More Harlequin Drama!

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Cathy C

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This is one I've been staying out of until Harlequin had their say. Being in the legal field, I saw both sides (as well as a myriad of other sides---legal work often existing in the fourth and fifth dimensions :ROFL: )

I figured it was probably "technically" legal. But also in law there's a term called "the appearance of impropriety" that governs ethics. It doesn't have to BE illegal, merely look that way.

Lately, I fear the legal staff of Harlequin Enterprises is treading in the gray waters. I hope they find the shore soon.

I am sorry that Ms. Marr's comments are bothering so many . . . both here and on the announcement post. I do feel for her since what is often the simple truth with no intended malice is deemed by others to be "bragging." I've been accused of this same thing more than once. It may just be that writing is easy for her and that particular type of story naturally flows out of her, like paranormal does for me, or family stories do for Susan. I've had conversations with other writers for whom writing comes easy and they're wonderfully (or horribly, depending on your POV) prolific. We've been burned so often, through flamemail and hateful posts, that we fear saying ANYTHING about our work. I very frequently don't mention things about our stuff here, just for that reason.

So really guys---try to be kind to her. Please don't make her gun shy about having a natural talent so soon into a possible career. :(
 

ChristineR

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I might be confused again. LOL. If so, please forgive me.

Are you saying that as long as a writer is receiving royalties, they're "under contract?"

Because that's not the case. I was almost 4 years without a contract. During that time, I still received royalties on my previous books. But I was considered "out of contract." Once you've sent in option material, and it's been rejected, you're offically "out of contract."


Susan G.

It would depend on how you defined contracted. They've clarified; she delivered the material as promised, hence was out of contract. But the contract with Harlequin that obligates them to pay royalties to her is still in force (obviously, since you can buy her books today) and if she wasn't getting her royalties, she'd take them to court and wave her contract around. So in my ignorant interpretation--there's a contract; it's got her name on it; it hasn't expired.

I guess under their interpretation the only authors that would have been ineligible would be those that had multi-book deals who had not yet delivered the last book/rewrite of the series. Which is not what I would have thought, but it's their contest.

In Maggie Marr's case, I didn't see it as bragging at all. It's not clear to me that she even wrote, or intends to write, the actual book. She was in the middle of a nasty rewrite, and just for fun, threw out a sample chapter. I think a lot of writers do similar things, just for a change of pace. Writing one chapter easily is a long way from writing a whole book easily. If there's one thing I've learned on AW, it's that there are many different writing styles that are used successfully. And it's obvious that she's worked to get to the point where she is today as well.
 
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xccorpio

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Thanks Cathy, I love that phrase, the appearance of impropriety; it would be the perfect title for the Presents situation.

;)
 
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girlyswot

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I am sorry that Ms. Marr's comments are bothering so many . . . both here and on the announcement post. I do feel for her since what is often the simple truth with no intended malice is deemed by others to be "bragging." I've been accused of this same thing more than once. It may just be that writing is easy for her and that particular type of story naturally flows out of her, like paranormal does for me, or family stories do for Susan. I've had conversations with other writers for whom writing comes easy and they're wonderfully (or horribly, depending on your POV) prolific. We've been burned so often, through flamemail and hateful posts, that we fear saying ANYTHING about our work. I very frequently don't mention things about our stuff here, just for that reason.

So really guys---try to be kind to her. Please don't make her gun shy about having a natural talent so soon into a possible career. :(

I notice that she has both edited her original post slightly and put up a new post talking about the difference between writing easily and writing that is fun. To me that does look as though she's realised how her words were being taken and is trying to steer away from that without making a big fuss and drama. So, okay, I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt at this stage.
 

Susan Gable

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It would depend on how you defined contracted. They've clarified; she delivered the material as promised, hence was out of contract. But the contract with Harlequin that obligates them to pay royalties to her is still in force (obviously, since you can buy her books today) and if she wasn't getting her royalties, she'd take them to court and wave her contract around. So in my ignorant interpretation--there's a contract; it's got her name on it; it hasn't expired.

But that's not what the standard, acceptable definition of it is in the publishing industry.

I guess under their interpretation the only authors that would have been ineligible would be those that had multi-book deals who had not yet delivered the last book/rewrite of the series.


Right. I'm currently under contract because I'm working on the second book in a two-book contract. Once I send in this full, and the revised version, and have all the edits taken care of, then I'll be out of contract again.

Susan G.
 

ChristineR

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Where is this standard, accepted definition written down? I did some random searching, and didn't find anything--in fact, I found people using it to refer to someone whose books had already been published, like Carr.
 

veinglory

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I would understand it to mean any author with a book contracted and not reverted (out of print). But what do I know....
 

Brindle Chase

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I'm with Susan. Contracted to me, means that you are currently working on a book with them, under contract. For example... just because you did a book ten years ago, but still happens to be in print and are still receiving royalties... doesn't equate as being "under contract" to me. My contract states that my obligations end once I turn in my final draft and it is accepted by the publisher. The contract defines many things and enforces things both for me and the publisher after that time... but I am no longer under contract for that book, once I've completed my obligations. Like Susan said, she is still under contract, because she still has obligations to fulfill, thus would not be eligible for this contest in question... whereas, the winner, a previously contracted author, was eligible because they were not currently under contract at the time.
 

IceCreamEmpress

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But the contract with Harlequin that obligates them to pay royalties to her is still in force (obviously, since you can buy her books today) and if she wasn't getting her royalties, she'd take them to court and wave her contract around. So in my ignorant interpretation--there's a contract; it's got her name on it; it hasn't expired.

That's not how people in the publishing industry define "contracted" in this context. "Contracted", in this context, means that there is a current agreement between the publisher and the writer for work to be delivered and paid for at a future date.

Royalty arrangements are ongoing arrangements that are laid out in a contract, so I see your confusion, but "contracted authors" means "authors with a current contract that has not been fully performed" rather than "authors still getting royalties from past contracts."

Of course HQ should have spelled this out more clearly, given that so many of the contestants were people who, as unpublished-to-date writers, weren't familiar with the particular jargon of the publishing industry.
 

veinglory

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Indeed. If the whole thing wasn't aggressively marketed specifically to "aspiring authors" and new voices the response would likely have been different.
 
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brainstorm77

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Oh well they went and moderated their comments now only posting the ones they like. I entered this contest and think this is totally hilarious and bullshit at the same time. I would not enter another contest put out by HQ.
 
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