Tips for Acting and Singing Auditions

2012 May 16
by amster88

So, you want to be an actor or a singer? This is a very hard road you’ve chosen to tread but the best thing about it is that it is equally rewarding. Not every one who wants to be an actor or a singer makes it big in Hollywood. Truth of the matter is that very many aspirants usually give up and end up with a broken heart after being rejected a couple of times. You should nonetheless lose hope because you may just be the next break out star that the world is waiting for. There are several tips that you need to implement so that you may be able to turn your dream into reality and enjoy the glamorous career that you want.

The most important thing that you need to consider is your look. This means that your skin and hair need to be kept glowing and radiant all the time. East healthy and exercise frequently in order to achieve this and it is advisable to seek the services of a personal trainer so that you can succeed. The next thing that you need to do is practice singing or acting. You can select the toughest songs that have been sung and then sharpen your vocals by singing them. Once you have mastered singing the tough songs, this means that you will be able to handle all others since your vocals will be superior. After this, you then need to work on your song writing skills. Listen to all types of music and study the pattern in which the artists use while writing the songs so that you can be able to create your own unique style.

Actors on the other hand need to watch as many movies and plays as they can. This is a great way of building your skills since you will be familiar with what to do and say in various scenes when you are auditioning for parts. Both actors and singers must work on their stage presence so ensure that you practice in front of the mirror so that you can watch where your strengths and weaknesses lie. In addition to this, you should also record all your rehearsals and performances so that you may be able to know how you appear on camera.

All in all, preparation is vital for one to ace the auditions so allocate as much time as you can towards it. When you go for the auditions, ensure that you arrive on time and you are dressed in a relevant way.

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Brazilian Beauties – Who Are These 5 Brazilian Beauties

2012 May 16
by amster88

Brazilian beauties are everywhere you turn in Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro. There’s just something about these Brazil girls that makes them so attractive. Here’s my random list of 5 gorgeous Brazilian girls. See which one you like the best. I have to tell you, it won’t be an easy choice.

Gianne Albertoni

Not only does Gianne model, she acts as well. She was “discovered” when she was just a little girl, at the young age of 13. Four months later she found herself on the a Milan runway strutting down the catwalk. She has modeled for famous brand names like Armani, Versace & Prada. She has also been in a few Brazilian movies such as “Popstar” and “Carro de Paulista” and even in a few television shows like the Brazil based TV series “Mandrake” as Gigi.

Raica Oliveira

She grew up in Niteroi which is on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. She was the winner of the Elite Model Look beauty contest in Brazil and was chosen over 30,000 other beautiful Brazilian girls. Not long after she won she won second place in the international competition in France. She has modeled for some of the most famous companies such as Dior, Vogue and Lancome.

Juliana Martins

Juliana was also “discovered” when she was only a young girl. When she was 13 years old she had alreay been called the Brazilian Cindy Crawford by John Casablancas. She has modeled in Sports Illustrated along with other big name publications.

Monica Carvalho

Monica is also another model who got her start at an early age like so many of the Brazilian models. She began her modeling career when she was 13 like several others listed on this page. When she was only 13 years old she was asked to be a poster girl for a sunscreen company. It wasn’t until she was 19 that she started to take modeling seriously as a career. It was at that point that she was accepted into the Ford Models. She hails from the Barra da Tijuca area of Rio de Janeiro.

Camila Alves

Camila was born and raised in one of the largest states in Brazil, Minas Gerais. When she was 15 she traveled to California to visit an aunt and decided to stay in the United States. She didn’t have everything handed to her. She worked hard as a house cleaner and as a waitress while learning English. At the age of 19 she moved to try and become a model. Obviously she made it and has done quite well for herself. You might know her partner, Matthew McConaughey. They live together with their two children in Austin, Texas.

