Tuesday, October 9, 2007

STRICTLY BUSINESS














Date: July 22, 2007

Attention Mr. Matt Randall & Mrs. Kristina Brooks,
Editors of GlassFire Magazine:

First, I’d like to thank you for your timely rejection of my short story. Your comments were greatly appreciated. Secondly, I am submitting a creative nonfiction piece as an attachment. Please let me know whether this is a better fit for your magazine. As always, I look forward to hearing from you. JR Thumbprints, Convict Teacher


Date: October 7, 2007

Hi JR, Congratulations! We would like to publish this second piece in our fall issue of GlassFire. Attached are our proposed edits to the story. Please look over them and let us know if they are acceptable. If so, we will email you the official contract to sign. Please let us know if you have any questions. We look forward to working with you. Matt Randall / Kristina Brooks, Editors of GlassFire


Date: October 8, 2007

Attention Mr. Matt Randall & Mrs. Kristina Brooks,
Editors of GlassFire Magazine:

Thank you for the good news. Your edits are perfectly acceptable. As for the prison terminology, how about some footnotes at the end? If so, here they are—1) mall area – a centralized location of intertwined sidewalks connecting the housing units to the chow hall, 2) toplock – specific cell doors that will not electronically open for mass movement of prisoners, 3) “032 Out of Place” – numerical code for prisoner rule violation when an inmate isn’t in his assigned area. Please let me know if this is acceptable. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, JRThumbprints, Convict Teacher


Date: October 9, 2007

Hi JR, Footnotes are an excellent idea! You’re right—that will keep the flow intact. I’ve attached the official contract for you to sign. If you have access to a scanner, feel free to scan a signed copy and email it back. If not, please mail it to: PegLeg Publishing. Once we have it, we can release your payment. Would you like a check, a paypal transfer, or an Amazon.com gift card? Thanks, Matt Randall / Kristina Brooks, Editors of GlassFire Magazine.



The Contract:

This letter of agreement shall formally confirm and define the terms of our agreement regarding publication of your work in GlassFire Magazine.

1. You grant GlassFire Magazine/PegLeg Publishing one time Internet rights to publish The Work online in the English language available for viewing in all countries throughout the world. The Work may also be archived. However, the Author has the right to resell the Work at any time after publication.

2. All rights not specifically granted herein are reserved by Author for Author’s sole use and disposition.

3. You hereby warrant to us that The Work has been created by you, that you are the sole and exclusive owner of the rights to your work for The Work conveyed to us under this agreement, and that you have the full power to grant the rights herein conveyed to us.

4. You hereby grant GlassFire Magazine/PegLeg Publishing the right and authority to use your name on The Work and in all promotion and publicity.

5. In consideration of the rights granted to us to produce The Work, you shall receive $5.00.

6. The provisions herein shall bind and inure to the benefit of the parties.

7. Regardless of its place of execution, this letter of agreement shall be interpreted under the laws of the State of Oklahoma.

8. The foregoing supersedes any and all previous understandings, constitutes our sole and complete agreement, and may not be altered except by mutual consent in writing.


Date: October 10, 2007

Attention Mr. Matt Randall & Mrs. Kristina Brooks,
Editors of GlassFire Magazine:

Where do I sign? Also, does this mean I give up all merchandising rights? I know JK Rowling didn’t. Sincerely, JR Thumbprints.

20 comments:

eric1313 said...

That's a lot of hoo-hawing on that contract, but it should be worth it... right?

Especially if you have the right to the "Macomb County Jail/Red Brick Hotel" playset (county blues, guard tower and hellicopter sold seperately), right?

That five dollars will be a down payment on the millions that will roll in...

all kidding aside, congratulations, JR

It's a great thing to see success from the people I had classes with.

eric1313 said...

btw
Just saw your comment.

Thanks for the tip about the Plath poem, I'll read it before I put a critical eye to line editing tonight.

I have the collected poems of Sylvia Plath--every American should have a copy of it. Except Walking Man as he hates her guts.

Jo said...

JR, hey...! good for you! Congratulations.

Eric1313, I don't like Sylvia Plath either. But I'm not American, so does that count?

Josie

Jo said...

And... that was not a phallic symbol on my blog, it was a very famous painting by Gustav Klimt called "The Kiss".

You are too funny...!

*chuckle*

ivan@creativewriting.ca said...

Gret news, JR.

But never get too cute with editors!


Ivan

ivan@creativewritign.ca said...

See?

They might leave out the missing a, as in my first sentence.

JR's Thumbprints said...

It seems as if they come in pairs, or is it double vision? Wait, I think they come "threes." I should have two more acceptance letters on the way. Or am I getting this confused with my death pool?

Anonymous said...

Congrats JR. You will be international. You may even get a look over by the ECEA.* MW:)

Foot Notes
*European Corrections Education Association/ wooooweee

Beth said...

Congratulations!

Those acceptance letters are wonderful to get! It's not about the money (although a few million would be nice - hell, a few hundred would be great). It's about the pride in your work and the recognition.

Cheri said...

Hell yeah Jim!

$5, don't spend it all in one place.

the walking man said...

Jim congratulations but before I go further...


Eric you are an asshole but in a good way lol I do not find any worth In Sylvia Plath.


My understanding is that you are giving up first internet publication rights for the sun of $5. That is all. If you Publish the work It has to be annotated that is was first published in so and so with all electronic world wide rights or so noted that it was previously published by pegleg electronic publishers.

Other than first publication rights you give up nothing, all other rights remain with you as the copyright holder.

Congratulations, feels pretty good eh? now make sure, like Charles did that we all know when it hits the airwaves,

Peace

mark

ivan@creativewriting.ca said...

re Sylvia Plath:

Mark,
I like the stuff your write, but if you can't see the parallel between between Ms. Plath personal agony and world events, maybe you should read her biographer, who, If I remember correctly, is A.C. Alvarez.
Mr. Alvarez' prose seems to almost match the poetry of Ms. Plath.

Ivan

p.s.: My former wife used to say, "crank you up a notch or two and you'd be Sylvia Plath."
I did stick my head into the oven one day, but it was electric.

Leslie: said...

Hey JR a start is a start. But gee a lot of paperwork for 5 bucks! And American bucks to boot...our Canadian loonie is worth more than that right now! lol

Inside our hands, outside our hearts said...

Congrats Jr.

the walking man said...

Ivan I can Biograph Plath...she was born ...she wrote teen angst crap her entire 40 odd years of life...she killed herself...the end.

Postscript:She had to kill herself to make herself relevant to her audiences. Fame and posthumous money rather than growth and fighting the fight we who live. live on to fight until we can no longer take the last mortal breath.

the walking man said...

Leslie good Canada can now have the 300,000 000,000 trade deficits and maybe people will leave us alone. Happy loonie toonies.

mark

Erik Donald France said...

Jim, Superb! Rock on, man. Congrats.

Sylvia Plath is more for girls, isn't she? Anne Sexton is way cooler.

singleton said...

Congrats, my friend! And hell, Five bucks is good....it's the publishing, the pushing, the words out there, the story shared that rocks the boat!
you go!

Michelle's Spell said...

Congratulations Jim! That's fantastic. Hey, five dollars is good for literary work! I'd keep the check for when you're famous and it's worth a lot more.

JR's Thumbprints said...

No no no Michelle, you're suggesting I not spend beer money. How dare you!