posted
Okay....I didn't think I would need to ask this question this soon, but I am getting another publisher showing some interest in my suddenly appearing flair for flashes (hey I'm as surprised as anybody)
I have 17 stories at the moment that use some of the same main characters......9 lend themselves to a series arch in the "Rhinoplasty" series
I could in theory develop another plot arch with the other 8 flashes tracing "Shoji Takahashi" very easily....the problem is they share some of the same characters and story-line history, though told from the POV of different characters...does anyone know definitively what is both ethically, morally, and legally the way to go here? I could very easily see the other publisher taking the whole second plot arch help!!
[This message has been edited by honu (edited February 10, 2009).]
posted
I always get a kick out of the ...ahem... "Inheritance Cycle" I kid you not that is the name.
Now, anyone who passed Science-Overview in 5th grade can tell you what a cycle is. So... one can only predict that the last book will lead into the first book, and the story will be an infinite loop. Since, that's what cycle means.
[This message has been edited by Zero (edited February 11, 2009).]
posted
"what is both ethically, morally, and legally the way to go here?"
I think it depends primarily on what you've sold the first publisher, and also on what they think they're going to get from the series.
Legal first: If you've just sold publishing rights to stories but you have retained copyright, then legally you can do what you like. If you've sold the copyright to the stories I imagine you can still do what you like. If you've sold the copyright to the characters as well, you'll have to ask permission. But I imagine you've just sold publishing rights.
Presumably, the first publisher thinks that your stories are a draw, so to see other similar stories somewhere else might be disappointing: your series, though slightly different, are no longer unique. And if in some way you've promised them future stories in the same universe, or let them believe that will happen, then you have a dilema. Probably, you haven't.
So ethically, morally and legally, if you've only sold publishing rights to specific stories, I believe you can do as you please.
The question really is, will you and the stories do better with two competing publishers, or just one with whom you develop a close relationship? I thnk there are probably benefits and downsides either way. (Two publishers competing helps you keep them in check but maybe dilutes the product; with just one you're vulnerable if it goes down the pan or if they won't see things your way--but if they have an exclusivity deal with you because the series draws repeat readers, that might be worth a few extra bucks.)
Hope this helps, Pat
[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited February 11, 2009).]
posted
One story is a stand-alone, two stories are a story-and-a-sequel, three or more stories are a series...
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posted
thanks Zero, TaleSpinner, and Robert....I think the answer I was looking for is closer to TaleSpinners...this publisher has bought 3 of my stories of the 9 in the series and is waiting on reader response to publish more...meanwhile the publishing date for num 1 went from february, to maybe march, to maybe april so I am a little frustrated....On the one hand I wish to reward them for taking a chance on a new writer (the credentials of the others that submitted to them are pretty extensive (me=nada)...so to even have my work accepted and encouraged is already a big deal for me...on the other hand while they waffle I could submit the other story arch somewhere else...I don't want to do an end run or make an editor feel ripped off but I also don't want to have my stories sit in my hard drive forever either.....patience I guess is something I need....has anyone had a similar dilema they could share how they dealt with this?
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posted
I have sold around ten stories featuring one character (plus two others set in the same world) to a range of markets. You own the copyright to your creations, not the publisher; all they own is the story. There are areas of publising that work differntly (work-for-hire media tie-ins - game and movie spin-offs - plus comics, to a large extent) but for stories, the author is still creator and owner in the normal scheme of things.
You may PREFER to sell all the stories to a particular market, but it certainly isn't obligatory.
So what you're saying is that - I can write any number of stories, novels, etc using the exact same world and/or characters and it's no problem - it just that specific story that is no longer free to roam under rights?
posted
Correct. Provided you didn't acciodentally sell the copyright, which normally one would not.
