This is the post that inspired my sadness today. I tried to find the source the author quoted, but I wasn’t able to track it down.

Let me take a step back. When I was a teenager, way back in the days before the internet, there were two authors who inspired me to write: Christopher Pike and L.J. Smith. I wasn’t a fan of Pike’s scarier books – I mean I read and devoured them, but they made it hard to sleep with the lights off ^_^

But then I discovered Sati. The concept blew my mind. The woman was God. Or was she? If you’re familiar with the book, and the kinds of things I write, you’ll see the connection. If you’re not familiar with the book – go read it! Amazing story.

LJ Smith, on the other hand. I devoured everything she wrote. But her Forbidden Game trilogy (which I’ve mentioned many times), had such an intense impact on me. It’s the only book series I’ve read many times in my life. I don’t re-read books. Except these. I don’t enjoy them the way I used to, but…I won’t spoil the ending. Let me just say the villain…*sigh*…go read the books, even though they’re 20 years old. These books are pretty much at the core of why I created my Apathy’s Hero universe.

I didn’t discover Neil Gaiman and ‘American Gods’ and ‘Good Omens’ until years later, and sure they had an impact too, but ‘Forbidden Games’ will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Fast forward to a year or so ago, when I was really starting to learn the ins and outs of publishing. I came across the concept of ‘writer for hire’. The concept is disturbingly straightforward. An author sells a book to a publisher for a fixed amount of money. It’s not the same as an advance. The author basically gets a small check ($250, $500, something insignificant given the rest of the contract). And they sign away everything. Their rights to the story, their rights to the concept, theme, characters, world, their name when it comes to that book, all of it.

The book no longer belongs to them. The author very possibly won’t even see royalties from the book. It’s not theirs any more. They may be asked to write sequels or other stories for the publisher, but under the original terms of the contract.

So, when I read this blog post, and realized LJ Smith no longer had the rights to write her own series – The Vampire Diaries – I was crushed on her behalf.

The Vampire Diaries were not my favorites, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love them back in the day. I devoured those, The Secret Circle books, all of them. And then Forbidden Game again. But today the dreamer and the author in me weep for the abuse of this amazing and talented author.

And because of it, I plead with anyone and everyone who publishes a book: please, please, please know what you’re giving up when you sign a contract. If you’re not versed in the very dry language that is legalese, have someone you trust (or that you pay to be trustworthy), look it over for you. This is another reason good literary agents are such a fantastic asset.

What would you surrender to see your stories become successful? I might sell my soul (if Loki didn’t already own it), but I don’t think I could completely surrender control of my worlds and my characters.