Not Up to Me

Published September 30, 2017 by swankivy

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Oh man! I love that some people are so giving when it comes to getting involved with a book they like or support. It’s so encouraging sometimes when people want to request copies of the book for an event or want to do something to help spread its message. There are so many well-meaning people out there.

But . . . authors of mainstream-published books are not able to make these decisions, nor do they have the right to do stuff like authorize third parties to create translations or accept alternate cover art. Yes, even if you’re doing it for free. When it comes to adapting my intellectual property in the case of translations, that’s actually against the law because my publisher has the right to make those arrangements.

One of the things that surprised me most about getting published was how many readers think I’m directly involved with the marketing or distribution of the book. They’ll contact me to ask what happened to their order, or ask me to get their local bookstore/library to carry it, or ask me to change the price. When you get published, part of what you get paid for is selling certain rights. This is why authors don’t have control over certain marketing decisions. My publisher owns those rights.

One thing I can do, though . . . is sign your copy. Heh.

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