INTRODUCTION
Benefits
Publishing on our blog and newsletter:
- change and enrich your career
- increases your exposure/visibility/profile as an artist or writer, esp on the internet
- gain more publishing credits along with a solid reputation as a writer
- helps improve your resume especially those who want to apply for jobs in the writing industry
- gain exposure to many agents who actively look for new clients within the pages of literary magazines
- our print publications enables your text to be placed in the hands of your audience
- enables you promote/ market your work/book to your target audience
- enables you instantly direct potential customers and traffic to your content and site
- increases your opportunities to reach more subscribers as we deliver content across multiple platforms and devices
- helps you build fans of your work or gain more fans by exposing your work to a new audience
- means your work will be commented on by your target audience. Learn what they like and dislike about your work, then use their feedback to help you revise and strengthen your work. (we encourage fair and constructive feedback)
- increases view of your work via our magazine distribution on a national and global scale
- increase the possibility your work can be found in Google search and forwarded into social media such as Facebook and Twitter hence giving your work a major reach into Google and into social media
- increases your opportunities to reach more readers as our blog and magazine are readable on smart devices – iPads, Tablets, Androids which a huge amount of readers access or carry these days.
- change and enrich your career
- increases your exposure/visibility/profile as an artist or writer, esp on the internet
- gain more publishing credits along with a solid reputation as a writer
- helps improve your resume especially those who want to apply for jobs in the writing industry
- gain exposure to many agents who actively look for new clients within the pages of literary magazines
- our print publications enables your text to be placed in the hands of your audience
- enables you promote/ market your work/book to your target audience
- enables you instantly direct potential customers and traffic to your content and site
- increases your opportunities to reach more subscribers as we deliver content across multiple platforms and devices
- helps you build fans of your work or gain more fans by exposing your work to a new audience
- means your work will be commented on by your target audience. Learn what they like and dislike about your work, then use their feedback to help you revise and strengthen your work. (we encourage fair and constructive feedback)
- increases view of your work via our magazine distribution on a national and global scale
- increase the possibility your work can be found in Google search and forwarded into social media such as Facebook and Twitter hence giving your work a major reach into Google and into social media
- increases your opportunities to reach more readers as our blog and magazine are readable on smart devices – iPads, Tablets, Androids which a huge amount of readers access or carry these days.
Copyright
All work published are “marked with ©, the owner's name, and the year it was published”
Circulation
Our blogs, digital and print newsletter are free and therefore accessible to everyone. They are highly publicised, hence more people can view your work on a national and global scale. Keep any eye here for future updates.
CONTENTS (that can be submitted for publication in Bevy Hive):
Stories and Plays
We accept short stories, plays and reviews. The kind (genre/theme) of stories we publish are Adventure, Crime, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Western, Ghost, Historical, Mystery, Romantic, Tender, Chick Flick, Nostalgic, Delightfully quirky, Humorous and Comedies from completely new to established authors. Some of our submissions are published here (online) while other are published in our digital newsletter.
For Newsletter
Authors can submit a chapter of their upcoming book (in the following genre/theme: Adventure, Crime, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Western, Ghost, Historical, Mystery, Romantic, Tender, Chick Flick, Nostalgic, Delightfully quirky, Humorous and Comedies with the title.
They can also submit a short piece in our “A day in the life of a children' book author or a young author” section, a snap author introduction or bio and writing tips.
We accept book/short story/play/poem/comic reviews, comment on published books by fans or author and upcoming events.
Readers are welcome to write in to our “Dear Editor column” on any of the contents of our site and newsletter.
We accept book/short story/play/poem/comic reviews, comment on published books by fans or author and upcoming events.
Readers are welcome to write in to our “Dear Editor column” on any of the contents of our site and newsletter.
Important Notifications
Please do not submit any comics, writing or artwork that may be damaging or offensive to others, and of which you do not own the rights. We do not defend against libel suit so make sure work submitted to us is your own creation. We are a very small team so work is published ‘as submitted’, so it is very important that you thoroughly edit your work properly before sending to us – remember your work is representing you. You will be sent a letter of agreement on submission of work.
HOW TO SUBMIT WORK
Please do not submit any comics, writing or artwork that may be damaging or offensive to others, and of which you do not own the rights. We do not defend against libel suit so make sure work submitted to us is your own creation. We are a very small team so work is published ‘as submitted’, so it is very important that you thoroughly edit your work properly before sending to us – remember your work is representing you. You will be sent a letter of agreement on submission of work.
HOW TO SUBMIT WORK
Submit work to submit info@obygracepublishing.com or ogn.okafor@gmail.com
Standard manuscript format: 12pt text, Times New Roman, double spaced, standard margins, two-spaces after ending punctuation. No page breaks, text colours or right-justified text. Submit graphics separately in the format mentioned below. Include title, your full name in the header and footer.
Please include a snap biography of about 200 words and a list of publishing credits if any (in 3rd person) and a two-sentence synopsis of your work in your cover letter. You may also include one link (e.g. your professional website, blog or social media) to share with readers and an author photo if you wish.
