ArtSake

The LEF Foundation, a vital funder and supporter of documentary film in New England, has a trail of interesting news this summer. First, the foundation’s screening series, the DocYard, has held four great screenings, with more are on the way.

What’s the DocYard? It’s a film and discussion series, running bi-weekly at the Brattle Theatre over the summer, celebrating documentary filmmaking and fostering community among local documentary film artists.

Upcoming screenings include Speaking in Tongues, directed by Marcia Jarmel & Ken Schneider, a documentary that explores bilingual education and its ramifications for the nation as a whole. Speaking in Tongues screens on August 2 at 7 PM, Q&A with filmmakers to follow. Then on August 16, at 7 PM the DocYard screens Today the Hawk Takes One Chick directed by Jane Gillooly (Film & Video Fellow ’07). This film, which garnered Jane an MCC fellowship (see clip above), observes day-to-day life of Swaziland in Africa. Revealed is a rural society in which HIV has virtually ravaged a generation, leaving grandmothers (gogos) responsible for their children’s children.

Speaking of Jane, she’s one of the filmmakers awarded by LEF’s recently announced Pre-Production grants! If you’ve got a documentary film, in any stage of production, check out LEF’s Moving Image Fund, for all guidelines, deadlines, and other details of LEF’s production and pre- and post-production grants.

AND… LEF has joined the blogosphere with a forum to “share and discuss what we are learning from the documentary field broadly and what new developments are happening in New England specifically.” Definitely one to add to your blog feed and/or visit with devout frequency. Recent posts on filmmakers in the 120-degree weather of Baghdad and a funder spotlight on Cinereach have been interesting reading.

* Apologies for the title. When thinking of what to call my post about recent goings-on at the LEF Foundation, the need to be punny just took hold and would not let go. Other ideas: “Don’t get LEF out of the fun!” “LEF-ing all the way” “Visit the LEF Coast” and “It’s a Wonderful LEF.”

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We’re excited to welcome guest blogger Jenny Milana, of DangerMilana, whose experience in contract negotiations, copyright issues, and other legal matters spans the publishing, theater, music, film and television industries. What’s more, while growing up in California, Jenny worked as an actor, so she knows the field from the creative side, too.

She’s generously agreed to field artists’ questions on legal matters relating to their work. (Incidentally, if you have any arts law questions, send them our way for a future “Ask an Arts Attorney” post.)

Please note: this post is for informational benefit only and should not be used in place of actual legal services. Also, as a state agency, the Massachusetts Cultural Council does not endorse any individual business or service.

So without further ado…

My questions may be a little different than what you may typically hear from artists concerning copyright. At this point I am not concerned about the copyright of my own work but the copyright of published books and illustrations. I love to work with paper and am interested in using books with illustrations as materials for a new project. First, I understand that any work published before 1923 is considered public domain, but if those works are re-published at a later date (ex: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland originally published in 1865 but the story re-published in 1946), is the 1946 publication considered public domain as well? Can I purchase that 1946 copy to be used in a new work of fine art? Thank you so much for any help!

Signed,
Let It Fly

Dear Let It Fly,
Your question is a bit tricky because it involves the doctrine of fair use. Works in the public domain do not have any copyright protection and can be freely used. However, if those works are re-published at a later date by a new author and they are not identical to the original works, then such work does have copyright protection in the new material. The new material could be a spin on the story’s ending or the illustrations.

The original story itself which is in the public domain can still be used, but the new publication typically has taken the original work and modified it somehow, repackaged it in such a way which gives the new publication copyright protection in those new elements. So in your example about Alice in Wonderland, if the 1946 publication is still copyrighted because it maintained its registration prior to the 1976 copyright law, then you could not take that book and use it in a work of fine art because you are creating a derivative work, a right held exclusively to the copyright owner. A derivative work is a modification, or new use of the original work. You could, however, create a derivative work using the 1865 original.

A few questions. The first has to do with music publishing: what should an indie artist be on the lookout for when trying to license their original music? The second is about gigs: is there a casual way of putting something in writing for a gig which is both legal, casual and easy? Possible uses: dj’ing a wedding, gig at a small club on a tour (making sure gear and staff agreed upon, etc. is there).

