An Author's Opinion of the Harry Potter Lexicon by Matthew Peterson

An author's writing is often their baby, and with any baby, you want to protect it. Most authors today would welcome fans creating lexicons, websites, and fanfiction of their work. That's because most authors have very small audiences and would love any free promotion they could get. However, popular authors, like J.K. Rowling, have more at stake when a fan pushes the envelope.

For those of you out of the loop, Steve Vander Ark, a 50 year-old former librarian from Michigan, created an online Harry Potter lexicon, which everyone could view freely. That didn't seem to stir the pot too much until he agreed with RDR Books to print the lexicon and sell it to the public. J.K. Rowling got wind of this and is taking the issue to court in New York. She feels that Vander Ark's lexicon has little value to Harry Potter fans and that it infringes on copyright laws. RDR Books claims that they are protected under the fair use laws.

As a new author, I initially felt that J.K. Rowling was making too much of a fuss about this. RDR Books was only going to do a first print run of 1500. That would hardly make a dent in Rowling's fanbase or in her pocketbook. Heck, I gave away more than 1500 copies of my new fantasy novel, Paraworld Zero, for free! And if the lexicon truly was substandard, wouldn't that just boost sales for the official Harry Potter encyclopedia that Rowling plans to write? So the issue must run deeper than money. The issue at hand is the plagiarism and mishandling of Rowling's "baby."

Rowling's complaint that the lexicon is poorly written does not warrant a lawsuit in my mind, but her argument that the lexicon is mostly filled with quotes from her books and has little original content does raise a red flag. The American fair use laws do allow for quotations of copyrighted material without permission, but Vander Ark might have overstepped his bounds. The courts will decide on that. In the final analysis, the lexicon will not hurt book sales of Harry Potter. It will not demean Harry Potter nor will it take away any significant amount of money from Rowling. In fact, the lawsuit and media coverage will probably increase the sales of Rowling's official encyclopedia when it comes out. So, again, that leaves the sentimental and legal issues of having someone else play with your work.

How would I feel if someone wrote a lexicon about my Parallel Worlds series? At this point in the game, I'd feel flattered. Ask me this question again in fifteen years when my "baby" has matured into a teenager, and I might give you a different answer. Authors, as well as parents, can be very protective of their children.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matthew Peterson is an award-winning short story writer, second degree black belt in karate, Eagle scout, computer programmer, and former missionary. He lives in Arizona with his wife, five boys and their giant African tortoise. Matthew's debut young adult novel, Paraworld Zero (ISBN # 978-1-59092-491-4), hit the BarnesAndNoble.com bestseller list and garnered many favorable reviews. Reviewers say it's a "Harry Potter meets Star Wars." Website: http://paraworlds.com/media/

Viral Video Contest for New Teen Novel Audrey, Wait!

Votigo, Inc. has partnered with Penguin Young Readers Group to enable readers of the new teen novel, Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway (Razorbill Books), to merge their print reading experiences with online social media. Penguin and Votigo have created an online video contest that allows readers to put the book's premise to music and broadcast it to their friends.

In the novel, Audrey's self-involved musician ex-boyfriend writes "Audrey, Wait!", a breakup song about her that he records with his band. The song becomes a success and Audrey is stalked by the tabloids and paparazzi, making her daily life a mess. In the contest, readers are encouraged to take the lyrics to the song "Audrey, Wait" and make music videos of their versions of the song at www.votigo.com/audreywait. Teens can share their favorite entries with friends across their social networks using Votigo's viral widgets, as well as vote on the video they like best.

Votigo developed the "Audrey, Wait!" Video Contest on its social media platform, which is designed to enable businesses and organizations to communicate with consumers through highly customized contests, promotions, and branded social networks. Features include a pre-screen entry moderation tool to ensure brand safety and quality, as well as fraud-free voting, commenting, and viral sharing tools. For the Audrey, Wait! Video Contest, Votigo developed a landing page that utilizes the book's cover art to maintain its look and feel across mediums.

The novel Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway, published by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, is available on April 10, wherever books are sold. Contest entries will be accepted at www.votigo.com/audreywait until June 10, 2008 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time. The $1,000 American Express Gift Card grand prize winner will be announced on or about August 10, 2008.

Unique Publishing Internship Breaks the Mold

An avid reader and book lover for most of his life, Patrick Tucker (Trinity College, '08) always wanted to get an insider's glimpse of the publishing industry. He just never imagined it would happen through an author's eyes, and in such an unusual (and horrifying) way.

