Scribble Articles10

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS, By Melanie Bowden

Do you understand what rights you are selling to your work? It's easy to be excited when an editor calls that we forget to protect our copyrights. However, understanding your rights insures that you are treated fairly, shows that you are a professional, and can boost your writing income. It also puts you in a much better position to negotiate if you know what the heck you're talking about!

Here's a summary of what rights you can offer to your work:

1) One-time Rights - When you sell one-time rights you are giving a publication the right to publish your work one time only. It¹s understood that you will be selling the article to other publications at the same time (think simultaneous submissions.) One-time rights allow you to sell that piece like crazy and maximize your sales.

2) First Rights - Many publications want to purchase first rights which guarantees they will be the first place to run your article. Be careful with this one. There are three things to consider: time limits, regional limits, and exclusivity after publication.

Time limits: OK, they bought first rights, but what if they sit on your piece for 2 years before they publish it? Or never publish it at all (it happened to me)? You can¹t resell that article until they run it, so you're stuck waiting and not making any more money on it. Instead offer first rights up until a certain date (e.g. first rights until January 1, 2003.)

Regional limits: If a regional publication wants first rights and you think you can sell the piece outside of the area, offer first rights exclusive to a geographical area. Then you can sell the article anywhere that doesn't overlap in readership with the first sale.

First rights exclusive for a certain time after publication: This means once your piece is published it can¹t run anywhere else until a certain amount of time has passed. I successfully negotiated with one editor who wanted first rights exclusive for 3 months after publication. She reduced the time to 1 month - and raised her rates to boot! - after I convinced her it was unfair to make her writers wait 3 months before they could resell a piece she published.

3) Reprint (or Second) Rights: Once you've published an article you can turn around and resell it to anyplace that purchases reprints. I did have one regional parenting publication request that I sell them a reprint article and insure exclusivity to their area. I wouldn't do it. The pay on reprints is usually smaller than for first rights, and it wasn't worth it to sell the article if there were going to be restrictions placed on where else I could sell it. I am trying to make a living here after all! Feel free to remind an editor who makes such requests that reprint rights are nonexclusive.

One more thing about reprints: a few years ago one editor told me I couldn't resell the piece she had published unless I sold it in it¹s original form, not the edited, published version. She was wrong according to Gordon Burgett, an expert on writing. You can resell an article either the way you originally wrote it, or the edited version. It¹s your call. Lesson learned: often editors themselves don¹t understand rights.

4) All Rights: This is the worst deal for writers. You are selling away all rights to your work and can never reuse it (i.e. make any more money from it.) If a publication asks for all rights, request first rights instead. I've only sold all rights twice. Once because it was a national publication and I thought the exposure was worth it, and once because the money was great. Weigh this decision carefully. Just remember - you can't ever use that piece of writing again, yet the publication can reuse it all they want.

A word about electronic rights: all of the rights outlined above also carry over to electronic rights. For example, if you sell first rights to a print publication you can¹t sell that article to an electronic publication until the print article has been published.

I hope this article clears away some of the confusion about copyrights. Now that you understand what you¹re selling, don't hesitate to negotiate for a better deal. But that¹s a topic for another day!

Melanie Bowden is a freelance writer and mother of two based in California. Her work has appeared in Shape Magazine, Simpler Living, Jugglezine, and numerous parenting publications. She's currently working on a book titled, "The Postpartum Family Plan." Contact: melaniebowden@earthlink.net

CONDUCTING AN INTERVIEW, By Pamela Kock

Learning how to conduct an interview is a valuable skill for a writer of any age. Interviewing skills can be used for many purposes - school assignments, writing family histories, research for fiction writing, and can make a non-fiction article truly shine.

Before you line up an interview or even write the questions, it's necessary to do some background research into the subject. Find out all you can about the topic or issue on your own. It may help to write an outline of the project at this point as well, or even write part of it. This will give you a better idea of what questions you need to ask, and who you'll need to contact for an interview if you haven't already chosen someone.

Once you've chosen the person to interview, make a list of questions. Keep the questions as simple as possible, and don't plan on asking for more than you really need. For example, if you're writing a 500-word article, there is no possible way you can include the responses to twenty interview questions. Four or five questions would be more appropriate, and you won't waste your interview subject's time.

Preparing ahead of time with the proper tools is essential. Unless your interview will be done by e-mail, you'll need to make sure every word is recorded faithfully. You don't want to lose any information, and when you put your subject's words in quotation marks, it's important that the words you use are exactly what he said.

Since most people aren't able to write as fast as they talk, a tape recorder will be needed. If the interview will be done over the phone, consider investing in a gadget that connects between the phone line and tape recorder. Be sure to let your interview subject know that the conversation will be taped. Don't rely on these tools exclusively, though. You should still take notes, because there's always a chance the tape recorder might not work properly or the words might be difficult to understand when the tape is played back.

Practice your interviewing skills ahead of time. Find a friend or family member who is willing to play the part of interview subject, and ask them a few questions. This will give you a chance to test out your equipment and note-taking, and will also give you a lesson in how easily conversations can stray from the topic at hand and how to steer them back on track. You'll be much more comfortable with the "real thing" after doing this.