Signed,
Indie Songster in Somerville

Dear Indie Songster,
As in most things there is a long answer and a short answer. I’ll try to give you something in between. A musician looking to license their work should be on the lookout for a variety of things. The first and most important thing to watch out for is what rights you are licensing away. You don’t want to end up with your music as the theme song to a pornographic movie if your target market is teens, for example. You don’t want to give exclusive rights, either, otherwise you won’t be able to license your music for other purposes. There are also two kinds of licenses, master license and synch licenses. Most often, a music license needs to contain both. The master license is for the sound recording and a synchronization license is for the music and lyrics, or musical composition. Most licenses require both but some uses may not need both.

You want to make sure when negotiating rights that subsidiary rights like merchandising are talked about as well so it’s very clear what you are allowing the other party to do and not do with the music. Another thing to be on the lookout for is royalties. The royalties or cost to license the music should take into account every right or use you are granting. Some of these things may not be negotiable, though, when licensing to places such as iTunes. Most often, those contracts are not negotiable.

With regards to your second question, there is definitely a way to put something in writing that keeps thing casual but still protects your interests as best you can. Most parties do things on a handshake, and to involve lawyers and complicated contracts sometimes puts bad tastes in people’s mouths, which strains the relationships. At our firm DangerMilana, our primary goal in reviewing/drafting or negotiating any contract is to talk with the parties as though the contract is more like a collaboration agreement. Everyone’s goal is to continue working together and keep things moving, rather than slow things down going back and forth with negotiations. The contract should also be drafted in as plain English as possible, without all of the legalese. For small gigs like DJing weddings, etc., a contract is of utmost importance as it can be the difference in months of headaches and not getting paid. It also sets the expectations from the beginning.

Those types of contracts should be friendly, basic and no more than two pages at most if at all possible. I would still recommend a lawyer to draft this document, though, because they can maximize protecting your interests in as little wording as possible.

I recently won a publication contest for a book of short stories. I then received a contract to sign. This will be my first published book and so I had no agent and knew no lawyers with specialties in this area. I joined the Author’s Guild for an annual fee of $70 or so, and they reviewed the contract for me and sent me a lengthy response with proposed changes. I was then left more or less on my own to negotiate with the publisher based on their advice. Can you recommend a better way to do this?

Even after I won the prize, I still felt that I was extremely lucky to have found a good publisher for a collection of literary short stories, and although it seems to me the publisher negotiated in good faith, I still felt like I had very little leverage. Should I have acted tough? Should I have gone in swinging? Or should I just be grateful? And let’s say I had hired a lawyer, what should I have expected to pay?

Signed,
Published but perplexed

Dear Published,
First of all, congratulations on winning the publication contest.

Second, unfortunately there are not a lot of better options. The best option is to have a lawyer do the negotiating if possible. That can be difficult though as lawyers can be expensive. One option is to request the attorney to simply negotiate the really important clauses like price or rights. This can cut down on the cost immensely and protect your interests in the area you are most concerned about.

Regarding your second question, I wouldn’t suggest going in swinging or just being grateful either. As I mentioned in another answer, our goal with any contract negotiation is that the parties are going to be working together and likely want to preserve the ability to work together in the future. As to what you could expect to pay, firms charge all different types of rates, some flat, some hourly. To give you a sense, though, our firm’s hourly fee is typically $300. However, we charge a flat fee for certain services such as contract review. For a review of a contract of less than five pages, we have the artist come in to sit and talk about their concerns (which which typically takes a good hour or so). But our flat rate for that ($150) would be significantly lower than our hourly rate. So when you approach a lawyer be sure to clarify what the rate is – and which type of rate it is – for the service you require. Be aware that some services may have a minimum retainer.

At our firm, we try and work with artists, and depending on the project, can offer a pricing level to fit the artist’s situation. Every artist is different, as are their needs. Some lawyers will be a better fit than others, so don’t hesitate to ask around until you find representation that fits your needs.

Jenny Milana, a partner at DangerMilana, specializes in arts, media, and entertainment law.

