A Writer's Life

I'm Waiting for the remake of Barnaby Jones

TVSquad reports the surprising news that CBS is developing a remake of the Quinn Martin series THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO, which starred Karl Malden and Michael Douglas as two SFPD detectives. Screenwriters Sheldon Turner and Robert Port are writing the script and Simon West is attached to direct if it goes to pilot. Can CANNON and BARNABY JONES be far behind?

Tempest in an A Cup

Over the last two days, I've received hundreds of hits on a four year old post about Disney giving Keira Knightly bigger boobs in the KING ARTHUR publicity stills and poster art. So why the renewed attention? It turns out that Knightly has refused to let another studio do the same thing for her new film DUCHESS:

"Keira Knightly is essentially giving young women permission to stand up in their communities and their schools and their families and say, 'Look, this is the way I look and it is OK," said "Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters" author Courtney Martin.

The 23-year-old's chest has been the subjected to scrutiny before. In promotions for "King Arthur" in 2004, the actress' A-cup was morphed into a C-cup on posters. At the time Knightly admitted, "those things weren't really mine," though she still went along with the publicity campaign. "I think that's incredibly brave and could have a huge impact on young women," Martin said of Knightly's decision.

TV Main Title of the Week

The "Affaire" of Unethical Conduct in our "Romantic Times"

I've been engaged in a discussion on the Writer Beware blog about the egregious ethical lapses committed by Affaire de Coeur magazine in their editorial coverage (running cover stories and reviews about books published by their advertising director, requiring some publishers and authors to buy advertising in exchange for reviews, etc.). I thought it might be helpful to share the portion of the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics that applies to the relationship between editorial and advertising content:

Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public's right to know. Journalists should:

— Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.
— Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.
— Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment, and shun secondary employment, political involvement, public office and service in community organizations if they compromise journalistic integrity.
— Disclose unavoidable conflicts.
— Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable.
— Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage.
— Be wary of sources offering information for favors or money; avoid bidding for news.

The SPJ Code of Ethics is voluntarily embraced by thousands of writers, editors and other news professionals. The present version of the code was adopted by the 1996 SPJ National Convention, after months of study and debate among the Society's members.
Sigma Delta Chi's first Code of Ethics was borrowed from the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1926. In 1973, Sigma Delta Chi wrote its own code, which was revised in 1984, 1987 and 1996.

Most newspapers and magazines have adopted similar guidelines. For example, here are the guidelines for publications produced by the Mystery Writers of America (I should disclose that I was on the committee that drafted these guidelines):

For Articles, columns, interviews and essays:

• -          The editor should maintain honesty, integrity, accuracy thoroughness and fairness in reporting and editing of articles, headlines and graphics.

• -          There should be a clear distinction between news/feature stories and opinion pieces. It  should be made clear that any opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Mystery Writers of America or the local chapter.

• -          The reporter or author of editorial content in the newsletter must avoid any conflicts of interest, real or perceived, with regard to the subject of his articles. All potential conflicts should be disclosed (eg: an author interviewing his own publisher or editor).

• -          The reporter or author of editorial content in the newsletter should  refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment related to the articles they are writing (eg: free travel and registration at a conference in return for the article).

• -          Unless a piece is clearly identified as “opinion,” personal views such as religious beliefs or political ideology should be kept separate from the subjects being covered. Articles should not be approached with overt or hidden agendas (eg: someone who hates cozies shouldn’t be writing about the popularity of cozy mysteries).

• -          Competing points of view should be balanced and fairly characterized.

• -          Persons who are the subject of adverse news  stories or features should be allowed a reasonable opportunity to respond to the adverse information before the story is published.

• -          Fairness means that all important views on a subject are presented and treated even-handedly.

• -          Authors should always cite their sources and never plagiarize.

For Advertising:

• -          Editorial impartiality and integrity should never be compromised by the relationship and the chapter should retain editorial control of ALL content. Selection of editorial topics, treatment of issues, interpretation and other editorial decisions must NOT be determined by advertisers.

