Comments

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  Nina Zapala August 7, 2009 at 5:00pm

  Glad to be part of this group as a new travel writer I'm sure I've got a lot to learn and look forward to a collaborative effort, and learning from some of the world's best.
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  Michael McCoy August 4, 2009 at 10:14pm

  Some of my work www.egg-media.com

  

  Abrams Designs

  Abrams Designs: Website Development, Graphic and Layout Design, and Social Media Setup.
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  David Paul Appell July 26, 2009 at 7:07pm

  Greetings, all! Just a quick but important housekeeping note: we have established (see above) a discussion group dedicated to freelancers and their issues. Keep in mind that the Travel Media Corner is for all travel media professionals -- editors, staff writers, broadcasters, publishers, and more -- and so rather than overwhelm folks like these with freelancer issues, we feel the discussion deserves its own forum. Enjoy!
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  Susan Frost July 26, 2009 at 6:43pm

  Hi Mary, Frances and everyone that responded to my travel dilemma. How would you get around the airlines request for a copy of the assignment sheet? As mentioned previously, the airlines (Continental) requires this and a ton of other info prior to approving the RT flight. If I had enough miles, I would just use these but I used them last year to Sicily. Thank you again for all your input. P.S. Mary, have a wonderful cruise. I'm envious here in triple digit Portland, Oregon.
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  Frances J. Folsom July 26, 2009 at 2:43pm

  I agree with Mary Alice, Susan, take the trip and don't tell. Chances are almost 100% guaranteed that you won't be asked. I'm with the "don't ask/don't tell" group.
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  Allan Lynch July 26, 2009 at 6:01am

  Mary - It was certainly toasty. I've considered getting one for when I have to shovel snow (which in Allan's world isn't too much - just the front walk, everything else is ploughed).
  
  The advantage of living in Canada or the UK is that everything I write automatically is my copyright. Under our laws I actually have to sign something to give away or alter my copyright. I don't need to put a copyright notice on anything or register anything. If I write or snap the photo or draw the illustration, it's mine.
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  David Paul Appell July 26, 2009 at 5:22am

  Brava, Mary Alice! Looking forward to hearing from you again in August!
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  Mary Alice Kellogg July 26, 2009 at 5:18am

  Dear Comrades: Am enjoying reading these and we're a savvy and helpful bunch in these trying times. A couple of things:
  First, to Susan's dilemma: Just take the damned trip! The "don't ask/don't tell" gambit is the only thing to do these days, and chances are you'll gather enough info for stories for other outlets.Trust me: they won't ask and, in this economy, you are not a bad person for not telling. The point is survival.
  As to a Warning List, those of us who belong to ASJA have their warning list, contributed by members. The easiest thing to do is for us to share non-bellyache info -- who's slow in pay, who's not paying at all, who's playing writers off against one another, who seems to be going out of business and, therefore, not to be trusted for future assignments. Just put your Caveat du Jour in the Comments, and we'll be grateful for it.
  Long ago I began to sign Work for Hire contracts and ignored them -- re-selling magazine articles only slightly altered to other outlets after publication. And not once has the original Draconian magazine outfit found out. Devious? No: smart! We can't change the game, but we can find ways to change the ballpark in our favor.
  As to rates, consider this (courtesy of an ASJA study done a decade ago): rates are about the same, or lower, than they were in the 1960s for magazines. We know that everything has gone up but writer compensation, and that ain't gonna change. We have it in our power to be as smart/devious to get out work out there.
  Am off for a week (a cruise I actually paid for -- no having to interview the Hotel Manager, show up for the galley tour when I'd rather be doing anything else, etc.!). Will happily keep track of this conversation after I return August 2. Another advantage of taking a real vacation is that I am going to be computer and e-mail free for a week. Such bliss!
  One question for Allan: Do you wear that red puffy suit all the time!
  Courage mes amis!
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  Jordan Simon July 25, 2009 at 10:48pm

  Allan, thanks so much for your input. You Canadians have often proved savvier than us south-of-the-border types. Your legal action is intriguing. But truthfully, it's time-consuming, enervating, and sometimes expensive to bring suit in the States (litigious lot that we are). Even small claims court is a chore, and rarely gets you the money even when you receive the fair judgment. And in the case of two publishers, I'm owed more than the SCC cap. Attorneys and debt collectors will sometimes work on commission -- albeit for 1/3 to 1/2 of monies recovered... And I've had two lawyers tell me I should copyright every article I write. Good lord! We shouldn't have to copyright our work. Imagine how expensive that would be, for every single article (and now blogging, which rhymes with flogging, LOL)! Submission of the work should constitute an implied contract that rights revert to us (unless the contract with the publisher stipulates otherwise).
  
  As for guidebooks, they're works-for-hire. We know that going in. But at least Fodor's, Frommer's and their ilk would put your name on the title page, entitling you to being listed as author on Amazon, B&N, Borders, et al, and therefore Google. Even worse, they now put all your hard work sans byline up on the net and syndicate it elsewhere for additional monies, none of which you see. And heaven forfend you don't do the update at an even more ridiculously low fee -- your name may not be seen anywhere in the book, even though 90% of your original material might still comprise the book.
  
  Basta! This isn't a forum for whining. We all know the problems inherent in the industry. As Mary Alice says, we need to band together to devise devious (re)solutions. :-)
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  Allan Lynch July 25, 2009 at 9:57pm

  Hi Jordan,
  
  Actually, in Canada we had a chance to do something about on-line revenues and we blew it! I won't bother to go into the whole episode again, but we had the chance and those who don't understand business won the day and lost the future.
  
  As for protecting copyright, I had the same book publisher twice steal mine. The first time became a two-year legal fight. I settled out of court for more than three times what I originally asked for and more than the court could have awarded. The second time they just paid me what I asked.
  
  As for guidebooks, I have my own thoughts on how that can be addressed. But I'm still mulling over details, so need a bit more time on it.
  
  Cheers.