If you have any questions for a future “Ask an Arts Attorney” post, send them here.

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Call for Videos: The Americans for the Arts have a video contest called Why Arts Matter. They are looking for people to submit videos of two minutes or less on the subject of why the arts matter. Before entering, be sure to read the official rules and regulations.
Deadline: August 13, 2010

Western Mass. Performing Artists: find out about New England Foundation for the Arts‘ presenting and touring programs at their info session in North Adams on July 30, 10am-12pm.

Painting Grant: The Provincetown Art Association and Museum announces the Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation Grant. Grants will be given to painters aged 45 or older in support of the highest merit by lesser known and artists with financial need. Applications are available online. Contact Grace Ryder-O’Malley at 508-487-1750.
Deadline: August 16, 2010

Call to Boston-Based Poets & Artists: To celebrate the City of Boston’s rich literary tradition and varied visual art history, The Mayor’s Office of Arts, Tourism & Special Events is seeking artwork and poetry from Boston-based artists and poets. Their goal is to create a dialogue between the literary and visual arts. The theme for the exhibition is Impressions of Boston. Each poem chosen will be paired up with a chosen painting or photograph. Participants must either live or work in Boston. Individuals may apply for the visual arts category, the poetry category or both. Specific entry guidelines are available. Contact  John.crowley@cityofboston.gov at 617-635-2368.
Deadline: August 20, 2010

Double your Pleasure: Mobius is looking for 4×6 photographic prints (or image files in JPG format) for either their online show Signs of Our Times, or their bricks and morter exhibition of the same name.
Online Exhibition Deadline: Ongoing
Bricks and Morter Exhibition Deadline: September 5, 2010

Triple Play from apexart
1. Franchise Program 2011: An opportunity for apexart to finance your exhibition anywhere in the world. For the past two years, apexart has presented Franchise exhibitions in Los Angeles (2009) and Thailand (2010). apexart will present two Franchise exhibitions in 2011.
Deadline: October 1, 2010

2. ‘Commercial’ Art Video Call: Open call for video submissions with an opportunity to win $2,000.
Take any broadcast commercial, cut it, dub it, repeat it, or flip it and make it art for an upcoming apexart exhibition that will be on view November 10 – December 22, 2010.
Deadline: October 31, 2010

3. Unsolicited Proposal Program UP 2011: For the 14th year running, apexart accepts 600-word, idea-based proposals for exhibitions in New York City. Reviewed independently, anonymously and without support materials, submissions are evaluated solely on the strength of the idea.
Deadline: Accepting submissions January 14 – February 14, 2011.
For more on any of these apexart opportunities, contact info@apexart.org or call 212-431-5270.

Artist-In-Residency Program: This residency provides artists the opportunity to be in residence at Brandeis University while working on an artistic project in the field of Jewish women’s and gender studies, and to produce an exhibit for the Kniznick Gallery at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University. Application guidelines can be found on the HBI Web site. Contact Debby Olins.
Deadline: October 1, 2010

Image Credit: Video above from Youtube of entries to the Why Arts Matter Contest from the Americans for the Arts.

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Perhaps you’ve heard of TED, that confluence of creative super-brains in technology, entertainment, and design? TED Talks at the annual conference have included “ideas worth spreading” from Steven Hawking and Al Gore as well as local innovators Tod Machover and Dan Ellsey from the groundbreaking Hyperscore music project (watch the video above) and Boston Philharmonic Conductor Benjamin Zander. TED has collected those talks in an online catalog – a kind of embeddable Bible for the “groundbreaking genius” sect.

And, just as the Biblical Shem begot Arphaxad, so has TED begot something with an “x” in its name. Coincidence? Yes, I think it is, probably. But the point is, TED led to TEDx.

What’s TEDx? It’s local communities designing and organizing their own independent, TED-like events. And the next TEDx event is about to happen in Boston.

TEDxBoston takes place Thursday, July 29, 2010, 10 AM to 6 PM. Among the events speakers are arts and technology writer Scott Kirsner, designer and Poe story illustrator Eric Mongeon, dance crew Static Noyze, Artists for Humanity founder/director Susan Rodgerson, percussionist Marcus Santos, Boston Latin School senior and erhu player Muhan Zhang, and Sapir Ng, the architect behind the fascinating Tremont Underground Theatre Space concept.

