Book Promotion 2.0

Author Dennis Cass has a funny video on Youtube.com about an author hopelessly trying to get with internet promotion of his work. So smartly depressing that you can only laugh.

Work Listing: StorefrontBacktalk.com

I received the following from an editor I know, who asked if I could pass it on. Please, read the requirements carefully and only apply if it makes sense - he's a good guy (and client), and you really should have an aptitude for reporting about high tech and business:

Company: StorefrontBacktalk.com
Job Title: Reporter

Description: StorefrontBacktalk.com, a blog about retail technology and E-Commerce, is looking for some entry-level reporters. The positions will be telecommuting (which is a plus for most people, especially with today's gas prices) and will involve the standard reporting, writing and research.

Roughly 99.8 percent of the position will involve phone and online work, with a slight possibility of extremely minimal (and entirely optional) travel.
Ideal candidates will have some journalism experience (student newspapers can qualify) and a decent amount of interest in the topic. Salary based on experience. (Isn't it always?)

Contact:
Evan Schuman
Editor
StorefrontBacktalk.com
eschuman@storefrontbacktalk.com

Announcement: Arts Journalism Fellowship

I have no connection with the following - just posting for those that might be interested.

USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program Fellowship Opportunity Apply Now!
Los Angeles, CA
November 1-22, 2008

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: http://annenberg.usc.edu/getty

The USC Annenberg School for Communication and The Getty Foundation are pleased to announce the 7th annual USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Fellowship. Formerly held during the spring, the program for 2008 will be offered in the fall (November 1 to 22), in order to coincide with USC`s academic year and take advantage of the resources available through the University, including its new Master`s Program in arts journalism.

Six to seven arts journalists who bring distinction to the field will be chosen from the applicant pool. This is an international program for mid-career arts editors, critics and reporters from print, radio, television and online who cover the performing and visual arts, architecture, literature, entertainment and pop culture. They can be generalists or specialists. Staff writers, editors and freelancers and self-employed Web journalists alike are welcome to apply.

Based in Los Angeles, the fellowship is a total immersion experience that includes attending as many as 23 performances, art exhibitions and architectural sites. Participants will visit private studios, rehearsal rooms, architectural firms and art schools providing many behind-the-scene opportunities to meet renowned artists, arts administrators and accomplished journalists face-to-face.

IMPORTANT DETAILS

Institute dates: November 1-22, 2008

How to apply: Email an application request to uscgetty@usc.edu. Include your name, media affiliation(s), number of years you have been practicing arts journalism and your contact information. In addition, please note if you have applied in the past and for what year.

Application Deadline: June 16, 2008 (postmarked no later than this date)

Notification of Acceptance: August 8, 2008

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Cost: The program covers most expenses, including: roundtrip travel to and from Los Angeles, hotel, most meals, reading materials, Internet access in your hotel room and transportation within Los Angeles.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT: http://annenberg.usc.edu/getty

In Copyright Infringement, Availability Does Not Equal Distribution

In a recent court ruling, a judge said that the Recording Industry Association of America could not sue for copyright infringement simply because someone gave others access to a computer directory. There must be evidence that someone actually downloaded copyrighted material. However, in the same case, the judge ruled that the RIAA could have its investigators download songs from such a directory, and that would be proof of infringement.

The lesson to take is this: if you find your copyrighted material available for download someplace like Amazon.com, download a copy of your own materials as proof that it was made available. Then you can happily make your case, assuming that you've registered copyright.

New Magazine Launches - Up and Down at the Same Time

Samir Husni, "Mr. Magazine" and chair of the journalism department of the University of Mississippi, watches the magazine market closely. In a relatively recent blog post, he noted that new magazines starts in the first quarter of 2008 were five titles more than the same period in 2007, but only 41 came out with the intention of at least 4-times-a-year publishing, versus 50 in 2007 and 72 in 2006:

So what does this mixed bag of numbers mean? Not much. Since I have started tracking new magazine launches, I have witnessed a two or three years’ declines after a very healthy and busy year. 2005 was a very healthy year. 1013 new magazines were launched. The decline started in 2006. We are in our third year of decline. In 2006 we have seen 901 new launches, the number dropped to 715 last year, and if the trend of the previous years continues, we will see another drop again this year before the numbers bounce back. Call it market correction if you please, but definitely it is NOT a sign that print is on its way out. History will tell us otherwise. So enjoy this quarter’s crop and look forward to more titles to come next month.

