid an $800 royalty to the society.

At that point, I located my copy of the contract, which convinced my publisher they (really I, for I would have been the one who had to pay for the permission to use my own work) didn't have to pay a cent.

Arrogance

I particular despise the attitude that can say, "in any medium now known or hereafter devised." It's typical of the arrogance of publishers--or, rather, publishers' lawyers. I'm not giving you legal advice, except to advise you not to be intimidated by lawyers. You can usually find a friendly lawyer among your acquaintances (or perhaps in a local writers' association) who would be glad to review your contract for a modest fee and suggest what you can strike or change when you send back your first counter-proposal to open negotiations.

Just remember, it is a negotiation. (I'll look at some other provision in future columns.)

Miscellaneous Useful Writer Links

It's a spring-like 65 degrees today, so I decided to do a bit of spring cleaning. I actually removed ten books from my overcrowded bookcases, then the pain grew too great so I switched to cleaning up a few links in my link pile and passing them onto my readers.

Dean Wesley Smith

http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/mt/

Dean is one of my fiction mentors. He has a forum section there where he answers questions about writing. He says he gets sort of blunt at times, and that's one of the reasons this site is always worth visiting.

There are a lot of posts that have discussions about different aspects of writing and selling and agents and just about everything anyone can think of to ask. No need to sign up. You can read it without doing that.

Chris York

Chris and her husband, J. Steven York, are two of my writing buddies up in Oregon. Their blog is posted irregularly, but always provocatively. Chris's latest post is on how writer's ought to behave at conventions—an essential read. http://cfyork.blogspot.com/

The London Times on Bestsellers and how they're promoted

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1056-2202068,00.html

Mistakes Writers Make

http://www.vickihinze.net/
Author Vicki Hinze's blog has a whole series of posts about mistakes writers make. Maybe you never believed there were so many.

Professor Paul Brians' (Washington State University) has a most useful online book, Common Errors in English <http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html#errors> Using the reference, you'll never get wrack and rack confused, or prostate and prostrate, or literally hundreds of other common confusions.

How to respond to a publisher's offer (lucky you)

Agent Kristin Nelson is starting a series in her blog about how an unagented writer should respond to an offer from a publisher. Great stuff here! It's called Agenting 101. Here's the first post:http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2006/06/agenting-101-part-one.html

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