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Indywidualne doradztwo finansowe-sprawozdanie finansowe fundacji

2012 May 14

Z reguły wzięcie kredytu finansowego w instytucji finansowej, wymagać będzie od potencjalnego pożyczkobiorcy posiadania zdolności płatniczej. W zależności od tego, na jaki rodzaj zobowiązania będzie się starał wspomniany kredytobiorca, instytucja bankowa szacuje jego zdolność finansową. Jednak w przypadku, gdy ujawnia się, iż użytkownik owej zdolności nie posiada, reakcja instytucji finansowej musi być tylko jedna, to znaczy negatywna. Czy w tej sytuacji dostanie niezbędnej pożyczki jest nieosiągalne? Bez wątpienia nie. Wtenczas bowiem dla prawdopodobnego pożyczkobiorcy pozostają produkty udostępniane przez firmy pozabankowe.
Zdolność finansowa – co to takiego?
Licząc zdolność finansową banki kierują się następującymi założeniami. Z początku wezmą one pod uwagę liczbę domowników w gospodarstwie, a potem średnio miesięczny dochód netto osiągany przez to gospodarstwo|domostwo. W dalszym ciągu pod uwagę brana jest suma miesięcznych rat bankowych domostwa, liczba wysokości limitów kart kredytowych wszystkich kredytobiorców i wysokości działających limitów w rachunkach bieżących pożyczkobiorców, a też suma wielkości innych comiesięcznych zadłużeń kredytobiorców wykazująca kierunek stały to znaczy orientacyjnie alimenty, leasing itp. Na zakończenie pod uwagę wzięty jest okres kredytowania.Tak więc osiągnięcie zdolności płatniczej jest trudne.
Bez zdolności pożyczkowej?
Trzeba jednak zdawać sobie sprawę z istnienia jednostek pozabankowych skłonnych użyczyć nam pożyczki bez posiadania zdolności pożyczkowej. Kredyty proponowane przez te instytucje występują pod rozlicznymi postaciami. Dostępne są pożyczki chwilówki, pożyczki na dowód, zobowiązania bez zaświadczeń o osiąganych dochodach czy także pożyczki osiągalnego za pośrednictwem Internetu. Co kluczowe, w przypadku wszystkich z nich możliwy konsument nie tylko, że nie musi posiadać zdolności płatniczej, ale z reguły nikt nie wymaga od niego skonkretyzowania celu wziętego zobowiązania. Niestety, takie kredyty – gdyż są powiązane z większym ryzykiem jakie ponosi firma – mają również wyższe oprocentowanie.

Szybkie pożyczki wiadomości

Create Something Remarkable Today!

2012 May 10

Overview

There’s nothing amazing about a cow – it’s brown and ‘Moos’. A Purple cow however would be something to marvel at – something amazing and something remarkable. Herein lies the premise of this book, written by one of the most thought provoking marketing gurus of our time. Godin’s simple but effective principle throughout the book is that it is no longer cost effective or productive to use remarkable marketing to sell an ordinary product. He argues that putting money into a remarkable product, is now the only way to get ahead.

Highlights

This book makes use of simple and clear references to illustrate out of the box marketing concepts. In The Purple Cow, Godin discusses the original principles of marketing widely known as the P’s of marketing (some of which include product, pricing, promotion, packaging and positioning) and using interesting case studies and brilliant examples he describes why these methods no longer apply if you want to experience widespread success.

Godin provides simple examples of companies that have used traditional methods and only enjoyed moderate success namely AOL and those companies that created a ‘Purple Cow’ and became phenomenal such as Google. The idea virus is a concept reiterated throughout this book – create a remarkable product and market it to your niche. Do it this way and the innovators otherwise known as the trendsetters will latch onto it immediately, they will pass the word onto the early adopters and the ’sneezers’ who will then transmit the virus to the rest of your consumers, namely the early and late majority followed by the ‘laggards’.

What might you not like?

Some of the examples are slightly outdated (the book was published in 2002). Godin mentions Apple only in passing and mentions cell phone technology as being on the cusp of dulling away unless the next remarkable thing is found.