However, if the editor is putting useful work into the stories, one might want to favour a good editor who knows the fictional world and its characters, than train a series of editors into understanding. And the one editor might be more minded to work more closely with you as he or she gets to know, trust and admire your work ...
posted
That's strange. I thought three books was a trilogy <big shrug>??? So, wouldn't it stand to reason that you would need at least four to constitute a series?
posted
Well if we want to be really technical a "series" is just a set. So a solo book is a series of 1, two books is a series of 2, three books is a series of 3, etc. 3 books can also be called a trilogy and 4 can be called a tetralogy, etc.
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posted
For me a series is a never-ending sequence of books, sharing the same characters and world, each a story in its own right, and each leaving the door open to sequels. In a series, there is no "last" book.
So LOTR was a trilogy, not a series. The Lensmen books were a set of seven--a septology?--and not a series (although I recall them being sold as such). Harry Potter was also a septology. Asimov's Foundation series, likewise, was a trilogy, not a series.
The Hardy Boys, the Star Trek spinoffs, the 007 yarns, Cussler's Dirk Pitt stories, Nancy Drew, the Boxcar Children--they're all series because they never end. Each story can be read in isolation from the others; there's a weak or non-existent sense of ordering. The characters don't age and there's always potential for another story.
posted
One disagreement. LOTR is NOT a trilogy. It's just one book in three volumes. Try picking up The Two Towers alone and making sense out of it. Just try.
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posted
Actually, the Foundation novels had 6 books, but Asimov considered it among 14 books that developed a "kind of history of the future".
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posted
Actually, the original Foundation "trilogy" were a bunch of separate stories written for Astounding over about eight years in the 1940s, then pasted together into three books, and smoothed out, with one bonus story added at the beginning. I don't know when it was first referred to as a "trilogy," but I suspect it dates from the 1960s, when "The Lord of the Rings" took off and the term had marketability.
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Im not sure about novels, but if you sell a company the publishing rights to a graphic novel, then they own your soul for those characters (for the story arc)
but its probably better that way. could you imagine what would happen if both D.C. AND Marvell put out Superman comics? the world would never be the same again. they can barely keep their stories straight as it is.
another thing to remember is that aside from Manga, all comics are a series because they never end...
posted
Honu, I hear in your second question a more direct publishing/submitting question. If you have submitted all 9 of your stories to Editor 1 and are awaiting news on whether they want to buy them, and the publication's guidelines say no simultaneous submissions, then you're stuck. If, as I think I understand, you've submitted 3 stories to them and they have purchased them but not published them yet (have you been paid? do you have contracts for the sold stories yet? This influences things quite a bit...) then you are under no obligation to sell the rest of your stories to them.
In my experience, unless you're a big name or the publication is a daily or weekly, publications rarely want to feature the same author time and again - they'd rather give their readers variety. My experience is limited, but it seems to me like you have been lucky to sell three stories to the same publication, and unless you've committed to them to sell the rest (and have a contract in hand to support that) then you should feel free (and encouraged) to submit your other stories to different markets.
Unless of course Editor 1 pays better than any other market you could submit your stories to (maximize your $, in my opinion.)
If you sell your stories elsewhere and Editor 1 still really loves them and wants to publish them in the future, eventually you can re-sell the stories to him/her once the rights you sell to the other publication expire (typically publications buy a limited term license for 6 months to a year. Many Hatrackers have experience reselling stories, ask in a separate thread if you want to get the maximum input on this as they might miss it in this thread.)
Best wishes to you. Either way, this is one of those "good problems to have."
quote:I always get a kick out of the ...ahem... "Inheritance Cycle" I kid you not that is the name.
Now, anyone who passed Science-Overview in 5th grade can tell you what a cycle is. So... one can only predict that the last book will lead into the first book, and the story will be an infinite loop. Since, that's what cycle means.
Actually, here's one of the definitions in the American Heritage Dictionary:
a. The aggregate of traditional poems or stories organized around a central theme or hero: the Arthurian cycle. b. A series of poems or songs on the same theme: Schubert's song cycles.
So this is a correct (and venerable) usage, although it departs from the most common meaning of the word
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help!!
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