Read about all the 2010 speakers and the pre-conference events. Then go invent something radical, like an ice cream-making hat powered by brainwaves!

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Above, Moving Company artists perform “common ground” at the International VSA Festival in Washington, D.C.

The piece, performed this past June, was choreographed by Dawn Lane (Choreography Fellow ’10), who runs the Moving Company as Artistic Director of Community Access to the Arts (CATA). CATA, based in Great Barrington, nurtures and celebrates the creativity of people with disabilities through shared experiences in the arts.

It’s a prestigious honor for the Moving Company, the only Massachusetts performing arts organization invited to participate in the international festival. Below, you can see Dawn and Sandy Newsman from CATA with VSA founder Jean Kennedy Smith.

For more news on MCC Artist Fellows and Finalists, read Fellows Notes.

Images: (l to r) Moving Company dancers Jane Goodrich, JoAnne King, Hope Garner; CATA Founder & Executive Director Sandy Newman, VSA Founder Jean Kennedy Smith, Choreographer Dawn Lane.

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The image above depicts a past Governor of Massachusetts. Do clothes make the man or does the man make the clothes? You decide. ArtSake just adores this painting and the artist’s delicate handling of the lace collar. Now onto the opportunities…

For Performing Artists/Presenters: The Maine Arts Commission, NEFA, and the Atlantic Presenters Association are hosting Over The Edge, a free conference to improve opportunities for touring artists and presenting organizations at the the Collins Center for the Arts in Orono, Maine. August 4-6, 2010.

The Lynn and Jules Kroll Fund for Jewish Documentary Film: Supports the completion of original documentaries that explore the Jewish experience in all its complexity. The online application for 2010 is now live.
Deadline: July 27, 2010

A Trifecta of Web Art Opportunities: transmediale in collaboration with Mozilla have recently announced the creation of the Open Web Award 2011 a special third platform for creative excellence alongside the transmediale Award 2011 and the Vilém Flusser Theory Award 2011.

1. The Open Web Award is a new platform for radical, creative and innovative art works and projects that: are on the web and about the web, use open and free technology, and incite participation and/or collaboration. Proposals may be critical, celebratory or both. Projects should have the potential to demonstrate and/or objectively critique the potential of open web issues, and those employing the creative use of HTML5 and other developing ‘open’ technologies will be given specific consideration. The point is to play with both the idea and materiality of the (open) web in ways that spark new thinking and practice.
   Deadline: July 31, 2010 
2. The transmediale Award 2011 seeks original, innovative and visionary art works across a wide scope of form, process and practice. Works that embrace, question and enrich our understanding of and relationship to our globally complex, media immersed and technologically diverse society, and are exemplary of a high standard of critical digital practice are encouraged.
   Deadline: July 31, 2010 
3. The Vilém Flusser Theory Award 2011 seeks innovative media theory and exemplary research into digital culture exploring current and pending positions in digital art, media culture and networked society. Echoing media philosopher and cultural nomad Vilém Flusser’s unique investigative, cross-disciplinary and analytic approach, the Award is also open to outstanding and significant work which may be produced outside the bounds of traditional academia. Entries may include publications, positions, and projects from a broad range of theoretical, artistic, critical or design-based research that seek to establish and define new forms of exchange, vocabularies and cultural dialogue.
   Deadline: July 31, 2010

Grants for Visual Artists: The Artist’s Resource Trust Fund provides grants for professional New England visual artists in painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography or mixed media who have a financial need. Awards range from $1,500 to $10,000 and may be applied toward any expense that may enhance the artist’s ability to create his/her work.
Deadline: August 1, 2010

Residency for Poets/Literary Scholars: The Amy Clampitt Residency Program award consists of the use of the Amy Clampitt House free and clear for a six-month or twelve-month period beginning February 1, 2011 and ending January 27, 2012.
Deadline: August 1, 2010

Non-Fiction TV Show: ITVS Open Call provides completion funds for single nonfiction public television programs on any subject, and from any viewpoint. Projects must have begun production as evidenced by a work-in-progress video.
Deadline: August 8, 2010

Call for Short Plays: Culture*Park announces a call for entries for the 9th Annual Short Plays Marathon, scheduled for Saturday, November 20, 2010, in downtown New Bedford, MA. Plays should be 15 pages/minutes or fewer in length. One play submission per playwright is accepted. Contact culturepark@earthlink.net, or call 774-202-0588.
Deadline: October 1, 2010

Image credit: Photograph by ArtSake. The painting above is one of many former governors on display at the Massachusetts State House.

