Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 3
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I've got a couple of questions that weren't answered for me in the FAQ, or if they were, I didn't understand the answers.
(1) I get that we retain copyright to any works that we upload to bookcountry. But the question is whether uploading material here would be considered 'publication' in case we wanted to have our material published elsewhere. It looks (?) as though once the site goes live, 5,000 words of anything we upload will become publicly available. I've not been on other similar workshopping sites, but I believe that generally uploaded content isn't available publicly, only to members.
If a significant portion of whatever we upload (or the entirety, in case of a short story of less than 5,000 words) becomes publicly available for viewing, I'd imagine that most publishers would take it to have been published already.
(2) I don't understand the ramifications of the Terms of Use, in particular this portion: "By posting or uploading any Content on the Website: ... iii) you grant to us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, transferable right and license (A) to display the Content on the Website, and (B) with respect to Content other than your Work, to use, display, reproduce, distribute, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, perform, make, sell and export such Content, in whole and in part, on the Website or in any formats and through any media, as we see fit, and you shall have no claims against Book Country for such use or non-use."
I understand then that uploading our works here gives bookcountry irrevocable and perpetual right to display our uploaded works, royalty-free. Does that mean you have the right to display our material publicly, forever, without payment? I'm no lawyer, but this gives me significant pause.
These matters ought to be clarified, I think, especially for those of us who are clueless about the legal niceties.
(Sorry about the font change midway through, but I can't figure out how to alter the font).
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
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Up to 5k words, as chose by you. you can select a smaller excerpt.
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 3
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Hi Alexander,
OK, thanks for the clarification. I don't think that quite answers my concerns.
Viz.:
(1) Would this standardly be considered publication? If the precise number of words in the excerpt is critical, can we have some guidance as to how short they should be kept so as to retain the option to publish with a reputable publisher in future?
(NB: these could be short stories or novels. If I'm going to upload, I'd like to be sure I'll retain the possibility of publishing in a professional magazine or with a professional book publisher in future).
(2) What rights are we granting bookcountry by uploading material here? What's the upshot of that legalese I quoted above?
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Joined: 2/27/2011
Posts: 353
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Actually, we asked several agents and editors about this and no, you would not be considered to have been published if the general public can see up to 5,000 words of your work because the purpose of this site is to workshop unfinished works.
Some workshopping sites allow non-members to read a portion of the work posted; it is a way to entice other members to join. This is what we're doing.
As for the Terms of Use, you are combining two clauses and misinterpreting them.
Part A: "By posting or uploading any Content on the Website: ... iii) you grant to us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, transferable right and license (A) to display the Content on the Website" -- applies to only your fiction, and applies only so long as your fiction is actually on the site. Once you delete a project, or you terminate your account, we delete all our copies of it as well (which is also clearly stated in the Terms of Use).
Part B: "B) with respect to Content other than your Work, to use, display, reproduce, distribute, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, perform, make, sell and export such Content, in whole and in part, on the Website or in any formats and through any media, as we see fit, and you shall have no claims against Book Country for such use or non-use." -- This refers to anything on the site that is *not* your fiction. IE, if you participate in a Discussion, and we want to use a screenshot of that Discussion in an online advertisement for Book Country, we are allowed to do so. If we want to pull out a line in your Bio for the same reason, we have the right to do so. (This is pretty standard, by the way, if you read other sites' Terms of Use.)
Additionally, once the site goes live, you will have the option to make your work Private or remove it altogether if you are planning to shop it or if you have found an agent and your agent is looking to shop your work.
Hope that clarifies things!
On a completely different note...how did you change the font? Was that cut and pasted from something else?
Cheers!
Colleen
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 3
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Hi Colleen and thanks for the responses. I think my issue with clause iii is that it says "irrevocable" and "perpetual". It sounds odd to my (admittedly not-legally-trained) ears that an irrevocable and perpetual right ends if and when I remove the project from the site.
I hope you understand my confusion.
I understand your point with part B, and that doesn't concern me.
Re. the font: I copied the portion that began with the new font from your Terms of Use. (The font in the comment box didn't look quite so different as it does once displayed). Apparently that font took for the rest of my post, and I was unable to change it since there isn't any font control otherwise.
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Joined: 2/27/2011
Posts: 353
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Thanks, Doug!
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 12
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Alex, you said it can be up to 5k words for the public, but you can choose a smaller excerpt. How can you change the word limit? I'd like to do that.
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Joined: 2/27/2011
Posts: 353
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Selina -
No, you cannot choose a smaller excerpt. Alex was incorrect. You can choose to make your book private, in which case nobody will see it, or you can make it public, in which case non-members can read the first 5000 words, members can read the first 30,000 words and members to whom you are connected can read your entire manuscript.
Best.
Colleen Lindsay
Book Country Community Manager
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