The U.S. Constitition guarantees the the right of authors to make money off their intellectual property. In Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8, it says that the Congress has the power “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”
The first Congress came up with a law pretty quickly when it convened. While other issues remained on the back burner, they enacted the first Copyright law in 1790. That law has been reshaped over the years, primarily because people were living longer and the length of a vaild copyright was extended. Changing technology also had a role in changes to copyright law; it has been amended over time to keep up with the times. Revisions came in 1831, 1870, 1909 and 1976.
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As many people know I am a big advocate of self-publishing. It used to be that the selection of books available was made by a small group of elitist publishers who turned up their noses at some pretty good writing. With the rise of technology all that has changed and anyone can be a publisher. It used to be that “freedom of the press belongs only to those who own one,” but today anyone can print and distribute their work. That is democracy in full bloom!
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You saw the movie “Jerry Maguire,” starring Tom Cruise, so you understand how sports agents earn a living. They try to sign a young promising athlete, and then they try to sell that athlete’s skills to sports teams, trying to get one of them to pay top dollar for a soon-to-be star. Of course, the sports agent takes a healthy portion of the athlete’s income for services rendered, but that’s the way of the world.
Book agents, better known as literary agents, are in the same game. They’re looking for fresh talent that they can pitch to publishers. If they can place your book with a publisher, they will get a cut of your income for the economic life of the book. How much does a literary agent get? I remember when it used to be 10%, and when it climbed to 15%. These days, some agents want as much as 20% of your hard earned advances and royalties. [Read More]
Think about the last time you were in a bookstore. A title grabbed you; you took the book from the shelf and looked at the cover. It invited you to peruse the book a little deeper. As you flipped though it you concluded that this book was interesting and you wanted it. But should you spend the money on it just now? Then you see it — that testimonial from a person you respect, and it reinforces your decision to buy the book. The testimonial closed the sale. [Read More]