• -          Editors must never permit advertisers to review articles prior to publication.

• -          Advertisers and potential advertisers  must never receive favorable editorial treatment because of their economic value to the newsletter.

• -          Editors must have the right to review, prior to publication, all sponsored content and other advertiser supplied material.

• -          The choice of advertisers (conferences, self-publishers, editorial services, etc.) should not bring the MWA into disrepute or imply an endorsement by our organization of any of the goods or services being advertised. This is especially important when it comes to self-publishing firms, agency representation, editorial services, writing contests, and writers conferences.

• -          There should be a clear and unequivocal separation between the advertising and editorial content of the newsletter. Editors have an obligation to readers to make clear which content has been paid for, which is sponsored, and which is independent editorial material.

For "Non-Paid" Promotion

• -          Editors should carefully review all “non-paid” promotional content,  such as lists of upcoming events and contests, to assure the events and organizers are reputable and legitimate. The printing of these announcements in our newsletter can imply to some readers an endorsement by the MWA.

• -          Occasionally, some newsletters post news about publishers accepting submissions.  Editors should review the MWA’s List of Approved Publishers before printing material of this nature.

I find it disgraceful that Affaire de Coeur and the Romantic Times require some publishers and authors to buy advertisements in exchange for having their books reviewed. Not only is it unethical conduct, it's also unfair to small presses & authors ... and brings into serious doubt the editorial credibility of both magazines.

Affaire de Coeur doesn't just sell their reviews to advertisers, they also sell other kinds of coverage. Here's an excerpt from the Affaire De Coeur website page that explains their various advertising packages:

"To compliment your ad and review we also offer interviews or articles. If you would like an interview let us know 3 months in advance so it will go in the same issue as your review and ad. We accept articles at any time, we need articles 3 months in advance. All articles must receive approval on subject matter."

"We will not accept submissions less than three months prior to the date of publication unless it is associated with an ad. We do not review books after publication unless it is done in association with an ad"

If you buy an advertisement with Affaire de Coeur, they will "compliment" it with articles and reviews. They will gladly review your book after publication, or if you submit it late, if you buy an ad. There's clearly a connection between buying ads and getting coverage. They aren't even subtle about it.

But do they inform their readers which reviews, articles and interviews were published because of their connection with advertising? Of course not.

Basic ethical conduct requires that any review or article that is printed in exchange for advertising should be labeled as such so the reader knows just how "objective" the coverage really is (just how "honest" can a review be if it's paid for?)

And if a reporter or editor has a financial stake in the books or companies being written about or reviewed, that should also be clearly disclosed, because it's a conflict-of-interest and has an obvious impact on the "objectivity" of the reporting and placement of the stories.

But those disclosures aren't being made to the readers of Affaire de Coeur or Romantic Times. If I was a reader or writer of romance fiction, I would be outraged about the conduct of these two magazines. That is why I have refused to acknowledge Affaire de Coeur's "five star review" of my book.

UPDATE: I just stumbled on a November 2007 blog post on EREC that shows just how much coverage in Affaire de Coeur that Light Sword received in one issue compared to other small press advertisers -- which is no surprise, since Light Sword's co-owner is the magazine's advertising director:

Light Sword Publishing
* 3 pages of advertising
* 6.5 pages of content (3 being an article that is clearly self-promotional, aimed at authors not readers and available for free on their website)
* 1.5 pages of book review space

Medallion Press
* 2.5 pages of advertising
* 2.5 pages of book review space

Parker
* 0.25 pages of advertising
* 0.75 pages of book review space

Dafina
* 0.25 pages of advertising
* 0.75 pages of book review space

Torquere Press
* 1 page of advertising.

My point? I'm not sure. Perhaps that advertisers should buy ad space. Readers should 'buy' the other content by having it aimed squarely at their interests. 26 pages of large press book reviews, fine. 10 pages puffing the advertisers wares... not so fine. If you buy ads you can apparently also write the magazine's content and get your small press books reviewed. So if you want only large press book reviews at least half the magazine will be of interest to you. The rest seems to be almost entirely at the pleasure of the advertisers.