Tucker is the first to enroll in a unique internship program co-sponsored by author Nate Kenyon and Dorchester Publishing, the oldest independent mass-market publisher in the US. It is believed to be the first such program where the intern is paired directly with the author, rather than the publisher, to work on the marketing and launch of a genre novel. Kenyon's first horror novel, Bloodstone, a Bram Stoker Award Finalist in hardcover, will be released in paperback by Dorchester imprint Leisure Books in May.

"The idea came when I started thinking about what I would have really loved to do, when I was in college," Kenyon, who is based in Boston, said. "There are opportunities to work at publishing houses and experience the process from that perspective. But what seemed far more interesting to me was the process from the writer's point of view, from acceptance to editing to the packaging and marketing of their novel."

The traditional model of a writer delivering a manuscript, then sitting back and watching the publisher package and sell it, is changing, Kenyon said. Publishers now expect authors to be much more involved on the marketing end, and author involvement is often vital to a book's success in the marketplace. The timing seemed right for the idea, and Kenyon was a good one to help launch it, with his own extensive marketing and communications background. When he approached Dorchester, they immediately saw the possibilities.

"We loved it," said Dorchester publicist Erin Galloway. "We always encourage our authors to get involved with publicity, and we are contacted pretty frequently by students looking for more experience in the publishing world, but we can't accommodate them all. This seemed like a great way to offer something pretty unique."

But there were challenges to the new internship from the beginning. One of them was that there would be no real office space for the intern to go to during the day. Kenyon and Tucker keep in close contact by email and phone, trading ideas daily.

"We're swiftly becoming a real team," Kenyon said. "It's great."

As for Tucker, he is impressed by the one-on-one experience he's getting with a writer, something not found in most traditionally structured internship programs. So far, he has come up with a survey on the reading habits of young adults, which he has distributed to classmates and online, and he's getting some interesting results that will help shape their approach. He's started working on a S.W.O.T. analysis, and he and Kenyon have fine-tuned the marketing plan for the novel together. As the book launch date approaches, he will be involved in helping to schedule events and will go to New York to meet with Dorchester executives in their offices.

"I love how the internship is constantly making me think about the broad scope of marketing while learning the fundamental skills as well," Tucker says. "There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes in this business, and I feel like I have a backstage pass to where the action is."

Websites:
Nate Kenyon's website: http://www.natekenyon.com/

Dorchester Publishing website: http://www.dorchesterpub.com/

Blurb GroupBook Lets Facebook Users Create Books Together

Blurb, the creative book publishing service, has launched Blurb GroupBook, an application for Facebook that lets users make real books collectively. Blurb introduced community bookmaking last year to empower socially connected groups of consumers and professionals to create Blurb books together. GroupBook is the next step in the evolution of this concept. The Facebook community can now easily make Blurb books that capture and reinforce their shared experiences and passions, and help bridge their online and offline communities. With over 68MM active users, Facebook is the fifth most trafficked Web site in the world, and the number one photo sharing application on the Web.

As people share content in online communities like Facebook and Flickr, there is a growing need to take this content and create something tangible. Some content should live online, but other content is meant for people to keep, and its value is as much about "later" as it is about now. Books that memorialize shared experiences create a different impact and meaning than the same content viewed online.

Blurb, the creative book publishing service, today launched Blurb GroupBook, an application for Facebook that lets users make real books collectively. Blurb introduced community bookmaking last year to empower socially connected groups of consumers and professionals to create Blurb books together. GroupBook is the next step in the evolution of this concept. The Facebook community can now easily make Blurb books that capture and reinforce their shared experiences and passions, and help bridge their online and offline communities. With over 68MM active users, Facebook is the fifth most trafficked Web site in the world, and the number one photo sharing application on the Web.

As people share content in online communities like Facebook and Flickr, there is a growing need to take this content and create something tangible. Some content should live online, but other content is meant for people to keep, and its value is as much about "later" as it is about now. Books that memorialize shared experiences create a different impact and meaning than the same content viewed online.

Here's how Blurb GroupBook works:

-- Install Blurb GroupBook from the Facebook Applications Directory (http://apps.facebook.com/blurbgb).

-- Initiate a GroupBook project. (Whoever starts the project becomes the book's producer).

-- Use the Facebook platform to invite friends to contribute photos to the project. Once friends accept the invitation, they can easily upload photos, view other contributed photos, and make comments. (Content is stored as a free, hosted, private book project on Blurb's Web site).

-- Review the photos and choose which ones to include in the book.