The next step, of course, is to set up the interview. If the person is someone you know well, this part should be easy. Don't shy away from contacting a stranger (with your parents' permission), though. Most people will be happy to help you out with your project, if you are polite and make it as easy as possible for them to do so. Don't wait until the last minute to arrange the interview; professionals are busy and you might have to wait a few days until they can make time for you. On the other hand, you may have the opportunity to conduct the interview right away, so be prepared.

If you've set up an appointed time for the interview, don't be late. Remember that your interview subject is doing you a favor, and that you should take up as little of his time as possible. On the other hand, don't rush through the interview without getting what you need. Your list of questions shouldn't be a script to follow blindly, and you might think of additional questions to ask during the conversation. A great interviewer does just that, guides a conversation instead of simply firing off a list of questions like a pop quiz. While you'll want to get all of your questions answered, don't be surprised if your subject may volunteer additional information or simply want to chat. Let him talk, and listen carefully. You may receive a treasure of information you hadn't expected.

After the interview is completed, listen to your tape immediately and transcribe it. This means writing or typing out what's been said, getting it down on paper. Doing it right away is important, because if anything is unclear you will probably remember what the person said and be able to fill in the blanks. If you wait, you might end up with a lot of words that don't make sense, and won't have a good sense of the context in which they were spoken.

Always follow rules when using interviews. If you are enclosing the subject's words in quotation marks, never change them. If your subject said "ain't" don't correct it to "isn't." If you don't want to use a direct quote, you can paraphrase. But don't pass off your interview subject's words as your own; always make it clear where the information came from.

Be sure to thank your interview subject. Sending a "thank you" card is a wonderful gesture, and one that will guarantee that person will help you out if needed in the future. You might also offer to send the person a copy of the project after it has been completed. Do not, however, send a copy before it has been submitted. Asking interview subjects to "proof" your writing before it is submitted is not only inappropriate, it can be unethical and can make the process more complicated than need be.

Conducting interviews can be fun, a great learning experience, and will make your writing projects a lot deeper and informative. While interviewing is a skill that takes a lot of practice to perfect, most interview subjects are happy to work with beginners as long as they are polite and well prepared. Next time you need a little additional information for a report or article, why not make the leap and conduct an interview? Used properly, interview quotations will take your writing to the next level of success.

GRAB YOUR READERS AND KEEP THEM, By Jo Hamlet (Column)

When you first start writing it is difficult to know where to begin. With a short story it is best to get straight into the action. You are limited with the amount of words and so every one must count. And of course, it is important not to bore the reader with unnecessary information. Grab the readers' attention with the first few lines or paragraph. If you don’t there is a good chance they won’t read any further.

Example:

Another mutilated body was discovered today by an early morning jogger.
The unidentified woman is believed to be another victim of the ‘Black Silk Stockings Killer’. And that concludes the news for today Monday 30th October.

This is a beginning that will arouse interest.

Dialogue is another good way to start your story. This enables you to introduce your main character (always introduce him/her first) and give clues to the plot.

Example:

"That’s it. I’ve had enough. You use me, the whole bloody lot of yer. I’ve packed me bags and I’m off to stay with your Aunty Jocelyn.”

“Mum,” her son wailed, “you can’t do that.”

Lynn looked at the thin lanky youth propped against his bedroom door. She felt the urge to brush a wayward lock of hair away from his eyes.

“Give me one good reason why not.”

“I ...eh.”

This opening paragraph tells you quite a bit about the main character Lynn. She is an unappreciated mother with at least one adolescent child. She loves her family but has had enough of being taken for granted. A hint is given of her economic and social background by her speech and her intention to stay with her sister rather than moving into a hotel.

How to finish your story

You write your story and have reached the denouement – the point where all loose ends are taken care of. Now is the time to stop writing. This is just as important as knowing where to begin. You must leave the reader feeling satisfied but don’t overdo it. The protagonist (main character) has resolved his/her problems; all is well and that is all the reader wants to know.

Example:

Story Outline
An old man sees a young man throw a sack from a car. He has seen the young man before. He is the nephew of a recently deceased friend. Inside the sack he discovers injured and dying puppies. He only manages to save one. His dead friend had a dog that was about to whelp and he had made a promise to look after her dog and its litter when she passed away. But when the woman’s nephew arrived from the city, he told the old man to clear off. The old man makes another promise as he buries the remaining puppies in his garden.

Final paragraph:
Six months later the decomposed body of a young unidentified male was found in a sack not far from the river. There were no clues to the identity of the killer and police were baffled by a dog collar around the victim’s neck.

The reader knows the old man murdered the nephew of his dead friend. The old man could not keep his first promise to his dying friend but he was determined to keep the second. He has done what he felt was right. Whether or not the police apprehend the old man is unimportant to the story and is left to the reader’s imagination.

So what about the bit in the middle?

This should have taken care of itself. You set the scene and introduced the main characters. The plot followed on from there. You built up the tension but didn't make it too ' transparent'.

Your job as a writer is to keep your reader interested right up to the last sentence.

Sounds easy? Have a go at implementing the above. Good writing.

© Jo Hamlet 2003
Jo Hamlet's short stories and articles have appeared in newspapers, national/international/literary magazines, e-zines and have been broadcast on radio. She also contributes regularly to web sites and newsletters. She also runs creative writing workshops. Visit her web site for more information.