Comic Con and the Scribe Awards

My daughter Maddie and I left the house yesterday for Comic Con in San Diego at 5:30 am and walked through the door of the convention center at 8:30. The Scribe Awards weren't until 2, so we roamed around the exhibition floor for a few hours.

I was astonished by how many bootleg DVDs of TV shows were being sold there (and at outrageous prices)...which seemed awfully brazen to me, considering so many of the legitimate rights holders were in attendance.

I ran into my old friend Mark Evanier, who was signing copies of his beautiful new book KIRBY: KING OF COMICS. The book is major achievement and I'm glad Mark is getting the big sales and wide acclaim that he deserves for it. He hinted to me that more, equally ambitious, books are on the way from him.

On the way to the Scribes, we scooted through the autograph area, where I always find it sad to see has-been B, C and D list stars of yesteryear signing pictures of themselves for a few bucks. As we walked by, a morbidly obese, middle-aged man was singing a song to BUCK ROGERS co-star Erin Gray, who looked like she wished she was anywhere else but where she was sitting. Richard Hatch, thanks to the revival of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, had two or three more people than Erin. But poor Herb Jefferson, another former GALACTICA cast member, was exiled to a table far from Hatch, and sat forlornly without a single fan.

The Scribe Awards and Tie-In Panel was sparsely attended at first, but by the time we were mid-way through, we built to a nice-sized crowd. Our 2008 Grandmaster Alan Dean Foster gave a thoughtful, and very funny, speech on the lack of respect tie-in writers get from the publishing industry and their fellow writers, despite the huge success of tie-in books. He applauded the International Association of Media Tie-In Writer's efforts to change that and to increase the awareness of tie-in writing in the mainstream media.

Other panelists included Andy Mangels, Max Allan Collins, Steve Leiva, Kevin J. Anderson, William Dietz and Stacy Deutsch. I must admit, though, that I was distracted for much of the panel by an audience member who had long hair and a beard on one half of his face and was bald and clean-shaved on the other. I couldn't help thinking that he was a man born to drive Adrian Monk insane...

That's a picture of Foster and me on the right. The Scribe Nominees and Winners (noted in bold with asterisks) are below:

BEST GENERAL FICTION ORIGINAL

CSI NY: DELUGE by Stuart M. Kaminsky
**MR. MONK AND THE TWO ASSISTANTS by Lee Goldberg
MURDER SHE WROTE: PANNING FOR MURDER by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain
CRIMINAL MINDS: JUMP CUT by Max Allan Collins

BEST GENERAL FICTION ADAPTED

**AMERICAN GANGSTER by Max Allan Collins

BEST SPECULATIVE ORIGINAL

LAST DAYS OF KRYPTON by Kevin J. Anderson
**STARGATE ATLANTIS: CASUALTIES OF WAR by Elizabeth Christensen
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - Q&A by Keith R.A. DeCandido

BEST GAME-RELATED ORIGINAL (SPECIAL SCRIBE AWARD)

HITMAN: ENEMY WITHIN by William C. Dietz
FORGE OF THE MINDSLAYERS by Tim Waggoner
**EBERRON:  NIGHT OF THE LONG SHADOWS by Paul Crilley

BEST SPECULATIVE ADAPTED

RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION by Keith R.A. DeCandido
52: THE NOVEL by Greg Cox
**30 DAYS OF NIGHT by Tim Lebbon

BEST YOUNG ADULT ORIGINAL

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: THE DEATHLESS by Keith R.A. DeCandido
GOODLUND TRILOGY: VOLUME THREE: WARRIORS BONES by Stephen D. Sullivan
**NANCY DREW AND THE CLUE CREW #10: TICKET TROUBLE by Stacia Deutsch & Rhody Cohon

 BEST YOUNG ADULT ADAPTED

**THE 12 DOGS OF CHRISTMAS by Steven Paul Leiva

Mr. Monk and the Librarians

The librarians at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana have given MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY, and the MONK books, a strong recommendation:

As a librarian, I have a love/hate relationship with television. Okay, I'm lying. I love television. I'm probably not supposed to say that, but I don't think reading and watching tv are mutually exclusive activities. Case in point– novels based on tv series can help ease the pain when a favorite show is canceled, or tide you over through rerun season. Sometimes the show is better than the books, sometimes the books are better than the show. In the case of the novels based on the television detective series Monk, which airs on the USA Network, the novels are as deliciously good as the show. […] If you're looking for fast reads with hefty doses of humor, you won't be disappointed.