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Gretchen Romey-Tanzer (Crafts Fellow ’05) is one of the painters and weavers who created works to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the anthem “America the Beautiful.”

The exhibition, curated by Cape Cod painter Shawne Nelson, pairs teams of painters and weavers together to interpret the lyrics of the anthem (from a poem by Cape Cod writer Katharine Lee Bates, incidentally).

America the Beautiful runs at the Massachusetts State House in Boston July 19-30. Read more about the exhibition.

And check out Fellows Notes for other current news of MCC fellows/finalists.

Image: Gretchen Romey-Tanzer, AMBER WAVES – GOD SHED HIS GRACE ON THEE (2010), weaving, 50×36 in.

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Ilie Ruby is a Boston-area writer and painter whose about-to-be-published novel, The Language of Trees, has gotten some choice praise from the likes of Gregory Maguire (Wicked) and Publishers Weekly. In Massachusetts, Ilie has upcoming readings at Brookline Booksmith (7/27), Newtonville Books (8/3), and Concord Bookshop (9/12).

Here’s a nano-interview with Ilie, an artist at a pivotal time in her career (and life, as it turns out)!

What’s the best/worst day job you’ve ever had?
Best, writing reviews on PBS documentaries for 8 hours a day. What could be better than watching documentaries and then writing about them? The worst job, handing out flyers in Boston’s Faneuil Hall on Christmas Day when I was 23. I stood outside in the snow for 8 hours without a hat and contracted the worst flu I’d ever had.

Who wins the poets vs. prose writers paint ball war?
Poets. They think fast and know how to hit you where it counts.

Do you secretly dream of being a) a pop icon, b) an algebra teacher, and/or c) a crime-solver/writer a la Jessica Fletcher?
A pop star. Whatever you do, do not search for IlieRubyBand on MySpace.

What’s the most surprising response to your work you’ve ever received?
I once had a short story ravaged by wolves in a writing workshop. When I left, barely able to speak, a friend suggested that the best revenge was revision. I looked over the story, dotted some i’s, crossed some t’s, and decided I was happy with it as it was. The situation really could not get any worse, I thought. Then I haphazardly tossed the story into a box marked “contest,” (not knowing what contest it actually was). A few weeks later I received a phone call: “Congratulations, your story has just won the Edwin L. Moses Award for Fiction chosen by T.C. Boyle! The biggest award at USC.” I received a huge prize, a small amount of satisfaction, and learned never again to listen to wolves.

Like, what does your work MEAN?
I don’t intentionally set out to convey a message, but what usually comes through is the idea that people can make the biggest mistakes of their lives and still come out okay. Life is an animal that can turn in an instant… in a good way. There is life after life. People need to have hope in the face of tragedy. This much I know.

Share a surprise twist in the “Ilie Ruby story.”
Well, talk about a confluence of events, not two months after my husband and I decided to adopt 3 children from Africa, I received word that my novel had been accepted for publication. I had waited for both things for such a long time. As synchronicity would have it, they both came along at once! So, I became a new mom and a new author within the span of a few months! What followed was a whole lot of learning, growing, and editing manuscripts while sitting at my daughter’s soccer practice and on the bench at the playground. It is a juggling act to say the least — but one I wouldn’t change for the world! This has undoubtedly been one of the most magical times of my life.

Ilie’s book tour for The Language of Trees launches at Borders NYC Columbus Circle on July 22 at 7 PM. Massachusetts readings include Brookline Booksmith on July 27, 7 PM; Newtonville Books on August 3 at 7 PM; and the Concord Bookshop on September 12 at 3 PM.