This book offers a quick basic education in marketing which is thought provoking and entertaining however it can be argued that Godin’s ideas are nothing more than common sense wrapped up in a nice package.

Final Impressions

Despite the outdated principles (we now know that the next remarkable thing was developed with Apple paving the way), the main principle of the book still stands. His is not the first marketing book ever written and it is not the first book to touch upon the ideas quoted.however what this book does amazingly well is create a concept around these ideas and present them to the masses in a way which is fun and insightful. Godin has in essence created his own ‘Purple Cow.’

The book is short and very easy to read but really packs a punch! If you’re stuck on the marketing aspect of your business and need something to get you thinking, this book is definitely for you. If you want to create something truly phenomenal this year – your very own ‘Purple Cow’ – this book is an essential guide and highly recommended!

Link do artykułu

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Szybki kredyt gotówkowy-szybki kredyt 24

2012 April 26

Kredyty bez BIK należą w tej chwili do zdecydowanie najczęściej branych usług finansowych, jakie tylko osiągalne są na całym rynku finansowym – właściwie ciągle korzysta z nich całe mnóstwo użytkowników, ciesząc się jednocześnie wszystkimi ich wartościami. Należałoby jakkolwiek zwrócić uwagę, iż nie we każdych sytuacjach są one tak przydatnym rozwiązaniem, dlatego odpowiednio jest na wstępie jak najlepiej poznać całą ich charakterystykę.

Pożyczki bez bik są pożądaną ofertą przede wszystkim dla kogoś, kto jest w tym momencie w kłopotliwej sytuacji kredytowej i nie posiada żadnej zdolności pożyczkowej, co w pełni odbiera mu jakiekolwiek szanse na uzyskanie zwykłego kredytu w banku.

Trzeba jakkolwiek wiedzieć że Kredyty bez zaświadczeń są zawsze droższe niz kredyt gotówkowy w instytucji bankowej.

Naprawdę warto jest zatem nieco bliżej zrozumieć wszystkie Pożyczki bez bik, nim postanowimy się na skorzystanie z tego kredytu. W gruncie rzeczy, w wielu przypadkach są one dobrym rozwiązaniem, ale jednocześnie istnieją przypadki, kiedy stają się po prostu bezcelowe.

Pożyczki pozabankowe poznań-pożyczki dla firm

2012 April 21

Pożyczki dla zadłużonych coraz popularniejsze.

W Kraju sektor pożyczek dla zadłużonych stale się rozkręca. Powstało sporo firm proponujących nawet kredyty dostępne w czasie jednego dnia.

Zobowiązania dla zadłużonych dostarcza mnóstwo przedsiębiorstw na polskim rynku. Towarzystwa takie jak Provident, czy popularne Kredyty chwilówki korzystają często z zagmatwanej sytuacji pożyczkobiorcy, narzucając wysoki procent.
Rozwiązanie to jest wszelako uzasadnione, gdy nie możemy dowieść zdolności płatniczej, ani wykazać przychodu.

Szybka pożyczka

Coraz regularniej z takimi firmami w rywalizację wchodzą same banki, oferując zobowiązania gotówkowe bez zaświadczenia o zarobkach. Pożyczki te są znacznie oprocentowane, ale dostępne. Ryzyko banku jest rekompensowane naszymi dużymi spłatami.

Warto korzystać w takich przypadkach z usług doradców kredytowych i poszukiwać najtańszy kredyt przystępny w danej chwili.

Kredyt bez zdolności kredytowej-kredyty bez bik przez internet

2012 April 10

Błyskawiczna pożyczka to droga na proste osiągnięcie środków pieniężnych. Gotówkę można dostać niezwykle prędko przede wszystkim ze względu na to, iż formalności w trakcie wnioskowania o taką pożyczkę są uproszczone do minimum. Malutko formalności to oszczędność czasu, a na tym nam wszystkim teraz najmocniej zależy. Szybka pożyczka przeznaczona jest dla użytkowników którzy mają mnóstwo na głowie, przyjmują błyskawiczne i odważne decyzje.

