Beer Money: Responding to Konrath and Siregar

My recent post on zombie industries (in which I argued that the pissing and moaning coming from authors and some publishers recently is a sign of an industry that is currently in serious trouble) leads inevitably to the obvious question:

If, appearances to the contrary, the customer actually sets the price in a marketplace, and all this hullabaloo is about ebooks, then what is the proper price for an ebook?
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What Every Author Should Know

There’s a conversation going on at the always controversial blog of Dean Wesley Smith. The post itself is interesting for its unconventional wisdom, but it is the comments that are important. In it, several authors with pub credits in the dozens and loads of literary experience talk explicitly about contract terms, money management, professionalism, and negotiations. They compare notes, go into deep detail, and it is absolutely essential reading for ALL authors-indie or newbie or podcast or mainstream established.

I kid you not. This is indispensable. Here’s the link again. It’s the kind of information I started ANMAP to help disseminate. Go there. Now.

Now, back to producing the next podcast (hopefully tonight) and the next Principles of Contracts article (Thursday), and prepping for a big announcement (Monday).

Principles of Contracts: Nothing But Net

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Previous Chapter: Interlude: Think Contracts Don’t Matter?
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Most of this series concentrates on general contract principles. This week’s entry is a little different. It’s devoted solely to the creative industries (businesses like films, music, books, theater, etc. which depend on artists for their grist), and I’m posting it now rather than later because recent events have thrust it to the center of my attention. If you’re in a creative industry, this one’s for you.

It may surprise you to learn that Babylon 5 has never turned a profit. Not a cent. In fact, according to an Internet post earlier this year by creator J. Michael Straczynski, his most recent royalty statement informed him that the entire franchise is still $80m in debt. For perspective, all 5 seasons, plus 5 movies, plus the spinoff series, plus the follow-up Lost Tales special, cost under $200m to produce in aggregate. The franchise’s total revenues now totals in excess of $1.2b.

And, according to Warner Brothers, it’s never made a profit. Not a cent.
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Think Contracts Don’t Matter?

Since I’ve been doing a blog series on the Principles of Contracts, I have to include this bit of news about the biggest, ugliest case of a handshake deal I’ve seen in quite some time. Seems that the publishers and authors of The Shack never really figured out who owned what, and now they’re out over a million bucks in royalties as the lawsuits fly. Take a read here for the whole ugly story, and remember: Contracts Matter.

Next time: Nothing But Net

Principles of Contracts: Self-Interest

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Previous Chapter: The Narrowness Principle
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All business deals are based on trust, and it’s a trust backed up by a trustworthy legal system. Without trustworthy courts, high trust between people in a culture, and an environment characterized by trust and reciprocity, business is impossible.

“Trustworthy! Dan, what country are you living in?” I hear some of you cry. “The American courts are kangaroo affairs stripping us of our civil rights, legislating from the bench. The Judiciary is a racist, corrupt tool of criminal violence against the underclasses, and nothing more than a puppet of the special interests and elites in this country.” I hear some of you say that (every day, all around the blogosphere), but I also can’t help but notice that you’re reading a blog series about best practices for contracts, and that upwards of 80% of you reading it live, work, and do business in the United States. This isn’t a coincidence.

A well-functioning economy works because the trust quotient is high, and the reason isn’t too difficult to see: If I can’t trust you to live up to your end of the deal, and you can’t trust me to live up to mine, then why in the world would we do business together?

Oh, and that financial meltdown and credit freeze we just had? That was caused by an erosion of trust.

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Principles of Contracts: The Narrowness Principle

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Previous Chapter: The Third Cousins Rule
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“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” Matthew 7:13, NIV

Seldom, if ever, have the words above been truer than when negotiating a contract. In a contract, the narrower your wording, the better off you are. Why? Because (with a few exceptions which I’ll get to later) you cannot be obligated to actions that are not specified in the contract – and neither can the other party.

As we learned in The Third Cousins Rule, a well-written contract will define terms to minimize confusion.

This is its chief corollary: It’s not enough to define your terms, you must also be careful to use the correct terms. Doing so is one of the key things that makes a difference between an artist who makes a living off her work, and one who perpetually gets taken for granted.
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Announcing ANMAP

If you’ve been following my activities around for the last several months, you’ve noticed a growing theme in my activities. Starting with my blog posts If You Build It, Will They Come? and It’s Time to Bust It Open, I’ve talked more about the intersection of business with podcasting, writing, and new media.

The response has been overwhelming. I’m now doing more interviews talking about business than I am talking about my actual work, I’m getting more private messages about this, and the blog traffic has climbed exponentially.

This is a topic that others have obviously been thinking about, so, as I said before, it’s time to bust it open. Today, the Association of New Media Artists and Producers (ANMAP) is open for business. It’s a site I’ve set up to hopefully grow into the SFWA or RWA for podcasters, video podcasters, web comic artists, and practitioners in other new media that I’m not familiar with yet.

This foundation is about you. It will rise or fall based on what happens with the community over the next year. I’d like to see it become a resource for hobbyists and pros to encourage professionalism, facilitate networking, and serve as our voice in the upcoming cultural conversations about what, exactly, our kinds of new media are in the eyes of the law. Those conversations are coming, and fast. We want to have a seat at those tables.

So, head on over, read the manifesto, check out the resources, and start talking on the forums. Everything there is up for grabs – what’s there now is what I could come up with. What you come up with as a community will be more complete. Already, the help of Allen Sale, Christiana Ellis, Joanna Penn, Rhonda Carpenter, Kitty Nic’Iaian, Justin Macumber, and Scott Roche has been indispensable in helping to figure out how to even get this started.

-Dan Sawyer

Principles of Contracts: The Third Cousins Rule

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Previous Chapter: What is a Contract?
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Disputes and Contingencies

So, contracts are legal documents that obligate the signers to particular courses of actions in the event of enumerated contingencies. What about disagreements? After all, as a legal document, it’s always possible contract could wind up in court – one of the reasons that disputes are hell, particularly if not tended to immediately.
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Principles of Contracts: What is a Contract?

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Previous Chapter: Introduction
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A contract is probably not what you think it is. It’s not an ironclad dictate that you must sign or die. It’s not something that strips you of your rights. It’s not even a piece of paper (although the paper is an important part of it). Faustian bargains to one side, a contract does not entitle someone to your soul. Believe it or not, it’s fairly difficult to sell your creative work in a matter where you won’t eventually gain the rights back (this doesn’t mean a bad contract won’t hurt you–it will, a lot, in any field of business).
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Principles of Contracts: Introduction

Why Contracts Matter

Money is truthful. When a man speaks of honor, make him pay cash.
-Robert A. Heinlein, speaking as Lazarus Long, Time Enough For Love, 1973

The Concert
In the early part of this century, I participated in a charity event to benefit the family of a dead hippie. The event was an exemplar of the DIY spirit, with dozens of multi-platinum musicians sharing a stage and donating their time for a free concert for the public, with the proceeds from the concessions and DVD sales destined to build a pension for the widow of the hippie.

It was a beautiful day, and a day I’m proud to have been a part of, working as I did on the video and troubleshooting crews.
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