WGA strike

Literature & Writing Writer's Block
41

Bill,
Before you shut the door, indulge me on this one.

Not being a writer myself, theres probably an awful lot about the profession that Im ignorant off, but surely, no right minded author( or novelist if you prefer), would contemplate (or even dream of), a deal that didn`t guarantee the payment of royalties. Do these kind of deals actualy exist?

With the exception of one offtype extraordinary arrangements struck between publisher and author, I would have thought that the expectation and due payment of royalties, would be taken as a given. If that is the case, are you saying that: Should you discover that you and your agent had inadverently entered into a publishing deal, that didnt cover royalties, upon discovery of said mistake, you wouldnt feel just a little bit pissed off, when your publisher insited you stick to the Terms and Cons. of the contract. Would you not consider it, unjust.

Would you brush it off with a shrug; C`est la vie etc. etc.

vic

42

Hi Vic. I woudl follow the letter and spirit of the contract. Anything else I would find distasteful.

Sure, we woudl all like to buy a winning lottery ticket, but once we found out that our neighbor had one, it would not justify us breaking into their home to steal it, because we wanted it, no matter how much we wanted it.

wow, bad analogy .

I can understand peoples emotions on this, especially people with training in something other than the law. But, I honestly believe, once you put pen to paper and sign the contract, it doesn’t matter if you didn’t read it, if you read it and didn’t understand it, if the sun got in your eyes while you were signing, or that your book suddenly outsold J.K. Rowling. You abide by your word.

If you sell the rights to your product, it is no longer yours. If you feel that next time, you can re-negotiate for more money, then go for it. But don’t be surprised if when in a buyers market, you are dismissed. I think there is a handful of writers who can negotiate a better deal for themselves, strictly on their branding. The rest, < shrug >, it is a buyers market.

Do I like that? I like the free market system, I feel that I can do much better on my own, than having a disinterested third party negotiate for me, and then take a cut. Many people will not feel comfortable negotiating on their own and will look for and happily pay for someone else to do that negotiation. (Happily so).

Again, personally, the quality of writing for Television and Movies is so utterly abysmal, I feel there is no loss, and that studios and publisher ought to be looking towards the unknown, it could not get any worse.

43

I agree. And so does everybody else here, I should imagine. This statement has absolutely nothing to do with the WGA strike. What exactly is it you’re objecting to?

Utterly irrelevant, unless you somehow think whether or not you personally enjoy a book has any bearing on whether or not the author should be for it.

44

A, Just and Equitable Symbiosis, should, logically, be the aim and eventual outcome of any negotiated settlement between employer and employee (I use that term, with its loosest connotation ), since anything less, only ever leads to a sense of aggrieved alienation, from one of the parties involved, with a inclination/ determination to recoup any loss ( perceived or real), at a future date. Thereby mortgaging future negotiations to the past.

The above was my credo, twenty years ago, when I became a shop steward/union rep. There is no other philosophy that I`m aware of, that makes mine redundant.

The Letter and the, Spirit of any agreement are as disparate a pair, as are Mae West and a T- REX. The former is invoked by intransigent lawyer often in attempted denial of the other parties rights, in order to enhance any gain he can effect for his client. The latter, is the guarantee of fairness, when invoked by Judge or Arbitrator, in ensuring that justice is done.

There appears to be an attempt on your part to avoid addressing the concept of a just and equitable, out come to Life confrontations. Boss and worker is a symbiosis or should be. The alternative arrangement is parasitic.

Whilst you seem quite stoically prepared to accept losing $? because of a balls- up, would your stoicism allow you to feel, pissed off about it or a sense of injustice over it. Comparable perhaps to the unease felt by WGA members over the residuals question.
Take care Bill
vic

PS I do of course mean, letter, and, spirit, when refering to lawyers and judgespreferences, and notMaeandTiddles( Im very fond of Mae)

45

[color=darkred][size=200]THE STRIKE IS OVER![/size]

Back to work with Scrivener!

46

popcornflix et al,

Congrats!..Well done!..Good Luck!:lol:

Take Care
vic

47

I think the big problem is the “old way” of corporate dealings has changed so much over the past ten years the “suits” do not have a clue. They feel that there is such a demand for their product that they can charge whatever they wish for it and pay little or nothing to the actual people that make the product for them. (Writers, producers, techs, sound people, etc).

The “entertainment companies” are making huge mistakes and getting caught with their pants down. They want to suck as much profit from everything and act like little kids when it comes time to “share” the wealth.

The writers were being screwed, we know it, the public knows it, the suits know it, and it still took awhile for the suits to “agree” somewhat because they thought they could bully anyone into doing what they wanted.

After losing billions maybe they will come to appreciate the ones that got them where they are today. :slight_smile:

One thing I think is sad is the “ringtone” business (music as your ringtone) is close to a 15 Billion dollar industry.

Did you know the Major Record Labels went to court and filed that since the ringtone was only a small portion of a song and not the complete work then they felt they should NOT have to pay the artist any royalties. So any ringtone that is distributed “legally” by the record companies, the RECORD COMPANIES make all the profit and are not sharing one dime with the artists who actually wrote the song.

Sad but that is why I do not “purchase” ringtones.

When you forget the “little people” that got you there and you become complacent in your own greed you will fall from great heights as you soar on the winds of humility.