Few university faculty realize when they submit a paper for publication they are giving away their right to their Copyright.
Faculty
members will submit research papers to the repository often unaware
that they have signed away the rights to their work to a journal
publisher, Ms. Davis said. “They are stunned that they have not
retained the copyrights,” she said. “They’re vehemently adamant” that
they still have rights to the work.
When people make mistakes, there is a certain art in “making it up” to those that were wronged.
The easiest way to do this is to “shove something their way” like a gift or money or something else that will not just make them whole again, but add a special pizzazz to the experience that makes forgiveness in the face of an oversight easier to take.
The problem with “making it up to you” is that people under 40 do not comprehend the concept. They believe a simple “Oopsy!” is enough of an emollient to sooth the hurt feelings and the betrayal.
How can you get the under 40 crowd to learn how to shove? You can’t. They don’t have it in them because they were raised in a generation where they are precious and can do no wrong.
The hard lesson is you cannot push a shove because it cannot be taught or requested: A shove must be a part of the person from the start and that is why “making it up to you” is a dying art.
In my article — Writing Advice for Authors — I implore all authors to demand, and get, Copyright in their name from their publishers.
Agents and publishers will tell you Copyright in your name doesn’t matter — yet many publishers will fight you to the death to keep the Copyright in their name and not yours.
Why do publishers demand to own your Copyright when you do the writing?
Why do authors allow publishers to own their Copyright?
On my Urban Semiotic blog we are trying to reach the historic and substantial goal of ONE MILLION READERS by January 1, 2008.
It’s pretty amazing we currently have around 863,000 Urban Semiotic readers in a little more than a year of being hosted on WordPress.com.
Please visit Urban Semiotic to help us reach our readership goal for the New Year so we can watch the numbers turn together!
We thank you!
We appreciate your keen support!
It’s always disappointing when a writer has their work censored by an editor. One should always be wary of publishers that value editors more than authors.
How do you handle the wants and desires of an editor with an obvious internal agenda who wishes to wound and harm the project with false self-elevation, political correctitude and sanctimonious righteousness?
Having a good relationship with an editor is important for writers, but before you can get to that personal interaction you, as a professional author, must first choose the right publishing house. Your publisher is the entity that will actually produce and negotiate your writer’s contract and also birth your book into the world.
Dear Go Inside Magazine Reader —
It’s been a year since we last sat down and talked about the purpose and direction of this magazine. In my last note to you in The January Epistle, I told your our hopes and dreams for 1997. I’m pleased to report that they all came true!
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