Hola! I’m back from Peru, which was quite an incredible trip. I will have a rundown on the week and an exhortation about the wonders of voluntourism when I’m able to pull it together.
In the meantime, thanks so much to the incredible guest bloggers! I caught up on the comments yesterday and not only did they write awesome posts they also did an admirable job facilitating the discussion in the comments section. Thanks for that.
I’m also pleased that everyone gave Eric the proper encouragement to start a blog. He is now the proud owner of Pimp My Novel, which is already proving to be an indispensable resource in the publishing blogosphere. Set your blasters to “subscribe.”
Now then. As I catch up on my overflowing Inbox, just a short post for the FAQs. Reader Riley Corbin wanted to know if you need to file for copyright before you submit to publishers.
The short answer: no, you don’t have to.
The slightly longer answer: Please read this post by Jonathan Lyons that deals with everything you need to know about copyright.
Welcome back, Nathan! I'm glad you returned home safely… and I'm looking forward to your entertaining/informative posts, but I just have to say, THANK YOU for leaving us in such good hands last week… I (and others) learned a lot from the posts and their subsequent discussions. 🙂
Welcome back! Yes, definite thanks to the guest bloggers, and also thanks to you for finding such great and insightful folks to take care of things in your absence! I took a lot away from their discussion topics!
Huzzah!
So glad to hear you're back, though the guest bloggers really did a great job. I'm looking forward to hearing about your experiences in Peru. I was born there and moved here at a young age, though I go back on occasion, and it really means a lot to hear about people like you volunteering their time. THANK YOU!!!
Welcome back, your choices for last week were excellent!
I have mixed feelings. You're back and I'm glad. But the guest bloggers were awesome!
Happily continuing to follow your blog because it always has great content and great commenters.
Hello all you loverly commenters!
Thank you, Nathan, for the opportunity. I enjoyed all the guest posts and keeping up in the comments. And way to go on offering your service in Peru!
Hi Ho! Hi Ho!
It's off to pimp I go!
Okay, that sounds awful. But it was stuck in my head. Curses to Eric. (And, you know, good luck.)
And you've been missing Summer League! Tragedy of tragedies. And, ahem, my Raptors cleaning up in the offseason. Colangelo just broke some ankles. That was nasty.
Oh, and Nathan, thanks for the link to Jonathan Lyons' take on the big bad "to copyright or not to copyright" issue. I must admit that I wrestled with this question for a long time (despite the fact that my book is currently unpublished).
Finally, I decided against securing an official copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office – knowing that I would still have to do so with the much-edited, to-be-published version. Instead, I registered my manuscript with the Writer's Guild of America, which still serves as a form of legal protection.
Just my two cents…
Peru?!?! I love Peruvian/South American culture. Very cool, hope you'll show us some pix 🙂
glad u got back home safely, though!
WELCOME HOME! I am really enjoying your blog and have added you to my favorite places to visit. Thank you so much for all you share!
Welcome back Nathan! The guest bloggers were fantastic, thank you for setting that up.
Nathan,
The guest bloggers were awesome!
Thanks!
I'm glad you had a great trip! And thanks again for the guest blogging opportunity. It was wonderful to participate in this great writing community.
Oh yay, I'm glad you're back. Last week was a lot of fun though – every day was like Christmas, or wait, would that be Hanukkah?
Anyway, I had a blast. Thanks again for the opportunity.
Ditto what Jordan said, Nathan–thank you for the opportunity.
Word Verification: surnap
surnap (sur•nap) n. Above nap; sleep. "Man, I had a great surnap last night."
So glad you are back! I was having severe withdrawal symptoms. The guest bloggers were incredible! Thank you!
Nathan's back – awesome. Very happy!
I loved the guest bloggers, excellent choices. It was really fun – not just reading their blogs, but the suspense – who did Nathan choose and why. 🙂
But it's lovely to have you back, Nathan. I missed your posts. I'm glad that the orphans got to have you for a week, but I'm glad we get to have you back this week.
And I'm sure nothing says 'welcome home' like the 10 trillion queries that are undoubtedly waiting for you.
Well except for this: welcome home.
Welcome back!
Glad you had a great time! Excellent guest blogs. But how did you survive without the Hills for 7 whole days?
Nice to know that when 'teach' was away we all managed to play nice – sharing skills and still learning!
Thanks to those who were invited to host for Nathan, and to everyone who posted their non-winning entries on their Blogs – I've spent the week visiting lots of places.
Welcome back, Nathan! Like other people on the blog, I'm looking forward to hearing about Peru.
I'm also looking forward to reading the guest blogs from last week. Went on a last-minute mini-vacation, and was sorry I missed the blogs as they were posted.
Nice to see you back, Nathan. Can't wait to read those posts!