-- When ready, slurp selected photos into Blurb BookSmart(TM) and get to work creating a book.

When users finish a Blurb GroupBook, they can announce it to their Facebook friends in all the normal ways -- via their newsfeed, on the wall, by posting to their profile, etc. Blurb also provides book badges that link a Facebook profile to a Blurb book in the company's online bookstore.

Website: http://www.blurb.com/

The Bible is America's Favorite Book Followed by Gone with the Wind

When it comes to reading, we know what genre Americans are reading (see Harris Poll #37, April 7, 2008), but what is Americans' favorite book? Across all demographic groups the number one book is The Bible. Behind The Bible, the Civil War is still being fought as Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind comes in second. Fantasy and a bit of fear round out the top five favorite books of all time: in at number 3 is J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series and number 4 is that other fantasy series, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books. In fifth is one of the masters of scary books - Stephen King and The Stand.

These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,513 U.S. adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive between March 11 and 18, 2008.

The next five start off with Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, followed by To Kill a Mockingbird. Number 7 is another Dan Brown novel, the Robert Langdon prequel Angels and Demons, followed by Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged at number nine. Finishing off the top ten favorite books is J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye.

The Second Favorite Book among Different Groups

While The Bible is number one among each of the different demographic groups, there is a large difference in the number two favorite book. For men, that belongs to Lord of the Rings while women cite Gone with the Wind as their number two. There is also a generational divide. For Echo Boomers (those aged 18-31) their second favorite is the Harry Potter series while Generation X (those aged 32-43) is split between The Stand and Angels and Demons. Baby Boomers (those aged 44-62) and Matures (those aged 63 and older) think alike and both cite Gone with the Wind.

While it's not surprising that Gone with the Wind is the second favorite book in the South, it's also number two in the Midwest. Easterners are more partial to the Lord of the Rings series and Westerners cite The Stand as their second favorite book. Whites and Hispanics also say Gone with the Wind is their second favorite while African Americans say it is Angels and Demons. Educational levels have the largest differences. Those with high school or less education cite Gone with the Wind as their second favorite book of all time while Americans with some college education say it is The Stand. College graduates go to Lord of the Rings and those with a post graduate education are tied as both Lord of the Rings and To Kill a Mockingbird come in number two for them.

Finally, they may not agree on candidates, but one thing that brings together partisans is their favorite book. For Republicans, Democrats and Independents, the top two books are the same – The Bible followed by Gone with the Wind.




Source: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/

Self-Published, First Time Author a Finalist for the Leacock Medal for Humour

First-time author Terry Fallis managed the impossible. Unable to interest a publisher for his satirical novel of Canadian politics, The Best Laid Plans, he published it himself through iUniverse and made it available as a free podcast. His solo efforts paid off when The Best Laid Plans was named a finalist for one of Canada's most prestigious literary awards, The Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. The other distinguished finalists are Douglas Coupland for The Gum Thief, Will Ferguson for Spanish Fly, Scott Gardiner for King John, and Ron Wood for And God Created Manyberries.

"My feet haven't yet touched back down to earth since the announcement of the Leacock Medal shortlist," commented author Terry Fallis. "To be mentioned in the same sentence with writers like Douglas Coupland and Will Ferguson, is surreal and humbling at the same time."

Breaking through in the publishing world is as difficult today as it has ever been. Now, thanks to the Internet and iUniverse, and other print-on-demand publishers that make books available for anyone who wants to order a copy, Fallis wasn't shut out. The book has sold 500 copies and had more than 1500 podcast listeners around the world.

Fallis started by podcasting his novel one chapter at a time at http://www.terryfallis.com/, iTunes, and http://www.podiobooks.com/. To date, the free podcast version has gathered more than 1500 listeners from all over the world. The Best Laid Plans climbed up the iTunes charts and broke into the top 25 Arts and Literature podcasts. Even though the last episode was posted back in May 2007, every day new listeners are still discovering the podcast, driving word-of-mouth interest.

Fallis also blogs about his publishing journey at http://www.terryfallis.com/ and uses Facebook to keep his readers and listeners up to date. The response from the community has been very gratifying. In fact, readers have started posting Facebook photos of The Best Laid Plans shot where ever they happen to be in the world ranging from Melbourne, Hanoi, Dallas, Singapore, Boston, Ottawa and Kingston.

The podcast attracted Radioropa, Europe's leading satellite radio network, which aired the 20 episode podcast in a primetime evening slot on their English language service.