Ilie Ruby is a painter and author. She lives near Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband and the three children they adopted from Africa.

Images: Ilie Ruby, photo by Steve Lifshatz; cover art for THE LANGUAGE OF TREES by Ilie Ruby (Avon HarperCollins, 2010).

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This weekend, Company One Theatre will premiere GRIMM at the Calderwood Pavilion of the Boston Center for the Arts. GRIMM is a collection of short plays by an intriguing group of local playwrights, each re-imagining a classic GRIMM fairy tale.

Exciting local playwrights. Re-imagined GRIMM. To my mind, this is precisely what whoever coined the phrase “match made in heaven” must’ve been clairvoyantly channeling when they first said it.

The plays, by the way, are by Lydia R. Diamond, Marcus Gardley, Melinda Lopez (an MCC fellow in 2003), Kirsten Greenidge, John Kuntz, John ADEkoje and Gregory Maguire (author of Wicked).

Company One has been stoking anticipation of GRIMM by posting entertaining interviews on their blog. They asked Becca Lewis and Yurie Collins, both actresses in the play, about their own memories and experiences with fairy tales. I love the exchange quoted below:

Company One: What’s the most potent lesson in a fairytale for you?
Becca Lewis: Be true to yourself? It seems like so often fairytale women (mostly) are led astray because they are taking the advice of people (or animals) who do not have their best interests at heart. This could be interpreted as “Don’t trust anyone” as well, but I don’t think that captures everything either. Do research. A talking goose is not always who they appear to be. If someone offers you a basket of jewelry, someone is probably missing a basket of jewelry somewhere. Don’t be so naive. Everyone is inherently selfish. Take a self-defense class. Just because you’re pretty doesn’t mean you have to be stupid. Often times, reading a fairytale is like watching the first girl about to get killed in a horror movie. You want to scream, “What the hell are you doing?! Don’t go in there!”

And another take on the same question:

Company One: What’s the most potent lesson in a fairtytale for you?
Yurie Collins: Don’t wait around for some traveling prince.

GRIMM runs July 16, 2010—August 14, 2010 at the Roberts Theatre in the Calderwood Pavilion of the Boston Center for the Arts.

You can read the original fairy tales upon which the plays are based on Company One’s site.

Images: publicity photos for GRIMM from Company One Theatre: the cast of “The Seven Stage a Comeback” by Gregory Maguire; actors Raymond Ramirez and Becca Lewis, from “Red” by John Kuntz.

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Jonathan Papernick‘s short story collection There Is No Other has just been published, and Jonathan recently wrote an essay about that crucial step after you publish your book: promoting it with all available resources (mainly you).

Jonathan has generously allowed us to re-post the essay, which originally appeared in Beyond the Margins, a superb blog by writers connected to the writers’ service organization Grub Street.

Within weeks of publication of my first collection of short stories eight years ago, I received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and a full-page rave review in the New York Times. My name was mentioned in the same breath as other successful young, Jewish authors – bestsellers and award winners, names you would immediately recognize. I felt that I was on my way. Only I wasn’t – not really.

Nobody ever told me that the real work begins once a book is finished and that you need to spend a good six months to a year getting out there and promoting your own work, otherwise it risks dying on the vine. By the time my book started disappearing from bookshelves a few months after publication it was too late for me to traction those early positive reviews into sales. In the end, my collection sold fairly well for a first-time author, but the sales numbers were not high enough for the publishing industry to take notice. After many rounds of submissions, I finally gave up on U.S. publishers and instead opted to publish with a small Canadian publisher who expressed great interest in the book.

Now that my second collection of stories is out, I am taking the hard lessons I learned from relying on a disinterested publisher who did next to nothing after the book was orphaned by the acquiring editor, and have set up a war plan, a campaign to follow through to the bitter end.

Not a day has gone by since December when I have not done something to promote the book, whether I was contacting bookstores about carrying my book, or setting up readings in support of the collection.

