ARE YOUR ARTICLES WEB 2.0 FRIENDLY?

BEACON FLASH # 28 - MAY 2008

Mid-April found me in Powell River, BC, presenting at the 8th Festival of Writers - a small gathering of seriously aspiring and published authors. Daniel Wood, the award-winning freelance writer, was the other speaker. I was privileged to hear his two hour session, "The Art of Facts: Non-Fiction Storytelling in the 21st Century," and will deliver some of his wisdom over the next few months in Beacon Flashes.

Here is the first pearl:

Daniel urged the attendees, whether they were writing books or articles, "to get modern." He made everyone realize that non-fiction is changing due to the influence of the Internet and interactive websites. Writers should no longer submit mss that are solely text. Daniel said that articles and books need a multi-media feel today to interest editors. Writers need to offer magazine publishers a couple of side-bars, illustrations, maybe a video, pull quotes, and/or a podcast, etc., along with the main story.

Why? Publishers like to buy stories that work on the web, as well as in print. Stories on the web need more, much more, than dense text to captivate readers. Daniel cautioned everyone to make sure the contract covers these eventualities. The publisher should pay more for additional features. For example, Daniel's half hour podcasts net him $500.00 on top of the article fee. He adds 10% for web rights (NOTE: not all e-rights) in a "step-up" clause, and photos that you take are always extra too.

Writers must think beyond the written word today and offer editors material that is Web 2.0 friendly. Are you offering more?

(For more articles about the business of writing, please visit: www.beaconlit.com/freearticles.htm)

FREELANCE CONTRACTS ARE CHANGING....

BEACON FLASH #21 - July 2007

Freelance contracts are undergoing change. I belong to the Professional Writers' Association of Canada (PWAC) and, for the past couple of weeks, the discussion group has been grappling with magazine, newspaper, and other media contracts that members have been receiving recently.

The issue is not the usual rights grab, which is often in contracts, but the clause(s) that deals with indemnification (liability). Suddenly the publishers are expecting freelancers to carry full liability and financial responsibility if the publisher is sued over a freelancer's article. In the past, this burden was most often shared between publisher and freelancer. For a writer to insure for this eventuality can cost thousands of dollars per year, and many cannot afford to take this precaution (to find out why, see June 8th post). Many writers who make their living freelancing have attempted to change these clauses before signing the contracts, but some publishers are refusing to allow negotiation of these clauses. In this event, most of the writers have chosen to turn down the opportunity to write for these publishers, which include major daily newspapers, top magazines, and a national broadcaster in Canada, as well as similar publishers in the US. (For example, CanWest and CBC.)

One change a freelancer can try to negotiate for these clauses is: "in no case will the writer's liability exceed the value of the contract." Sometimes this works.

PWAC is so concerned about this situation that its Board of Directors has discussed it and is issuing a media release. Their executive director called the contract demands, "Outrageous!"

All freelancers, in any country, should be aware of this trend and should read the fine print with extra diligence before signing any contract. More info for Canadians can be found at http://timperrin.com/ by clicking on the links on the left side of the first page.

If you find similar clauses popping up in your freelance contracts, report the publisher to your national association, such as PWAC (www.pwac.ca), the Canadian Freelance Union (www.cfunion.ca/), or, if your client is American, the US National Writers Union at: www.nwu.org/. If you can afford it, you might want to consult a lawyer too; if you can't, decline the contract and tell the publisher your reason. Either way, the writer loses income. :(