The Best Laid Plans tells the story of a young, Ottawa speech writer trying to escape the seamy world of federal politics. Despite best efforts to fail, he succeeds in helping a cantankerous but honest engineering professor, win an election against Canada's most popular politician. Scandal and politics come together in this hilarious take on the state of our democracy.

In the wake of the Leacock shortlist announcement, Fallis has rekindled his search for a mainstream publisher for The Best Laid Plans with the assistance of literary agent Beverley Slopen.

The Leacock winner will be announced on April 30th in Orillia, Ontario, the hometown of Canada's most-loved humourist, Stephen Leacock.

HarperCollins' New Imprint Will Harm Entire Industry

HarperCollins' new imprint will offer low or no advances to authors and won't accept returns from booksellers. Laine Cunningham, a publishing consultant for fifteen years, applauds the company for attacking the biggest problem in the industry today. But the damage to authors, she says, will cause publishers to suffer, as well. Cunningham recommends that authors use the FSA Rule when considering contract offers.

"Self-publishing by any other name," says Laine Cunningham, President of Writer's Resource, "is still self-publishing."

Cunningham is referring to HarperCollins' announcement last week that its new imprint will eliminate advances for authors and won't accept returns. With fifteen years of experience to draw on, she thinks offering a 50-50 profit split rather than paying authors up front will harm the entire publishing industry.

"That's only a step above the old vanity press system," she says. "Plenty of printers and hybrids that call themselves publishers already operate under this model." These profit-sharing publishers are widely considered to be the worst option for self-publishers because they offer so little in return for so large a chunk of the profits. When the model is applied to traditional publishing, the potential for damage grows.

"Authors these days from the mid-list down use part or all of their advances to market their books," Cunningham says. "A high profit split on top of zero advance means they'll have to sell twice as many copies to achieve the same reach. If they have no money in the kitty from an advance, the book sinks without a trace."

And that, Cunningham says, will hurt the entire industry. Readers faced with even fewer choices from a shrinking pool of authors will turn to other forms of entertainment. Authors who know they won't be supported will turn more often to the traditional self-publishing model where they might bear all the risk but they also reap all the benefits.

Rich Ehisen, a regular contributor to Comstock's business magazine, sees that starting to happen already. "At what point," he says, "do authors say the heck with chasing the big publishers and just do it ourselves anyway?"

Not all of HarperCollins' plans are detrimental. "Returns," Cunningham says, "have got to be the worst idea in sales and marketing ever. Everyone thinks book sales will plummet if stores can't return unsold copies. But no other product in the world is sold that way."

She compares the process to women's clothes. Multiple pairs of a single style of jeans are stocked in petite, average and long lengths. Stores buy dozens of pairs knowing that not all will sell for retail. "Guess what?" Cunningham says. "No one's refusing to stock Levi's because the company won't take returns. And you don't see the company eliminating entire lines or only manufacturing the most popular sizes."

Cunningham applauds HarperCollins for making a bold move against one of the industry's most antiquated procedures. Edmund Schubert, Editor of Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show magazine, disagrees about remainders but is also critical of the loss of advances.

"The idea of a book being non-returnable is monumentally stupid," Schubert says. "It's so engrained in the business that no bookstore will order a book it can't return. So a 50-50 split on a book no one will order sounds even less attractive" on top of the missing advance.

Cunningham points out other flaws in the arrangement. Authors have always struggled with royalty statements because the percentages are calculated based on profits rather than retail price. An individual has no way to determine if a publisher's expenses are apportioned appropriately to his or her book. The 50-50 split on profits therefore looks even worse.

"HarperCollins is trying to make some big changes in an industry that does need to be updated," Cunningham says. "But if you have trouble reaching the market, you don't starve the horse thinking that's going to fix the wagon."

For authors considering any type of publishing deal, Cunningham offers the FSA Rule. She developed this rule over fifteen years of helping authors improve their work and approach agents and publishers. By considering three primary concepts, authors can judge whether a deal will work. The concepts to consider are:

-- Is it Fair? The contract must be fair to both sides. The publisher deserves to make money in return for its time, effort and investment. So does the author.

-- Is it Sound? The deal should make good business sense. Both the publisher and the author should be clear on what each will do to create sales.

-- Is it Acceptable? Although this isn't a quantifiable measure, it is as important as the first two. The author must be satisfied with the deal over the long run. Dissatisfaction can eliminate the potential for future deals with the same company.

Source:
Laine Cunningham, http://www.writersresource.us/