I must agree and disagree. On one hand, no, magazines aren't going to disappear overnight. However, even counting downward economic pressure, this is hardly something to make you feel comfortable. You have to find where the magazines are still strong and forget about any old mainstay that is being hit badly.

Newspapers Using Blogs Without Permission?

Generally you might think that bloggers often take copyrighted material and reproduce them without permission online. But a UK blogger found that the Sunday Mail reproduced one of his entries without even asking for permission. The author sent a letter to the paper:

Not having worked for the Mail on Sunday before, and a stated wordage figure proving elusive, I pluck a conservative amount out of the air and stick it on the bottom of an invoice, which goes off via the kind auspices of the G.P.O. To the Mail on Sunday’s credit, they pay me my two hundred quid quicker than most biggish companies would, and John Wellington sends me his (what I am sure are sincere) apologies.

Good for him - but one graph of the reply from the paper (outside of the check) was disturbing:

We generally take the view that blogs published on the internet have already been placed in the public domain by their authors and, in case of amateur writers, most people are happy to have their work recognised and displayed to a wider audience.

There is apparently some history of this happening in the UK, once again the Mail on Sunday. And in some cases, it appears that bloggers are finding writing or even graphics used by papers without permission but then thinking they were fortunate. This commentary in the Guardian Unlimited (online presence of the Guardian in the UK) is correct in stating that online work also is intellectual property.

But in the United States, that doesn't help you a bit unless you have registered your copyright. Registering after infringement lets you take legal action, but you can only go after the actual profits made off your work, and you cannot ask for legal fee reimbursement. No, the only practical way to go is to register either before the infringement, or within three months of the first publication (which, in the case of blogs, means when it first appears online). If you are not registering the copyright of your new blog entries every three months, you are running the risk of someone using them and being unable to do much of anything about it.

Distinguishing Between a Story and an Idea

At times I've spoken with colleagues about a common problem for writers: you send a pitch to an editor and get the response, "It's an interesting idea, but there doesn't seem to be a story here." If you've been writing for any length of time, you've heard it. In fact, a friend and I were discussing the very topic the other day, as a newer writer had brought it up in a discussion.

It's a fine point to make, but what, exactly, does it mean? At first glance, this seems to be one of those distinctions that you can't exactly define, but you know it when you see it. However, that helps little when such a comment hits your inbox and you're absolutely convinced that anyone would wait in line to read your opus. A little analytic thought can come in handy at such times:

• There's a difference between something interesting and a story. The latter must encompass the former, certainly; if it's not interesting, who would bother to read it, and what editor would make an assignment?


• Think from the audience viewpoint, not your own. You want to write about things that you find interesting - nothing wrong with that. But unless the topic is interesting to enough people, there is no story that others will read. When considering your idea, ask yourself if you find it interesting because of a personal experience, and then ask how many other people might have had that experience. The question becomes crucial when considering a profile. When relatively few could have the same experience with the subject, then either a) the person must be well enough known to attract curiosity, or b) what you have could only be a personal essay. Yes, you can think of some counter examples, but their number is like unto zero when considering the enormous number of profile pitches that have no relevance to anyone other than the writer.


• A story is compelling. I might be stating the obvious, but a story much have the ability to force the reader - and, by extension, the editor - to care. That means the audience must have either the basic information, the insight, or the emotional experience. A good news story falls completely into the information nook; a tear-jerker narrative is definite an emotional ride. A good philosophical essay must offer the insight, but might bring in an emotional connection. Having at least one factor is a must, and more would be better. People have to give a damn about the read.


• Be specific. Many pitches fail not for lack of a good concept, but because of generality. What is more interesting, noting that children can feel disaffected from step parents, or Hansel and Gretel trying to follow a breadcrumb trail back to the cottage only to find that birds ate their market?


• Have a beginning, middle, and end. No editor worth a drop of ink (or byte of pixels) wants shapeless writing showing up. That means a story must come from one place and have another as its destination, with a clear path leading from A to Z. That's clearly true in a narrative, as tales that go "Someone wandered around and then eventually wandered more" have limited attraction. But there are equivalents for any type of story. Even if you're writing a service piece, with lots of bulleted advice, the writing has to move from a problem, though approaches to solve it, to at least the promise of resolution and aid. Your query should show (not tell) that you address the stages.

Like everyone else in the business, you'll still come up with the occasional commercial clunker, but if you keep these principles in mind, that should happen less often, and you'll also get to the heart of your reporting and writing more naturally and easily.