Mr. Monk and the Affaire De Coeur

POST DELETED.

I have removed the positive review that MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY received from Affaire de Coeur from this blog because I don't want to lend the sham publication the slightest shred of credibility.

I've just discovered that their advertising director, Bonny Kirby, co-owns the disgraced Light Sword Publishing company with Linda Daly (a court recently fined Kirby and Daly thousands of dollars for defrauding authors). This explains why Light Sword titles consistently got positive reviews from Affaire De Coeur and why Daly was the subject of a cover story. No reputable magazine would review books published by their advertising director...or feature her partners on the cover. It's a sleazy and highly unethical conflict-of-interest.

I also learned that advertisers get positive reviews and articles written about them depending on the amount of page space they purchase. That, too, is sleazy and unethical.

I'm notifying my publisher that I don't want the review quoted on my covers nor do I want any of my books sent to the magazine. They aren't a legitimate publication. They are sleaze bags.

UPDATE 7-27-08 It turns out that Romantic Times engages in unethical behavior as well, but not as outrageously as Affaire de Coeur. The Romantic Times will only review small-press books that advertise in their magazine. Editor Carol Stacy tells the Dear Author blog:

This has worked very well for small press/e-book authors who, for a few hundred dollars, can get their name in front of our readers and have a review of their book in the magazine. This may explain why there are so many Ellora's Cave books reviewed in our magazine. It's because their authors do many group ads and in turn they get reviewed.I want to reiterate that this small press/e-book review policy IN NO WAY AFFECTS THE RATING of a book. It only ensures a review. 

Whether that's true or not, the practice is highly unethical and creates an unacceptable conflict of interest. It's shameful. Advertising should never have any influence over editorial content. That's a basic tenet of ethical journalism.

Please Save Me From Embarrassment

If you've spotted any errors in MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY, please let me know by Friday, July 25^th. I am in the midst of proofing the galleys for the paperback edition and I want to make sure nothing embarrassing slips past me (there was one in MR. MONK IN OUTER SPACE that I am still beating myself up over for missing…in the hardcover AND the first paperback edition).

TV Main Title of the Week

Found Money

It used to be that once a book fell out of print, and the rights reverted back to the author, that was pretty much the end of the line for that particular title. That changed several years back when the Authors Guild  teamed up with iUniverse to launch the "Back in Print" program for previously published books. For no charge to Authors Guild members,  iUniverse scans a copy of the out-of-print book, designs a new cover, and offers it as a print-on-demand paperback with the author getting a 20% royalty from every sale. A lot of authors, including William F. Buckley, Hank Searls, Robert Bausch, Walter Satterthwait, Jerome Doolittle, Tony Fennelly, Lawrence Shames, Don Pendleton, Lawrence Block, Richard Wheeler and yours truly have taken advantage of the program.

The Authors Guild reports that in 2007 alone they sold 46,844 formerly out-of-print titles, accounting for $566,382 in sales and earning authors $99,530 in royalties...or, as I look at it, found money.

I have three out-of-print titles that have been available through the program since 2002. The royalties have steadily dwindled over time. In 2006, I earned $406.24. In 2007, I earned $179.65. So far in 2008, I've earned $69.32. Not a lot of cash but it's better than nothing...and best of all, I don't have to work for it.