Pożyczki bez bik są też przeznaczone dla osób, które posiadają tarapaty w płynności kredytowej i potrzebują środków finansowych na regulowanie teraźniejszych opłat.

Pożyczka pozabankowa to oczywiście nadzwyczaj korzystne narzędzie finansowe, pozwalające na dowolne rządzenie swoimi kosztami i budżetem. Pozwala na utrzymanie płynności pożyczkowej w nieprzewidzianych przypadkach. Z pewnością powinniśmy brać pod uwagę taką opcję, zwłaszcza, że pozyskać środki finansowe tą drogą jest relatywnie prosto, właśnie z tej przyczyny, iż formalności jest niewiele, procedury są ułatwione, a postanowienie o pożyczce zapada natychmiast.

Frank powraca do salonów

2012 April 3

Koniec roku zachęca dilerów samochodowych do wyprzeda& y aut z rocznika 2009. Dla wszystkich klientów chcących kupić wymarzony samochód w jeszcze bardziej wymarzonej cenie, mBank przygotował specjalną ofertę kredytu w walucie. Frank szwajcarski powraca do salonów samochodowych.

Kredyt samochodowy w mBanku stał się jeszcze bardziej dostępny. Do oferty powraca konkurencyjna propozycja kredytu we frankach szwajcarskich. Dzięki niej będzie mo& na sfinansować zakup zarówno nowego, jak i u& ywanego samochodu osobowego lub cię& arowego (do 3,5 tony w kraju lub zagranicą, a tak& e dokonać refinansowania kredytu zaciągniętego w innym banku. Dla kredytobiorców przygotowano uproszczoną procedurę udzielenia kredytu.

Wprowadzenie kredytu we frankach jest odpowiedzią na potrzeby klientów. Pojawiające się pod koniec roku promocje w salonach samochodowych sprawiają, & e wzrasta zainteresowanie ró& nymi formami sfinansowania zakupu pojazdu. Dlatego zdecydowaliśmy się zaoferować kredytowanie w walucie – wyjaśnia Joanna Sędzikowska, ekspert ds. kredytów samochodowych mBanku.

Cechy kredytu samochodowego w mBanku:

oprocentowanie od 6,5 proc.;

brak opłat za zło& enie i rozpatrzenie wniosku;

prowizja w wysokości 3- 5 proc., a dla kredytów refinansowanych 0 proc.;

szybka decyzja kredytowa – w 15 minut;

kwota do 100 000 zł bez wkładu własnego- mo& liwość uzyskania kredytu na uproszczonych zasadach;

okres kredytowania do 120 miesięcy;

5 proc. zni& ki na ubezpieczenie kredytowanego samochodu w ramach Supermarketu Ubezpieczeń Samochodowych Direct w mBanku;

mo& liwość wcześniejszej spłaty (w części lub całości kredytu bez prowizji;

mo& liwość rozpoczęcia spłaty rat kapitałowych nawet 6 miesięcy po uruchomieniu kredytu.

How To Be A Comedian

2012 April 2
tags: , , ,
by amster88

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive while touring is “how to I get into this business?” I’ve been a professional touring comedian for 25 years, so I’ve heard this a lot! In the larger, sense, becoming a comedian is really a three-pronged endeavor.

Sound simple enough? Well now comes the complicated part; actually doing it. The hard facts are that even if I gave you all the answers only one to two percent of you would actually apply it and go out and do it.

Comedy is not just an art. It’s a skill-based science and a business. However, most comics–both professional and novice– equate comedy with frivolity and they treat their careers frivolously. Like anything worth doing, comedy takes work. It takes work to write new material and it takes more work to go out and get the gigs. Show business is two words; there’s the “show” and there’s the “business” and it might surprise you to know that much of the time, you have to put more effort into the business than the show. The good news is, when you do it right, you’re having such a blast that you don’t really work a day in your life!

