So I'm finally in my last stretch of finishing the minimum 80,000 words story to pitch to Tapas. But, now I'm getting cold feet. I wouldn't say my grammar is horrendous by all means, but it's not perfect...
For anyone who pitched to Tapas - do you know if they give a bit more weight to story/plot/character verses technical writing. I know both are important but.... I guess this is just my anxiety speaking. LOL.
Apr '21
Apr '21
I've only ever received flat rejection without anything more than a "not right for us" answer, but I would hope that if they read your work and see the story behind any errors, they would accept you.
When you become a premium author they assign you an editor anyway, so, you'd have help addressing your grammar concerns.
Thank you for the response! Aw, I hope they give me more than a flat rejection. At least some morsel of a reason for their rejection would be enough for me. Haha
They're not going to be mean or anything. Probably just blunt. I got a lot of rejections when I was trying to pitch a cute short story to magazines. (I'm keeping it in reserve now, to adapt as a comic the next time WEBTOON decide to run a short story contest.) All of those rejections simply said something along the lines of "Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately, your story does not meet the needs of our publication."
That said, a warning; if Tapas DO accept your pitch, the contract they have you sign gives them 50% ownership of your IP. In practice, because they're the ones with the power and money, that's more like 100%. It's the same thing Tokyopop did to their creators, which ended in disaster. Look into it, and only sign with Tapas if you're completely comfortable relinquishing your copyright.
I'm going to assume that pitching to tapas is the same as pitching it to any other publisher - that is to say, the more polished your work is, the better. I've ever pitched one manuscript though (and withdrew my submission because I decided the draft wasn't good enough before I could get an answer), but a friend of mine who's currently pitching to publishers had hers professionally edited before she even showed it to agents. You WILL get assigned an editor who will make a lot of suggestions for changes, but that doesn't mean they want to see work that you don't think is polished and complete. You're submitting the best you think you can do, not a draft. At least, that's what I've been told.
It's an old habit of mine from working with the Audio drama company but nothing of mine leaves my desk until I have the firm government copyright number on it. The reason is very simple, It is proof positive your work is yours and you don't' have to jump through any legal hoops that people with $$$ can undermine.
In copyright cases you have to prove something is yours. You can say that you have the first date it showed up on a site but we all know how things can get (and it will get worse) manipulated. Arguing with a government issues copyright number saves you time and $$. and it only costs $60.00 for that.
50% of your copyright also gives them the ability to kill a deal if you are tapped by someone to take your work further. My Dead Souls Doing the Samba was optioned for a screenplay before I put it up on Tapas. It's just here now to maybe get some more readership.
My copyrights are registered in my name and in my beneficiary's name so he won't have to fight anyone for them should something happen to me.
I should definitely look into that with my comics. I'm not sure how applying for an actual copyright number works in Australia, but your point about short-circuiting potential legal squabbles with one is really compelling.
I would assume it's not that hard and you have an online ability to do it. Here in the states all you do is upload your file. I once sent them the wrong file (it was incomplete) and I got a message back from the copyright office asking about it... which means someone at least flipped through it. They also allow for a very small percentage change as they're aware that authors polish work.
I figure the $60 paid here solves any arguments. I also have my attorney who is an entertainment/contract attorney. I joke with friends that I don't take a pee that I don't consult him first. There are things I don't bother him with, like signing on with Tapas in the first place but I also know this is only a step of where I'm going and when I've fulfilled what I wanted to do I'll move on.
I've found the site you were talking about, I think it's this one?
https://www.copyright.gov/registration/2
My dumb ass is confused about it. If I own the copyright, can I still sell publishing rights? If I self-publish, then I own the copyright and the publishing right?
You can sell the "right" for someone else to publish but you still own the work itself and that gives you the ability to negotiate a satisfactory contract (please get a qualified attorney to do that). I sold the non-exclusive audio drama rights to my Five Levels of Fear audio drama script to an audio drama company for them to produce an audio drama but I did not sell the copyright (ownership of the piece). I got paid a flat fee (agreed to in the contract) rather than residuals. Anything they make off of the sale of the audio drama is their's.
A romance writer friend of mine just got her exclusive publishing rights back from her publisher on her series of novels and how she's self-publishing and all sales are hers. She has an established reputation so there is not much of a problem there with sales.
think of it like renting. For a price you are renting out your manuscript to someone to publish more copies and sell them and then pay you a percentage of their sales.
I sold the screenplay rights to Dead Souls Doing the Samba (here on Tapas) but I did NOT sell the audio drama rights, performance rights, or audio book rights or even publishing rights. I could make a seperate "sale of rights" on every one of those and still own the copyright, i.e. intellectual property.
Is it making any sense?
Yes it is all coming together. I need to get an attorney. taking notes yes, yes it all makes sense.
Like everything in life, I bet this is easier with an attorney!
An attorney is always the best idea. Make sure it is a copyright/contract guy or entertainment attorney. the best place to ask about them is if you have an arts organization in your city or state that can recommend one.
My own attorney is an entertainment attorney plus a tax attorney. He is licensed to practice law in the State of Washington. Not knowing where you're located I can't recommend him for outside of Washington, although I know he's good about people contacting him and letting them know what, or if, he can do anything for them.
Most attorneys will have a preliminary meeting with you to find out what you need and want and how they can help you where they will tell you what their rates are, how they bill etc. (please note, I'm operating under the assumption that you're one of the younger members here who has not worked with an attorney before. If you have I apologize profusely, but I don't want to assume you have worked with one before and not relay information you might need.)
Again operating on the assumption you haven't worked with an attorney before the more organized you are the shorter your time with them and therefore the lighter the bill. Tax deductions have changed over the years so I'm not sure how much of an attorneys fees are deductible anymore (if you file a schedule C for your taxes... assuming you're here in the States).
and you're right, this all is a LOT easier with an attorney not only to do the work but to consult with and give you the information you need to make an informed decision.
One thing everyone needs to know about contracts...
The onus is on the person signing it to understand it, completely. Unless you have an attorney to work it, it is you and you alone who has to understand what you are signing. In a court of law or during an arbitration you will be asked: did you understand the contract when you signed it? If you didn't you're not going to get a chance to do a do-over. It's totally your responsibility. That's why it's good to have a good attorney who has your best interests in mind. Attorneys prefer long-term customers so make sure you get a good one.
