The First ProjectKeanu.com Audio Commentary by author Neale Sourna (play along with your DVD): AWalkInTheClouds--1995.mp3
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Legal Battles Over E-Book Rights to Older Books
Legal Battles Over E-Book Rights to Older Books
By MOTOKO RICHWilliam Styron may have been one of the leading literary lions of recent decades, but his books are not selling much these days. Now his family has a plan to lure digital-age readers with e-book versions of titles like “Sophie’s Choice,” “The Confessions of Nat Turner” and Mr. Styron’s memoir of depression, “Darkness Visible.”
But the question of exactly who owns the electronic rights to such older titles is in dispute, making it a rising source of conflict in one of the publishing industry’s last remaining areas of growth.
Mr. Styron’s family believes it retains the rights, since the books were first published before e-books existed. Random House, Mr. Styron’s longtime publisher, says it owns those rights, and it is determined to secure its place — and continuing profits — in the Kindle era.
The discussions about the digital fate of Mr. Styron’s work are similar to the negotiations playing out across the book industry as publishers hustle to capture the rights to release e-book versions of so-called backlist books. Indeed, the same new e-book venture Mr. Styron’s family hopes to use has run into similar resistance from the print publisher of “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller.
On Friday, Markus Dohle, chief executive of Random House, sent a letter to dozens of literary agents, writing that the company’s older agreements gave it “the exclusive right to publish in electronic book publishing formats.”
Backlist titles, which continue to be reprinted long after their initial release, are crucial to publishing houses because of their promise of lucrative revenue year after year. But authors and agents are particularly concerned that traditional publishers are not offering sufficient royalties on e-book editions, which they point out are cheaper for publishers to produce. Some are considering taking their digital rights elsewhere, which could deal a financial blow to the hobbled publishing industry.
The tussle over who owns the electronic rights — and how much the authors should earn in digital royalties — potentially puts into play works by authors like Ralph Ellison and John Updike.
Some publishers have already made agreements with authors or their estates to release digital editions. All of Ernest Hemingway’s books, for example, are available in electronic versions from his print publisher, Scribner, a unit of Simon & Schuster.
But with only a small fraction of the thousands of books in print available in e-book form, there are many titles to be fought over.
“This is a wide open frontier.....[more at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/business/media/13ebooks.html#]A version of this article appeared in print on December 13, 2009, on page A1 of the New York edition.
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And people ask why I publish my own works. Yes, it's work and like a voice crying in the wilderness all alone; but, it's my voice. And autonomy and independence and knowing my titles aren't ignored or pulled out of rotation for no apparent reason except boredom in waiting for the BIG NUMBERS by "my publisher" for a huge, star customer other than myself--I'm my own star!--is worth the sleep at night.--Neale Sourna
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Visualize Where You Are Going: Think Big
Visualize Where You Are Going: Think Big |  | ||
| By Harrison Barnes | | |
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A famous book quoted in The Secret is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Anthony Robbins and many other motivational gurus often talk about these same topics and inspirational ideas. There is a lot to be said about clearly visualizing where you are going. You have to know where you want your life to go and set high goals to get there. When I was in my mid-20s I lived in Hollywood, and for a time I would pal around with some people who were really interested in being actors. After I had spent several months in the Hollywood scene, I began to notice that everyone who was interested in show business talked a big game; they always seemed to be talking about where they were going to be in a few years. Moreover, most of these people could tell you every last detail about their favorite actors and movies. In many cases, these wannabe actors and actresses littered their apartments with pictures of their idols and of the movies they liked. Every social move they made was always geared towards getting to know people in the business. At night most of these people were only interested in going to places and seeing people who could potentially further their acting careers. They all seemed to have this common underlying belief that they needed to bring their efforts to a fever pitch in order to succeed in Hollywood. They needed to eat, breathe, think, and do everything within their power at all times in order to accelerate their careers. In at least two cases I know of, these people became very famous. At least once a week, I see them gracing a magazine cover or on television. Looking back, I know that what made these people so successful, ultimately, was a burning desire to achieve their dreams of being what they wanted to be. While not everywhere is like Hollywood, your career is something that needs to be treated with a massive amount of passion and a burning desire to succeed. In order to succeed, you need to visualize where your career is going and keep a fire burning within you. The further you visualize your career going, the more success you are likely to have. I have noticed some things that really do seem to work when visualizing yourself succeeding. The first is surrounding yourself with people who are likely to assist you in reaching your goals. For example, the actors I knew spent their time with other actors. I am sure this was not only due to what they shared in common, but also so they could share information about job opportunities. Furthermore, the actors also made sure that they structured their social lives around meeting people who could assist them in reaching their goals. They also surrounded themselves with pictures, posters, and other paraphernalia in their homes that helped them visualize their successes. While not everyone wants a job in television or in movies, we all want to be someone and to achieve a successful career somewhere. Perhaps we are seeking a job with a major corporation, or a position in the medical profession, or in any other number of fields of interest. Regardless of the type of job you are seeking, the career advice is the same, I encourage you to aim high, you need to make sure you visualize the outcome of your search in order to become what you are seeking. It is hard to state how to “become what you are seeking” and “visualize who you want to be” without describing in brief what happens in a typical job interview. If you are interviewing candidates for a blue-collar position, they are likely to show up to the interview dressed in a fairly average sort of attire. They may be wearing jeans and will most likely look like a blue-collar worker. They will look and act the part that the job requires in most cases. If you are interviewing someone for an executive position, on the other hand, that person will likely show up wearing a suit. They, too, will look the part. Study the sorts of people you want to become and the sorts of jobs you are interested in having. You need to look the part and eat, breathe, and act like the sort of person you are interested in becoming. Understanding who you want to become and studying those above you will help you rise to new levels in your career and life. I want to bring up an important final point, one that needs to be clearly understood: It is not easy to rise up when those around you are not also rising. I have seen this happen countless times. If you are truly trying to better yourself, your career and your life, you need to ensure that you do not let others hold you back. This is crucial. You need to have the power to really become the person you want to be, and this needs to come from inside, without any external distractions. A few years ago, I ran into one of my old actor friends who had not made it in Hollywood. The people he knew and once ran with who became famous no longer associated with him or any of the others who had not become famous. They had fallen out of touch, which is a nice way of saying that the people who had become famous had simply moved on. I noticed that my old friend who had not found fame had somehow become much more negative than I remembered him being. He now spoke negatively about others and about Hollywood in general. He no longer had that spark and enthusiasm that could have made him a successful actor. I knew that no one of major success would probably want to spend time with this person. His outlook and his overall attitude had taken a turn for the worse, which unfortunately could only beget more negativity and despair. You must try to avoid feeling down or turning negative, even in the face of adversity or missed opportunities. Hold on to your dreams and stay positive. When it comes to your career, do everything in your power to ensure that you do not give up on your dreams. Continue to focus on what you want to become until you become it. Related posts:  To your success,  Harrison Barnes | | |
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