Sound like fun? Let’s move forward!

Let’s start with writing and developing material. There are a whole lot of people out there that think that you can’t learn comedy, that you’re either born with it or you’re not. That’s a pure and simple fallacy spoken by people that don’t have a clue about the science behind laughter or the structure behind it. If you really think about it, have you ever seen a baby pop out of his mother’s womb:

“So two people were making love…then boom! Out pops me! Is this thing on?” You call that a birth canal? It’s more like trying to push an egg through a stir stick! Hey Mom? (spit, spit), you should shave that stuff! Haven’t you heard of a ‘Brazilian?’”

It just doesn’t happen! Granted, there are some people that seem to naturally have a sense of humor built in. They seem to get it. My theory is that they grew up around comedy, either listening to the greats at a young age, or they were raised in a family that was filled with humor. All the comedians I know that make me laugh had exposure to funny people at a young age and began adapting comedic behaviors. Those behaviors got them attention. They began to recognize the patterns of behavior and language that resulted in laughter and applied them to other situations with good results.

The key word from the above paragraph is “patterns.” There are certain patterns that professionals use time and time again, to get laughs and it’s usually a pattern that creates surprise. According to psychologists who study humor, in this context, surprise is the number one element that triggers human laughter, If you can surprise someone with what you are going to say, they will usually laugh. One of the easiest ways to do this is to apply one of the 12 major comedy formulas that I discovered over the years of studying the greatest comedians. Heck, you don’t even need to study the greats to recognize this formula. If you have a friend (I think we all do), who turns everything you say into a sexual connotation, than he/she is probably applying this formula. It is known as the “Double Entendre.” This literally means “two meanings.” You basically take a common phrase and spin the intended meaning to mean something totally different, but it could actually fit in the statement, but its exaggerated…

The other day I was at the grocery store. The clerk said, “Did you find everything you were looking for?” I said, “Well, I found the wine and the candles, but I couldn’t find a soul mate… You had Mahi-Mahi, but I’m not into twins.”

In the above joke, when the clerk used the word “everything,” she meant everything in the store. As a comedian the word everything could be a lot of things. In this case I went with a ’soul mate.’ What makes the joke work is not just the misdirection on the intended meaning of the word, but the fact that comedic interpretation of the word still fits within the context of the question. If it didn’t make sense, then there would be no joke.

Let’s look at another Double-Entendre play on words: Former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was having a terrible season. At the press conference a journalist said to the coach, “Coach, how to you feel about the execution of the offense?” McKay replied, “I’m all for it.”

You can see there that the word execute was used in two different ways. This structure should be a regular tool for anyone who is learning how to write comedy. One of the ways I refine this ability and make it more available to my everyday life is through practice. Once a month I do a word exercise that reminds me that our language has a ton of words that have multiple meanings. Keeping this refined in my brain, gives me a tool that is always sharp and available. This allows me to re-interpret something someone says and apply a comedic spin on the word. The exercise is simple, yet extremely powerful. For the exercise, I take fifteen random, but fairly common words and write them down. Then I find at least five different meanings for each word. Working this exercise consistently will give you an amazing leg up on your quickness and finesse as a comedian. It’s simple, yet extremely powerful. Especially because few comedians actually do it. This is only one of twelve major comedy structures used by all the best comedians and comedy writers. If I was to include them all in this article, it would take you a week to finish reading. It is a simple, yet powerful example of how you can manipulate the English language and create surprise and trigger laughter from an audience.

