I know there are a number of dopers in the publishing business, so maybe someone knows the answer to these fairly small questions. At least I don’t think they involve complex answers.
Like the OP in this thread, I’m curious about permission. Obviously permission needs to be sought for the use of other people’s work within a novel, as you can often see listed on a book’s copyright page. Suppose one uses a line from a song in a work of fiction, who seeks the permission from the artist? The author or the publisher? And if it’s the author, when? (before or during the publishing process?)
Who writes the author bios at the end of books?
Who writes the decriptions of books in the jacket/on the back cover? (do they have a job title?)
If a movie studio wants to buy the writes to a book, who else is involved? The author, obviously, but does the book’s publisher have any say over if it can become a movie or not?
Note that the following is from my experience from the publishing business in a European country:
If you use a line from a song in a work of fiction, you do not have to seek permission from the artist. ([Edit:] - Otherwise, it’s the editor who should keep track of these matters.)
The editor.
Depends on the contract, but generally speaking, if you’re a writer, you pretty much sell the manuscript to the publishing house, which might sell it to a studio. The publishing house owns the book. Hey, they *bought *the damn thing…! (To the benefit of both writer, author and audience, hopefully.)
Either things are very different in Europe or Wakinyan has some of it wrong.
In the U.S., there is no fair use for song lyrics. Even short snippits are considered to be too important in the context of the minimal whole to be allowable. Some people do try to get away with them, and in some cases the use may be borderline acceptable. However, the writer must gain the permission if permission is sought. Editors have other things to do.
Usually the author.
Usually editors, although they may give this over to the amrketing department.
Writers do not ever, if they can possibly help it, sell their manuscripts to publishers. They license them, which is a huge and crucial legal distinction.
The standard publishing contract lists an enormous number of rights, and details who is responsible for each and what percent of the proceeds they take.
The publisher puts out a print edition in hardback, and gives the author an advance against royalties as well as a royalty schedule, so that the author gets, say, 10% of the cover price for the first 2,000 copies, 12% for the next 5,000 copies, and 15% after that. Paperback rights may or may not be ax
Somehow some keystroke combination posted that incomplete message and the time limit for editing has expired. So here’s the whole thing, voer again:
Either things are very different in Europe or Wakinyan has some of it wrong.
In the U.S., there is no fair use for song lyrics. Even short snippits are considered to be too important in the context of the minimal whole to be allowable. Some people do try to get away with them, and in some cases the use may be borderline acceptable. However, the writer must gain the permission if permission is sought. Editors have other things to do.
Usually the author.
Usually editors, although they may give this over to the marketing department.
Writers do not ever, if they can possibly help it, sell their manuscripts to publishers. They license them, which is a huge and crucial legal distinction.
The standard publishing contract lists an enormous number of rights, and details who is responsible for each and what percent of the proceeds they take.
The publisher puts out a print edition in hardback, and gives the author an advance against royalties as well as a royalty schedule, so that the author gets, say, 10% of the cover price for the first 2,000 copies, 12% for the next 5,000 copies, and 15% after that. Paperback rights may or may not be acquired at the same time.
In addition, there are non-US rights, book club rights, audio book rights, electronic rights, etc. The publisher normally contracts to try to sell these rights to other companies and splits the proceeds 50/50 or 60/40 or whatever. I’ve had my agent keep foreign rights for a book, though.
Movie rights are slightly different. Somebody who wants to make a movie pays for an option to have exclusive rights to the title for a period of time. Again, it’s normally the publisher who does the negotiations, but an author may have a separate Hollywood agent that the prospective producer would approach. In the former case, the publisher and author split as the contract states; in the latter the author keeps all the money. Further money may be paid if the movie goes forward. Who keeps what is entirely dependent on the individual contract.
And the publisher normally keeps all the money that comes in from any source until the advance is paid up.