The Mail I Get - Cringe-Inducing Edition

I got an email today from an author who wanted to convince me that her POD novel was terrific and that I should read it. She wrote:

My book XYZ won a Reviewers Choice in Affaire de Coeur, five wonderful reviews on Amazon and I've developed a smallish but loyal following who want my next books as soon as it comes out.

I cringed when I read that. It's bad enough when an aspiring writer makes the mistake of going to a POD vanity press or having their book published by an amateur POD pseudo-press run by a barely literate, self-published author. But when you promote your book by touting your "five wonderful reviews on Amazon" you only make yourself look like a fool. Those reviews are meaningless.

Don't get me wrong, they are nice to have, flattering to you personally, and might sway a browsing customer to buy your book. I am grateful for every positive review that I get from readers on Amazon and other online bookselling sites.

But never, ever, EVER use those reader reviews as a selling point to an agent, editor, or reviewer or they will run screaming away from you and write you off forever as a wanna-be. Nobody in the publishing business cares about five positive reviews on Amazon. Nobody. Getting a 150 positive reviews might attract some attention but even then what really counts are actual sales.

And what, exactly, is a "smallish but loyal following?" Ten people? Fifty? A hundred? Your Mom and her friends around the pool at the retirement home? Again, it's sales that count, and moving a few dozen books still isn't going to attract much attention. Nor will a couple of hundred. But a thousand sales will get you noticed. That's something you can tout...if you can back up the claim.

UPDATE 7-29-08: The author of the email is published by Light Sword Publishing, which is co-owned by the advertising director of Affaire De Coeur. So if all this author has to tout her book is a review from the magazine and "five wonderful reviews" on Amazon (one of which was from *another* Light Sword author), she'd be better off letting her book speak for itself.

It Takes a Thief

CinemaRetro today features a wonderful appreciation of IT TAKES A THIEF, one of my all-time favorite shows, which is now available to watch for free on hulu:

Unlike the preening poseurs currently afflicting Hollywood, Robert Wagner’s cool was organic and understated. As Alexander Mundy, he projected a breezy self-assurance untainted by arrogance or condescension, and maintained his sangfroid in the face of the most dangerous assignments Noah Bain threw his way, thanks to an unparalleled and seemingly inexhaustible skill set. Mundy could neutralize any security system, crack any safe, outwit any adversary and, not least, talk his way into the arms of just about any woman in sight. Little wonder he was the envy of every kid who came of age during the show’s original run.

The only show even remotely like it today is BURN NOTICE, but as much as I like that show, it's doesn't have the same charm.

Roads Not Taken

I spotted this place in Evansville. I suppose if I hadn't succeeded as a writer, working at this place could have been my fate. It still could be.

S & S E-Grab

The Authors Guild has sent out an important advisory to its members:

Simon & Schuster has recently sent a one-page letter to many, perhaps thousands, of authors with unspecified e-book royalty rates in an attempt to set those rates at 15% of the "catalog retail price" of the e-book. (This is the typical e-book royalty rate for S&S.) As with any amendment to a book contract, the Authors Guild advises caution:

1. Discuss the amendment with your agent or attorney, if you have one.

2. Depending on your existing contract with Simon & Schuster, the amendment may grant the publisher rights that you've otherwise retained.

3. Be aware that the amendment may affect your ability to obtain a reversion of rights.

In any negotiation regarding e-book royalty rates, we suggest that you keep your powder dry: try to retain the right to renegotiate e-book royalty rates. The Authors Guild expects that 15% of the retail list price will be the low-water mark for e-book royalties. As the e-book market develops, authors with clout will doubtlessly insist on a more reasonable share of e-book revenues, and the industry will have to adapt. One glance at Amazon.com's home page, which has for months been ceaselessly promoting its Kindle e-book reader, indicates that day may be near. For more on Amazon and e-books, see this July 4th article from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Mr. Monk Gets a Nice Review

Bill Peschel gives MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY a very nice review. He says, in part:

Those who follow Lee Goldberg's life on his blog know that he spent time in Germany filming a TV show, so it's natural he'd set his next Monk book there. And he uses his experiences well, weaving in the details you'd pick up if you were a tourist. It's those little touches that give the story flavor, such as the description of an inn that was built in the 1400s, or describing the free magazines, including Playboy, that can be picked up at German airports.