FACT: Every comedian who makes you laugh utilizes at least one comedy structure. It is the structure of the words or the act-out that triggers the laughter. Without the structure, there is no laughter..
Even when you have all twelve comedy structures down, (most comics work with 3-4), and you develop an act of at least five minutes, to start, thirty minutes to start getting paid, you have to start to work and hone it in front of an audience. I’d start with friends. Run the material by them, see what they think, see if you can make it better by tweaking the surprise. Once you feel comfortable that you can do the five minutes without thinking about it, perform it in front of an audience. How do you do this? Well, if you’re in a larger city, there are probably plenty of open mics. These are places where you can perform 5-10 minutes of material to ‘test it’ in front of an audience. This is the way I started. If you do not have the benefit of being in a large city, then you might have a comedy show that plays once a week or once a month in your town at a local bar or restaurant. If that’s the case, take a trip down there and ask if you can M.C. the show. Most bars that have ‘one-niter’ comedy shows, don’t have an M.C. So if you show up and ask, they will probably be more than happy to have you do it. When you do your five or ten minutes up front, then you can video tape it. Once you have a video tape that’s of good quality, you have a calling card to get other work. So now you still have to work the ‘business’ side of the how to be a comedian equation. When you have an act that is generating a laugh every 18-20 seconds, and has a solid beginning, middle and end, it is time to get out there. What most beginning comedians don’t realize is that when you hit this level, (can take 6 months, or 2 years), it’s time to get serious about treating your stand up comedy like a business. You are now a product (or service), and you need to sell. At this point in your career, you will not have a manager or an agent. If you are fortunate enough to have the cash, you can hire a Public Relations manager (around $3500 per month). They can help you get out press releases, spots on the radio or television. But you have to have a gig to promote first. But most of us don’t have that option when we’re starting out so let’s leave that alone. So you have a 30 minute act that you’ve been developing at open mics and other events like meetings, parties, etc. How do you get it on the road? At this point you could be looking at several possibilities in your journey to becoming a comedian:

I do both clubs and corporates in my career, but now I mainly target corporate simply because there’s more money in it for me. There is also the college comedy market, cruise ship market, resort and casino market, warm up comedian market (for live sit-com, game and talk show audiences), and military shows. Military shows can be big. I was working with a liaison for the military who said he could have me working for the rest of my life doing military shows. We could spend a lot of time going through all the possibilities, but that could take days. The important thing to remember is that if you can write and develop a comedy routine that is clean and good, you can work forever. Once you have this information, it’s time to target your market, do your research and start selling. That’s right. Start selling. You are your own business now and you provide a service. If you learn to treat yourself like a business by drawing up a business plan, setting goals and following through, you will start to work. When you start in comedy there are 3 positions available. They are each expected to perform for different amounts of time:

NOTE: This is business is competitive, but here’s something most comedians don’t know: If you work hard and you develop your act and you develop your reputation for being a good comedian, you WILL WORK! This business and the bookers who supply comedians around the country are always looking for good talent.

If you want to target the club market, you should also target the one-nighter market.This way you have more booking options available to you when scheduling dates. How do you target? Start small; start local. If you have comedy in your area, contact the clubs, go to the clubs, ask the managers, door people, M.C.’s what the protocol is for getting in the door and auditioning or doing a guest set. Be polite and be persistent. Jay Leno drove from Boston to the New York City Improv several days a week for many months before Bud Friedman (the owner of the Improv) let him do a set. He was prepared. He did a great job. The rest is history. When you get your opportunity, be prepared and do a well-crafted 5-10 minute set. Afterwards, talk to people, see what it takes to get back to do another set. Once you mingle with people and develop relationships and a reputation for being a solid act, now you have all you need to get work. A lot of comedy talent bookers on the road require to see video. Some will take a chance on you if you have references from some headliners. It’s a good idea to develop relationships with as many comedians as possible. Be nice to everyone, always act professionally. It’s these relationships that can make or break your chances for getting work. Make at least 10 phone calls a day for your career.

Call comedy clubs and bookers. If you don’t get them on the phone, always, I mean always leave a message. Keep accurate records on who you spoke to, who the decision maker is, the names of assistants and the best time to call.

