The Internet
The growth of the Internet has radically changed the environment in which writers ply their craft. Although the Internet has caused a profound cultural change, for the most part, writing that is published online is governed by the same substantive legal principles that apply to print media. Nonetheless, there are some issues that writers should take care to address.
An example of one of these issues is whether an agreement permitting one-time print publication of a work also gave the publisher the right to post that piece on its website. Publishers contended that under one-time publication rights, they were legally entitled to publish the piece in several editions of the same issue. For example, a newspaper could publish the article in both the morning and evening editions of a daily newspaper. They further contended that making the editions available on their websites gave them the right to publish the freelance articles on the Internet without additional compensation to the writers. Writers contended that websites constituted a different publication that was not encompassed by one-time rights, and therefore they were thus entitled to additional compensation. This issue was resolved in favor of the writers, but the lesson to writers is that they must be mindful on how publication on the Internet affects their rights.
INCREASED MAGNITUDE FOR PROBLEMS
Writers should also be aware that the ability to disseminate information widely and swiftly over the Internet has increased the magnitude of the consequences associated with legal issues. For example, the elements of a defamation claim are the same irrespective of whether a defamatory statement is published in a book or online. The greater accessibility of the Internet, however, makes it more likely that a potential claimant will discover the defamation and that the damage to the claimant’s reputation will be greater. Similarly, the elements of a copyright infringement claim are identical, irrespective of the media in which publication occurs. Material that is published online can be readily copied by downloading and is, therefore, easier to infringe than material published in print form.
The overall effect is that writers need to be even more cognizant of the laws that affect them.
In addition, many form contracts that were entered into before the Internet do not deal with it. Contracts not addressing electronic publishing or new media do not give the publisher the right to post material online or electronically. The vast majority of publishers have rewritten their form contracts to obtain this right, and many publishers have requested amendments to preexisting arrangements for the same purpose.
OPPORTUNITIES
The Internet also presents writers with a host of opportunities. Some have used this relatively inexpensive means of communicating as a vehicle for self-publishing their work. In fact, one of the pioneers of this innovative practice was Stephen King, who felt that he could control distribution more effectively through cyberspace, but he did not do it for very long.
The bookselling market has also changed significantly as a result of the Internet. Statistics about book sales vary a great deal depending on the source; there is also conflicting information on the percent of the market captured by ebooks, but while online sales were formerly a smaller part of the market, they now appear to have bypassed brick-and-mortar bookstore sales. Although Amazon has opened some bookstores and is planning on opening more, the importance to booksellers of online book sales should not be underestimated.
Websites
Websites can be inexpensive to create and maintain and provide writers with a means of providing information to large numbers of people at little expense. Many writers have found that software has made it feasible for them to create their websites without outside assistance. Many writers have been successful at creating websites that provide useful information about topics covered in their books, while also making their books available for sale on their website. This approach, which attracts viewers looking for information about the subject matter rather than the book, is a more subtle approach to pitching the book to potential buyers.
Many writers also use their own websites for purposes of announcing upcoming publications, awards, personal appearances, book signings, and the like. Similarly, most publishers have websites identifying their catalog, upcoming events, new titles, and other relevant information. Having a website today is becoming increasingly crucial and a good way to advance a writer’s career.
Research
What the Internet presents to writers more than anything else is enhanced opportunities to access information and to disseminate material. For example, some kinds of research that once required expensive and time-consuming travel can now be done from computers located anywhere in the world. Much of the business of writing depends on obtaining information. Most writers recognize the importance of research to the substantive content of their work and immediately recognize how the Internet can help them. In fact, one of the dangers present today is the huge quantity of available information (and misinformation) that must be culled. The Internet can also provide writers with important information about the publishing industry that was previously available primarily only to industry insiders. The Internet, when used creatively, can be an incredible source of information about the publishing industry.
USING THE WEB TO EVALUATE PUBLISHERS, AGENTS, AND EDITORIAL SERVICES
Anyone reading many of the other chapters of this book probably realizes that the publishing world has a dark side, where scam artists prey on the naive hopes and expectations of many writers. In the past, it has not always been easy to distinguish between legitimate and disreputable publishers, editors, and agents because of the lack of available information about them. Prior to the Internet, the only source of information available to most writers was in the form of directories that listed publishers and agents. Unfortunately, many of these directories include listings from entities that are far more interested in taking money from writers than in making money for them. Fortunately, the emergence of the Internet has greatly increased the kind of information that writers can use to navigate the often turbid waters of the publishing industry.