As for the mystery, it is competently set up and sprung, but, really, the fun lies more in watching Monk at work, baffling his police partners and reacting to the chaos around him, whether its attempting to navigate the trails in the German forest or visiting an unusual resort for outcasts.

Thanks, Bill!

Mr. Monk and the 100th Episode

My daughter Maddie and I went down to the MONK set at Paramount Studios to have lunch with my friend David Breckman, one of the writer/producers on the show (and the brother of series creator Andy Breckman). While we were there, they cut the 100th episode cake and had a little press conference for the entertainment media. I ran into Jeff Wachtel, the president of the USA Network, and congratulated him on the great ratings for the second season premiere of BURN NOTICE. He smiled and said "Thank you, we see it as a two-hour commercial for your brother's book." I'm sure Tod will be glad to know that.

I took a picture of Maddie at Stottlemeyer's desk, gave her a tour of the back-lot, and I headed home to get back to work on the 8th MONK book...

When a Wanna-Be Publisher Becomes a Scammer

Scam-busting author Victoria Strauss' post on Writer Beware about the fraud judgments levied against Linda Daly's Light Sword Publishing has provoked an interesting debate on her blog. Along the way, Strauss has made some important distinctions between a genuine "small press" and a pseudo-publisher:

There are many excellent small presses, which function entirely professionally and are taken seriously by readers, writers, and publishing professionals. Reputable small presses have always been an honorable alternative to large commercial houses, and there are more of them now than ever. These professional small presses, however, are NOT equivalent to the Light Swords of the world, which are run like pocket dictatorships by people who know absolutely nothing about editing, publishing, or book marketing--never mind running a business--and aren't interested in learning.

I want to take that a step further (as I did on her blog). I'm on the Mystery Writers of America's membership committee, which reviews applications from publishers who want to be on our Approved Publishers list. In that capacity, I've encountered an astonishing number of so-called "small publishers" who turned out to be nothing more than aspiring writers who bought some ISBN numbers and opened an account with a POD company.

These pseudo-publisher are a mix of true scammers (like PublishAmerica, Airleaf, etc.) and people who set out to do no harm but simply have no clue what being an "editor" and a "publisher" really involves.

To me, an inexperienced "publisher" becomes a scammer when they start touting marketing, editorial and publishing experience they don't actually have, when they make promises they know they can't keep, and when they begin charging authors to get into print (another sign is when a court declares them guilty of defrauding authors, as is the case with Light Sword).

The authors are inevitably tainted by their association with a scammer or an inept wanna-be publisher. As Victoria says:

This is not to say that good books can't be published by amateur micropresses. [...] The enormous number of unpublishable books with which society has been lumbered as a result of the proliferation of micropresses--not to mention the POD self-publishing services--is an annoyance and a nuisance, but the real tragedy of all these faux publishing options, in my opinion, is that they can entrap writers whose books deserved better.

That said, the aspiring writers entrap themselves with their desperation, impatience, gullibility, and their laziness.

The majority of writers who have been scammed by PublishAmerica, Authorhouse, Airleaf, Tate, Quiet Storm, Light Sword and countless other vanity presses and pseudo-publishers could have easily avoided their fate by using common sense, doing a tiny bit of research, and asking some basic questions about the professional qualifications and experience of the people they were getting into business with BEFORE signing a contract. Others were simply looking for a short cut and discovered the hard way that there aren't any. But I think Victoria said it best:

There are any number of reasons why writers ignore clear warning signals, including the frustration of a long and unfruitful publication search. Other writers, of course, don't take the time to learn about the field they're trying to break into, and don't know what the warning signs are. But whatever the reasons writers fall victim to schemes and scams and amateurs--and with every effort to maintain respect and compassion for those victims--writers need to understand that THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE for educating themselves, for researching their options, and for making informed (as opposed to wishful or ego-driven) decisions.We don't help them by pretending that this isn't so.