Welcome back!
Welcome back! Hope you had a good trip, and we can't wait to hear about it.
Go have some rest now, I think you need it, lol.
It was great to get such varying perspectives last week. Thank you for opening up your blog to the guest posters. I thought there were some great conversations that emerged.
Welcome back! I must say that the guest bloggers you had gave some excellent advice.
Also, how did you like Peru? I went 2 years ago and it was amazing. I hope you got to go to Machu Picchu and see the ruins 🙂
Welcome back, and thanks for all your good works!
Welcome back, Nathan.
On copyright, I noticed some blogs have copyrights on them. Are we supposed to be copyrighting our blog posts?
Guest bloggers were great!
~Welcome Back~
If someone really wants to go through the hell of querying and working to get my novel published for me, go for it.
I'll call a lawyer later.
Welcome back, Nathan!!!! It was a great idea to post such insightful info from other people. We all missed you, though! I enjoyed reading them all! Thanks. Looking forward to hearing a little about Peru.:)
Martha Ramirez
You went to Peru? I am so sorry to hear that… I have travelled across most of South America, and Peruvians, with the possible exception of Venezuelans, are the rudest, most dishonest people I have ever met in my entire life. Hold on to your wallet if you're within spitting distance of a Peruvian.
Next time pick somewhere nice, like Colombia or Brazil.
anon-
I think they're just good judges of character.
Snap. Nathan 1. Anon -100.
Nice to have you back. Thanks for the copyright info and link. Jonathan Lyons has some great points in that post.
🙂
Good for you, Nathan. Right on.
Normally, I'd say ignore the trolls, but that's a great response.
Anyway, I don't know about Peruvians, but I do know Brasileiros rock! (of course, I'm a bit partial to the yellow & green b/c I was born in Rio 🙂
Bonjour Nathan,
Great blog — I'll be going through older posts to get more great writing and publishing tidbits.
La Mom
An American Mom in Paris
Same old same ole: glad you're back Nathan. Though I did not respond to every guest blog, I did read them, and I think you left us in great hands. The newness was pretty awesome. You see it got me out of my "lurker" mode much sooner than usual.
I am curious if you have any comments about Jordan's "Website Must Haves." It was the most interesting to me; not that they weren't all excellent posts. I'm thinking – hoping – that I am not the only aspiring writer out there not sure about the website/
blogging aspect of becoming a published author.
And, I've erased this comment about twenty times, looking for the right words for the question I want to ask.
See why I'm a lurker?
Does the quality or quantity of responses to a website influence your decision to accept or reject a submission if a website is listed in the author bio?
There; if anyone out there can ask this better, please do, and I will follow the responses, if any.
donna
Welcome back, Nathan!
Thanks for leaving us in good hands with some talented guest bloggers. I loved the variety!
Lori A. May
http://loriamay.blogspot.com
http://www.loriamay.com
http://twitter.com/loriamay
Donna – you were brave to post. I honestly have no idea what the answer to that is, but I will say I believe if the writing is good enough, it will supercede anything else.
That's my belief and I'm sticking to it.
Donna – I'd have to agree with Mira. HOWEVER that hasn't stopped me from creating a blog and website. If anything, the blog is another channel for me to hone my writing skills. And the website has already networked me with some great writers.
Hi Nathan. Since we're on the subject of blogs and copyright, I had a question concerning both. I'm not sure if this is relevant, so feel free to ignore me. 🙂
To what extent can we either paraphrase or quote copyrighted material on our blog? I would sometimes like to pass along tips from a writing book that I found useful, or quote a passage from a book that I thought was particularly well done. But at what point do I have to worry about copyright infringement? Thanks 🙂
I look forward to some Peruvian voluntourism this Christmas with Waves for Development. Well done!
Livia,
I think you're fine, as long as you attribute the quotation to the proper person. So, "Donald Maas, in his new book on writing, Blah Blah Blah without the Blah, suggests that 'tension is needed on every page.'" If you're putting up large amounts of text without saying who wrote it, now, you might get in trouble. As long as you mention where it's from you'll be fine (think of it like quoting someone in a term paper).
My best,
Bryan
Hi Nathan
Not sure how else to contact you with a question, so I hope this works.
If you have the good fortune to have a friend who recommends that you contact her agent, should that be the first part of the query letter? i.e.
Dear X,
WRITER suggested I contact you.
Plot summary.
Signature.
or should it be a regular query with a tag at the end: "I'm sending you this query at the advice of my friend WRITER."
Thanks for any advice you have.
Thanks for the great post. I am interested in applying for a grant for my family, and wondered….what type of group were you with and how much "past" volunteering had your group participated in?
Thanks very much!
Is is amateurish to write copyright and the year on a manuscript submission? Someone warned me not to do this when I send mine in.