crossposted from
unbossed
Congratulations on having your work noticed. There you were, blogging away in semi-anonymity, and the next thing you know, you get an email asking for permission to use your work in a book.
Exciting? You bet. But then you find yourself passing through the seven stages of an offer to have your words published on paper! - suspicion, rage, joy, self-validation, self-hatred, acceptance, and questions about copyright.
For serious questions about copyright, start at the
US Copyright Office. It's a good comprehensive site.
For some personal thoughts bases on having published a fair number of books and articles, here are a few practical suggesions.
You will have two issues - legal and practical. I am focusing on the practical, since you can already find good coverage of legal issues.
1. Legal
A legitimate requester will send you a legal document to read and "execute" - i.e. sign. It will acknowledge that you hold the copyright in your work and describe your permission to use the work in specified ways.
You will still own your copyright. It will not affect your copyright or other rights. You could still use the piece in your own book (and maybe you should be thinking about that) or give permission to others. (By the way, copyright is only in the fixed form of your words. It does not include the ideas.)
When the book is published, it should include a list of copyright permissions which would include yours if you have given it. You can do some research in scholarly works or anthologies and find those lists. You may notice that an author may even have to get permission to use her own work if she transferred copyright to someone else.
If someone is asking you to transfer your copyright, you may decide to do so and that may be a reasonable option. But before doing signing the agreement, do some more investigation, including reading through the Copyright Office material and, if necessary, contacting a copyright lawyer.
Finally, take a close look at the agreement's wording and see if there are parts you do not understand or that you think you want to clarify or tweak a bit. A permission will be a legal document, so it will contain some "tems of art," but if you are smart enough to blog you are smart enough to figure out what these terms mean.
2. Practical
You should ask for more detail as to how your work is to be used. One of my professors (a giant in his field) said he was embarrassed that whenever he asked someone for permission to use their work in his teaching materials, they were profoundly grateful. He was embarrassed because he only used work he wanted to rip apart. So remember that just because someone asks for permission to use your work does not mean they agree with what you say or are your fans. You may or may not care how the work is used, but you may. So ask before you sign.
You may also want more detail about the book (or site) where your work will appear. Is this a project with which you want to be associated?
The best way to know is to ask for a copy of the book proposal. Here is an example of a book proposal. The book will give you a lot of useful detail about the author, the point of the book, and the intended audience. You may also want to have a right to see the work in the form it will be used and to approve its use before the work is published. You can ask for this right, but it may be difficult to get. Changes late in the publishing process are extremely expensive, and the publisher is unlikely to agree to give such a right. Remember it is the publisher who has the ultimate say.
Find out whether your work will be used in whole or in part. If parts are used, make certain they will not distort your meaning.
Taking these steps allows you to decide whether you like the way your work is used or will be used and whether you want to be associated with the book as a whole.
Finally, do a search on the author and the press. Is this a legitimate author? Is this someone you want to have an association with? The book proposal should include information about the author, but you may want to take a look at her published writing and track record. Find out what the press is that will publish the work, and see whether you agree with its philosophy.
Depending on how substantial a part of your work is to be included, consider asking for a free copy or deeply discounted one. All they can say is no. After all, you will want a copy that you can show around.
Good luck and enjoy your new venture.