If this sounds like you are a sales person…then well, you are. This is the business side of the equation of how to be a comedian and it’s where most comedians fail.

When you do finally get a booker on the phone. Be polite and ask them if you can send them a video and if they prefer to see the video online or on DVD or E.P.K. (Electronic Press Kit). Believe it or not, there are still some bookers out there who would prefer to hold a DVD in their hand.

Some of these bookers are tough nuts to crack. When I run into that dilemma, it’s time to make a personal sales call. I just email or call and ask them,

“I really want to meet you and play your room. If I can fly out there in two weeks or so, do you think you could find room in the line up for a guest set?”

For the toughest bookers in the country, this has always worked. But how do you afford that? Why your building your contacts and one-niter gigs, you make sure you book something in or around the area of the club you so covet. When you have that date in place and booked, call the club and see if you can drop in and do an audition set. Put in this extra step and you’ll most likely get a guest set.

Once you do the guest set, send them a thank you card (and or something with your picture on it), to thank them for the opportunity and keep following up until you get a spot. Never follow up more than once a week, unless you still haven’t spoken to the target person, then follow up every 3 days.

Calvin Coolidge said, “persistence and consistency trump talent any day.” So be persistent and consistent. Be polite and keep following up. And if calling doesn’t work. Pay them a visit. Let them know you’re persistent.

When you start putting dates together. Use every opportunity to video tape. Try to get great sound quality, if possible. A great tape leads to more work.

If you follow these steps:

You will be on your way to learning how to be a comedian.

Should You Sign That Book Contract Part One

2012 March 31
tags: , , ,
by amster88

The first time I was offered a book contract, I left footprints on the ceiling after my happy dance. After years of writing and polishing my novel, and another year of rejections and situations where I came close but left disappointed, I finally had papers in my hand certifying that somebody wanted to publish my book. Considering this momentous occasion, I took more than a day studying each paragraph and wrapping my head around the legalese before making my decision. In the years following, after I took on the position of acquiring books for a small press, I realized some writers are so excited by the prospect of a contract that they may not read it completely before signing. This, naturally has led to problems.

To receive an offer to contract your book is definitely reason for celebration. However, if the contract turns out to benefit a publisher more than you, you should definitely think before you agree to handing over your work. This is not to say that all publishers are out to take advantage of you, especially if you are a debut author. It is important to know exactly what is laid out in the contract and what rights you have…and what you give up.

You can search the Internet for writers’ advocate sites that spell out the finer points and red flags you need to watch for in an agreement. Let’s take a closer look at some of them here.

Rights – When you sign a contract to a publisher, you give the house exclusive rights to produce your work in the formats noted in the agreement. This is an important clause to read, because it lets you know which rights the house wants (typically hardcover, softcover or mass market, and digital), and the wording may indicate that the rights extend to include written formats that haven’t been devised yet. Publishers may contract anywhere from one year to seven for a work, meaning you cannot petition to revert the book back to you until the time has lapsed. Of course, you will need to read the rest of your contract for exceptions that allow you to dissolve the contract if you believe the publisher has breached the agreement in some way.

You also want to look for a clause regarding the right of first refusal, which refers to your next book. Some publishers ask for this right if you complete a sequel, prequel, or related work. This means that before you query other publishers about your next book, you are contractually obligated to let the current publisher decide if they want it first. Some publishers, too, draw up this clause to refer to your next book regardless of its relationship to your first book. Some authors are wary of this clause as it can bind them to a publisher with which they no longer wish to work. You may not anticipate trouble in the beginning, but you want to be careful about clauses that can potentially hold you hostage.

Distribution – A contract may include verbiage regarding the distribution of your work. Now that digital formats have come into play, publishers have more options when it comes to selling books. It should be known, too, that third-party retailers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble have their own provisions by which they want publishers to abide. Pay attention to this clause, as it will tell you how the publisher plans to sell your work.

In later installments, we will look at other clauses in a publishing contract that the beginning author should know.