UPDATE: Blogger Michele Lee makes a strong case (with great links) that it's time that authors took more responsibility for their poor choices:

The blame lies with both parties of course. Much of the behavior of scammers and crappy publishers is reprehensible and inexcusable. But there is so much information available to writers these days. We don’t live in the world of ten years ago. There are so many places to research agencies and publishers these days (and for free!). I simply do not understand. There’s no excuse anymore, other than sheer newness, not to be a well researched. I suspect the professional publishing world is starting to view things this way as well and the tolerance for lazy writers is severely plummeting.

Mr. Monk Gets His Chops

Blogger Winthrop J. Quiggy thinks MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY demonstrates that I'm finally getting the hang of this writing thing. He writes, in part:

I do believe our boy, Lee Goldberg, is finally getting his chops at writing novels, at least the ones based on the MONK TV series. [...] Not only is Mr. Goldberg getting better at writing, he has picked a real winner here for a story. [...]I'm giving this particular novel 9 stars.

Thanks, Winthrop! I've decided not to go into the furniture business after all.

Mr. Monk and the Ride of a Lifetime

 Tracy Farnsworth at Roundtable Review gave MR. MONK GOES TO GERMANY a rave review. She writes, in part:

Quite simply, the best praise I can give a book is by saying that my teen son picked it up, read it in one sitting and then announced it was just as good, perhaps better, than an actual television episode. As the television season for Tony Shalhoub's fascinating character Monk tends to be sporadic, it is thrilling to be able to fill the gaps with Monk novels.
[...] MR.MONK GOES TO GERMANY is one of the best Monk novels to go to print. I laughed hysterically at times and felt truly sorry for all Monk went through at others. The novel gets hold of your emotions and takes you on the ride of a lifetime.
Once again, Lee Goldberg does such an incredible job with everyone from the show and creates a novel that makes you feel as though you're watching it on television. I can't wait to see what's in store for Monk in the next novel.

Thank you, Tracy!

Fanfiction Friction

The July/August issue of the Literary Review of Canada features an extensive overview  of the controversies  -- legal and artistic -- surrounding fanfiction in the U.S. and Canada. The article is written by copyright lawyer Grace Westcott, who is Vice Chair of the Canadian Copyright Institute, and she does a very good job of presenting the arguments on both sides of the issue.  But there is one unique, Canadian wrinkle to the debate:

it’s hard to see a case for fan fiction as fair dealing under Canadian law. Besides, there are the author’s moral rights to consider. The US analysis of fan fiction makes barely a passing nod to moral rights. No wonder: in the US the notion of moral rights is fairly slight. (And a media corporation cannot have moral rights; it’s strictly a personal right.) But in Canada, and much of the rest of the world, an individual author has the moral right both to be credited as the author (or to remain anonymous, if he or she chooses) and to have the integrity of the work protected. That integrity is infringed if the work is, to the prejudice of the honour or reputation of the author, distorted, mutilated or otherwise modified, or associated with any product, service, cause or institution.

Obviously, a moral right that a work not be “distorted, mutilated or otherwise modified” poses a serious legal impediment to the fan fiction writer. It is a significant fetter on the fan’s freedom to rework the canon without this act being viewed as an attack on the artistic integrity of the source work and ultimately on its author’s reputation. After all, an author may well feel that something he or she has spent years researching and writing is a finished work, not a literary buffet or a cultural spare parts counter for others to rummage in. An author may object to distortions of his characters when they are appropriated to the divergent narrative sensibilities of fan imaginations.