Six months ago I started gathering names of potential reviewers, people who had shown favor to my writing in the past, as well as names I was able to gather from supportive writer friends, and sources on the internet. I sent personalized e-mails with a description of my collection and blurbs to each potential reviewer and let them know that the book would be coming in May. By making the personal connection with potential reviewers and creating a sense of anticipation, I raised the likelihood that the book would actually be reviewed.

I convinced my publisher to give me fifty review copies and I told him that I would send out review copies on my own, rather than relying on him to do it on my behalf. Sure it cost me for envelopes and postage, but I know that I am my own top priority, whereas any publisher has numerous authors it needs to consider at any given time. In fact, I did try hiring two former students to work under my guidance as publicity associates, but neither of them ultimately felt they were up to the task – I guess they just didn’t think they had enough skin in the game. I grew up listening to independent punk rock bands and I understand the power of a DIY ethos – there is no shame in doing it myself. In the end, I labeled and stamped envelopes myself, made sure to put in a press release and clippings with each review copy and I fired off another e-mail letting reviewers know that my book was on its way.

No matter how uncomfortable or not-in-your-nature it may be, it’s critical to get out there and talk to people about your work, as you are your own best resource and promoter. I attended several conferences (AWP, Muse and the Marketplace, Jewish Book Network, Book Expo America) in the months prior to publication meeting other writers, reviewers, agents and editors, putting my name (hopefully) into the zeitgeist so that my name would be familiar next time they encounter it. One influential book blogger did not receive my review copy in the mail the first two times I sent it. I could easily have given up at that point, and I was tempted to out of sheer frustration, but I knew that she was going to be at the Book Expo in New York. I sought her out at the table where she was signing books, introduced myself, and personally placed my book into her bag. She was very appreciative of my persistence, and wrote to me yesterday: “Brilliant collection. Truly amazing.” She plans on pushing my book on her blog in the coming days. (Ed. note: read the interview between Jonathan and said blogger, writer Caroline Leavitt.)

It is important to make sure that you have an attractive, updated website, a blog, a Goodreads profile, a Facebook fan page, a personal Facebook page that you use selectively to promote your work, (I’m not yet sold on Twitter, but I’m not ruling it out either) update your Amazon author page and make sure that your book page on Amazon.com has updated reviews as well as the Search Inside the Book feature and availability on Kindle. Unfortunately, I’ve been asking my publisher since December to make sure that the Search Inside the Book feature and Kindle is ready ASAP, and nearly six months later neither are up on the Amazon site. I’ve actually called Amazon myself and the book’s distributor, but it seems in this case that will and persistence are not enough and I can only hope that it will be taken care of soon.

Many of you might think that Amazon.com is the evil empire, and perhaps it is in some ways, but Amazon is also a writer’s best friend as it is a simple way for readers to buy your books, especially backlist titles that are likely not available in bookstores. I am encouraging my readers to post reviews on Amazon.com and have promised to send out a free copy of my novel to anyone who does so. I think people are more likely to buy (and review) a book that has been reviewed positively by a whole pile of people rather than by one or two of the author’s close relatives.

Your writing – and bank account – might take a hit during the months that you’re a promoting your work, but you need to honor your book and give it a fighting chance. It will certainly be time well spent, as little by little your writing emerges from the shadows. There are ways to continue writing in service of your promotional campaign as well. I strongly suggest writing for blogs, websites, newspapers etc. on any subject that you feel you have the remotest level of competence, and whenever possible, ask that your article/review/essay is linked directly to your website or an online source where your book can be purchased. I have some other promotional ideas in mind for the fall, but I’ll keep them to myself for now as they’re still in the planning stages.

Jonathan will read from There Is No Other on Thursday, July 22 2010, at 6 PM, as part of the Stories Uncorked program at the Marriott Rooftop Garden, near MIT in Cambridge, MA.

Jonathan Papernick is the author of the short story collection The Ascent of Eli Israel, and Who by Fire, Who by Blood. Please encourage your local independent bookstore to order his new collection of short stories There Is No Other. He teaches fiction writing at Emerson College and lives outside Boston with his wife and two sons.

Images: Jonathan Papernick, photo by Gary Alpert; cover art for THERE IS NO OTHER by Jonathan Papernick (Exile Editions, 2010).

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