Much information about the shady denizens who inhabit the publishing world can be found on websites that track this information. Likewise, the availability of listservs and Internet forums and blogs allows writers to communicate with each other about dishonest entities and improper business practices. Writers who are new to the business are highly encouraged to subscribe to these forums. Monitoring the normal course of discussions will provide a lot of good information about publishing and other writers’ experiences, even though some judgment will be needed to discern the inevitable misinformation. Moreover, the forums provide excellent opportunities to ask questions. For example, writers can get information about specific publishers that would be difficult to get by other means.
The Internet can also be used to gather background information about publishers, independent of the personal experiences of other writers. For example, the most important factor about a prospective publisher to most writers of fiction and popular nonfiction will likely be its ability to distribute books to the trade. The reason is that commercial success for a trade book will almost always depend on the book being stocked by booksellers. If a publisher does not have a distribution system that adequately puts its inventory into the trade market, it is unlikely to sell very many trade books. With regard to houses that claim to be trade publishers, the failure to distribute successfully to the trade is often a tip-off that the publisher derives most of its income from writers as opposed to book purchasers.
Traditionally, it was difficult for writers to assess the quality of the distribution efforts by individual publishers. In some respects, this is still difficult, since many kinds of books, such as textbooks and professional titles, are not distributed through conventional retail channels. Fortunately, for the majority of writers who are looking for trade distribution, the Internet has made it reasonably easy to assess whether a publisher has a serious trade presence. While it has always been feasible to visit local booksellers and see what titles they were stocking, it is impractical for most people to visit bookstores throughout the country and check on their wares. However, retailers’ websites allow customers to check to see if individual titles are stocked in particular stores. This makes it possible to determine how well a publishing house distributes its titles to the conventional booksellers.
When doing Internet research regarding bookseller inventories, it is important to distinguish books that are physically stocked in stores from those that are available through special order. Although a publisher’s website may claim that its books are available for purchase everywhere, books that are mostly available by special order are unlikely to sell well.
A good place to start the evaluation is to look at the websites of the major online booksellers. The major online retailers, such as Amazon and barnesandnoble.com, allow publishers to list their books free of charge. Since books can be listed with very little effort, there is no excuse for a publisher not to list its books or to list them in a substandard manner. A good listing for a book at an online retailer’s site should provide substantive information about the book’s content, size, and format. If a publisher does not list its books on the major websites or does not provide good descriptive information, this is a strong sign that the publisher is not serious about trade distribution.
Another aspect to examine is the shipping time. For example, most books offered through Amazon.com ship within twenty-four hours of an order being placed, but occasionally, the shipping time may be extended to two to three days if the inventory has sold out (a good sign). Shipping times that exceed more than a few days may indicate that the publisher is not set up to do effective trade distribution.
Sales rank also warrants some consideration, although it is not necessarily a determinative factor. However, at least some of the books on the publisher’s list should show a reasonably good sales rank (e.g., top 100,000 on Amazon). Sales ranks below this level indicate that only a small number of copies are sold by the retailer each year and suggest poor trade distribution.
In researching publishers, in addition to the matters discussed above, there are a myriad of other things to consider. There are different kinds of publishers and services to evaluate. Good information about factors to examine when selecting, and dealing with, a publisher can be found online. For example, does a proposed publisher follow a traditional model, not charging for the majority of its services, or is it a hybrid publisher, offering to provide services for a fee? If you enter into a relationship with a publisher, you need to know if you will be charged for editing, design, marketing, and promotion. Will a specific number of copies of your books be printed, or will printing be done only on demand? The larger a print run, the greater a publisher’s interest and commitment to a book, unless of course you will be charged for the run. What about marketing, promotion (including social media), and advertising? What does the publisher promise to do to sell your book? What kind of distribution plan can you expect? Many of these questions can be answered based on information readily available online. Use the Internet as a resource to investigate your options and to help you make the best choices under the circumstances specific to you and your needs.