Moving On
Posted 04-03-2009 at 07:41 PM by shesus
Although this has been a rough week, it has ended well. The news from a mid-week appointment was positive. The other issue is working itself out slowly. I am considering a few options at the moment. At work, the authors never did send the manuscript suggestions, but I was busy checking copyright information for trade books suggested in the Teacher Guides. I never realized how difficult it could be to find out if a book is out of print. I also didn't realize the extent of cool kid's books there are out there even after 8 years of teaching in grades 1-3. My favorite titles were Socrates and the Three Little Pigs (which is out of print) and Sir Cumference and the Knights of the Round Table (actually there is a series featuring Sir Cumference).
Another frustrating thing is that I have been using 2 keyboards for awhile because my Mac iBook had some water spilled on it thanks to my wonderful kittens. About 1/4 of the keys didn't work so I hooked up the desktop keyboard to fill-in missing letters. I love that Mac and didn't want to let it go. I have had it for a little over 4 years. I'm very stubborn, but I knew that I couldn't type on dual-keyboards for long. I also didn't want to spend the money to replace it with another mac. I just couldn't justify it when all I use it for is to type drafts of children's books I'm working on, check a few sites on the Internet, and chat with friends. So, I decided to try out a netbook. So far, I like it. The keyboard is taking a bit to get used to. Of course the band-aid on my middle finger isn't helping much.
I'm glad that it came with Windows XP and not Vista. I'm also excited to have the games again. I missed playing Spider Solitaire and Hearts. I'll have to figure out how to dispose of my little Apple once I get the files I need off of it. I'm going to miss it, but it is time to move on.
Another frustrating thing is that I have been using 2 keyboards for awhile because my Mac iBook had some water spilled on it thanks to my wonderful kittens. About 1/4 of the keys didn't work so I hooked up the desktop keyboard to fill-in missing letters. I love that Mac and didn't want to let it go. I have had it for a little over 4 years. I'm very stubborn, but I knew that I couldn't type on dual-keyboards for long. I also didn't want to spend the money to replace it with another mac. I just couldn't justify it when all I use it for is to type drafts of children's books I'm working on, check a few sites on the Internet, and chat with friends. So, I decided to try out a netbook. So far, I like it. The keyboard is taking a bit to get used to. Of course the band-aid on my middle finger isn't helping much.
I'm glad that it came with Windows XP and not Vista. I'm also excited to have the games again. I missed playing Spider Solitaire and Hearts. I'll have to figure out how to dispose of my little Apple once I get the files I need off of it. I'm going to miss it, but it is time to move on.
Total Comments 4
Comments
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There really aren't very good tools for publishers. There are so many systems out there, a few that many designed in house and lease to other publishers.
Oddly enough, many cannot beat the information that Amazon.com has. I find that distressing because when tasked to create systems for books, that is mostly what I need to try to build in some fashion but do not have anything close to the funds.
So many publishers and editors use Amazon.
re: out of print, it's such a pain in the ass too because usually they don't print enough of the books to begin with. Many books are small print runs. Sometimes, authors and other contributors make it very difficult to negotiate subsequent print runs. I don't know why, because usually by that time, they have earned out their advances and are ready to get paid royalties.
ugh. I can't believe I know this much about the publishing industry....
Posted 04-03-2009 at 08:59 PM by Cynthetiq
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I'm guilty of using Amazon for this purpose. Out of print is becoming less a problem, however, with the increasing accessibility of print-on-demand.
And, Cyn, I don't know about the industry as you see it (U.S. vs. Canada perhaps), but books with small print runs don't typically allow authors to earn out their advances. Maybe this is why it's difficult to negotiate print runs...maybe they want copyright to revert back to them so they can take it elsewhere (a bigger publisher, perhaps). Of course, I'm saying this from the perspective of small-press publishing in Canada, so....
shesus, the two keyboard thing must be annoying. But you can't stay mad at kittens for long, can you?
Posted 04-04-2009 at 06:12 AM by Baraka_Guru 
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I was using Amazon.com for awhile, but then would use Barnes and Noble since they don't have a used option. Then I just started going to actual publisher and author sites. My co-worker said that there is this magical database that has all this information, but for some reason the company hasn't paid for it. I must say the publishing world is intriguing and I'm enjoying being immersed in it.
Baraka_Guru, I can't stay at them mad for this. In fact, currently I'm upset that they broke a glass baking dish and my favorite lamp. But I wouldn't trade them for anything. And I got a new toy out of it.Posted 04-04-2009 at 07:33 AM by shesus
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ahhh BG, I'm thinking of the bigger products in children's pub. but yes, you are correct, many do not ever earn out their advances, which is a net loss for the publisher most of the time.
maybe it is so that they can just revert their rights back. usually we don't ever revert rights back unless we have a written letter even after contract expiration. this makes it a manual process and a nightmare to handle as far as computer systems are concerned.Posted 04-04-2009 at 08:52 AM by Cynthetiq
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