She concludes:

So where does all this leave fan fiction? It may be that its shadowy status – largely tolerated, but legally vulnerable – leaves it just where it ought to be, in a healthy state of tension between fans and authors. Because the fact is that fan fiction has so far been able to operate as a tolerated use, if not a fair use. Both parties have good reasons to accommodate the concerns of the other. No one wants to crush a fan; and fans don’t want to damage their favorite author’s livelihood or reputation. Fan fiction, particularly under Canadian law, and in view of authors’ moral rights, requires the author’s forbearance, and probably deserves a degree of that. There is a danger, in this balancing game, in taking a militant stance. What is needed is a kind of digital civility, an online code of respect in engaging with cultural works that recognizes and addresses authors’ rights and legitimate concerns. This, together with the recognition that fan fiction comes from basically ‘a good place’, should encourage authors, media owners and fans to develop a code of fair practices to define what’s fair in fandom, to allow fans to engage creatively with the works they so sincerely admire.

TV Main Title of the Week

When a Window is an Eye and a Slot Machine

I have a theory that when authors become successful and honored, editors just don't bother editing their books anymore. I'm reading a book by one of my favorite, bestselling authors and tripped over this clunky line:

Then all he could see was the names scrolling through the window of his mind's eye like symbols on a slot machine.

A window that's an eye that's a slot machine?  Yeah, I can picture that.

Reheating Leftovers

Author Frank Kane liked his writing so much, he reused the same lines over and over, as Marvin Lachman reveals over at Mystery File:

Poisons Unknown, page 63: “Gabby Benton was on her second cup of coffee, third cigarette, and fourth fingernail when Johnny Liddell stepped out of a cab. . . ”

Red Hot Ice, page 18: “Muggsy Kiely was on her third cup of coffee and her fourth fingernail when Johnny Liddlell walked into….”

Red Hot Ice, page 27: “Her legs were long, sensuously shaped. Full rounded thighs swelled into high-set hips, converged into a narrow waist. Her breasts were firm and full, their pink tips straining upward.”

Poisons Unknown, page 182: “The whiteness of her body gleamed in the reflected light from the windows. Her legs were long, sensuously shaped. Full rounded thighs swelled into high-set hips, converged into the narrow waist he had admired earlier in the evening. Her breasts were full and high, their pink tips straining upward.”

This is just a small sampling of Kane's laziness. There's much, much more...

The Mail I Get

Based on the emails I have been getting lately, TV show fans who are aspiring writers seem to have a fundamental mis-understanding about how tie-in novels get written and published. They think that you just send in your fanfiction and the editor picks the best of them to be the official tie-in (I guess we can blame STAR TREK for that...the publishing franchise has occasionally snapped up unsolicited manuscripts). Here's an excerpt from an email that I got yesterday:

I'm writing because you have authored a number of books for various series, and I'm in the infant stages of attempting to do the same thing.  A longtime friend and I have both been writing for many years- and also happen to have a very similar style.  We are planning to collaborate on a novel for the USA series Psych. What I'm hoping you'd be willing to share with me are the requirements for gaining permissions to actually step forward with this process. [...] I am simply looking for the entrance ramp to get me on the publishing freeway (sorry, that was a horrid analogy).

I replied:

Don't waste your time and effort, Tanya, I'm afraid that you're too late...there already are PSYCH novels being written by William Rabkin. He has a contract for three books with Penguin/Putnam. The first PSYCH novel comes out in January, the second in July. Even if there weren't already PSYCH books in the works, I would have given you the same advice.  Studios routinely "shop" their successful TV series to publishers (if the publishers haven't already come to them first). Once a publisher pays for the license, they hire writers to pen the books. Usually those writers are people the editors either already know or who are established in the business and who can be trusted to deliver a book on deadline.

The "entrance ramp" into publishing isn't complicated: write a good ORIGINAL novel, not a tie-in based on other people's characters. That's how I got in, that's how every author I know got in.

Falling on your Lightsword

The wonderful Writers Beware blog reports that Lightsword Publishing is a scam run by imbeciles (no news to anyone who is a regular reader of this blog) and that the owners have been successfully sued for fraud by one of their swindled authors:

Linda Daly, Bonny Kirby, and Light Sword Publishing were sued by one of their authors for breach of contract, fraud in the inducement, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. (Writer Beware has seen the complaint, as well as numerous other documents involved in the lawsuit). 

Although the defendants filed a counterclaim, alleging that it was really the plaintiff who provi