Artwork
We accept artwork for book covers and illustrations. There is no compensation other than promotion of the work and artist. Please do not submit any artwork that you do not own the rights to. Accepted document types: jpg, gif, tiff, png
The way you can publish work with us
Note that the type of submission is entirely your choice. Simply specify the type of submission you wish during submission of your work.
There are two ways you may choose to publish with us.
There are two ways you may choose to publish with us.
1 - Ordinary-Sub – this package only gives us a non-exclusive one-time world-wide electronic rights (i.e. you give us a non-exclusive right to publish your work on our blog) and a non-exclusive archival rights (i.e. you give us a non-exclusive right to archive your work online). With this package, you are free to reuse or sell your work to any other publications. Also, ownership of work and all other unspecified rights will always remain with you - the author.
2 - Sub-Sub - this package only gives us a non-exclusive world-wide electronic rights (which means you give us non-exclusive rights to publish your work on our blog, digital newsletter and/or magazine anthologies); a non-exclusive archival right (which means you give us rights to archive your work online)
Ownership of work and all other unspecified rights remain with you - the author. Authors are free to reuse or sell work to other publications.
Ownership of work and all other unspecified rights remain with you - the author. Authors are free to reuse or sell work to other publications.
Copyright
Introduction
Copyright is the law that protects the creations of artists and authors by allowing them (and/or others they authorize) to have exclusive rights to their creative work, and to benefit financially from exploiting these rights e.g. make copies of your work, prepare derivative works based on your work, distribute copies of your work to the public by sale or rental, and perform or display your work publicly (2).
Copyright protects literary works (inc: novels, plays, instruction manuals, computer programs, song lyrics, poetry, newspaper articles and some types of database), dramatic works (inc: dance or mime), musical works (inc: sheet music), artistic works (inc: paintings, engravings, photographs, sculptures, collages, architecture, technical drawings, diagrams, maps and logos), layouts or typographical arrangements used to publish a work - for instance a book, recordings of a work (inc: sound and film, recorded music performances, videos), broadcasts of a work (3).
Copyright also protects works such as CD-ROMs, video games, software code, choreography (4).
According to Writer’s Market Companion, works created in 1977 and earlier can be copyrighted for up to seventy-five years from the time of its first publication or registration with the Copyright Office while all works created after 1977 are protected for the length of author’s life. UK IPO and US Copyright Office also states that copyright for all work created after 1977 continues for another seventy years from the end of the year in which he/she died. Innes adds that the term of copyright in the case of works made for hire, lasts for ninety-five years from publication.
After that, these work falls into public domain and anyone can use it without permission. Copyright is assumed the moment your work hits the paper or computer screen (1).
When anyone copies or sells copies of your work (film, book, short story, play, screenplay, article, or video), creates a play or screenplay based on your story and is performing such play or film publicly without your permission, they are infringing your copyright.
What You Should Know and Do (According to Innes)
Copyright attaches automatically from the moment the work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression
Know: No publication, registration, or copyright notice is required to secure copyright.
Do: Although registration is not a condition to copyright protection, it is to your own advantage if you register your work with the Copyright Office and adding a copyright notice to your work.
Adding a copyright notice allows you to defeat claims of infringement (1).
UK Intellectual Property Office advises “A Copyright work could be marked with ©, the owner's name, and the year it was created”
In the case of works made for hire, the employer and not the employee is considered the author of the copyrighted work
Know: A work-for-hire arrangement is applies if you are writing as an employee within the scope of your employment or your work is specially commissioned for use by an individual or an organization.
Copyright protects original works of authorship
Know: If your work is based on someone else’s story or book, you will only get copyright protection to the extent that you have added original elements to the preexisting work. This is especially important to know for authors who borrow extensively from public domain works.
Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans are not protected by copyright
Know: If a particular title or character name (e.g. Harry Porter) is well known to the public and has acquired so called “secondary meaning,” it may be protected by trademark law.
Copyright does not protect facts and ideas
Know: Facts and ideas are there to be used by everyone. E.g. if you are writing a work which requires extensive research and use of material from existing works, as long as you are only borrowing the facts and not a particular interpretation of these facts, you are not violating the law. None of the countless stories based on the Romeo and Juliet story-line infringe on copyright.
Companies try to protect themselves by accepting material only if it is sent by an agent or a lawyer and by requiring writers to sign submission releases.
The American Society of Journalists and Authors define a story as a “subject combined with an approach.” It says a writer shall have a proprietary right to an idea suggested to an editor and have first shot at developing it. Any editor with integrity will respect this ethical standard (1).
According to the UK Intellectual Property Office, “Copyright doesn't protect ideas. The work must be fixed (e.g. written or recorded)”
Do: If you believe that your material contains unique ideas that need protection, it would be better to pitch them in person, then have your lawyer send it. At the meeting, in addition to pitching your project, leave a detailed copy of your materials, containing proper copyright notices. Always follow up with a letter thanking them for the meeting and expressing your hope they like your project and, should they decide to use any part of it, you will be compensated fairly.
Do: Before you rush to announce that your work has been ripped off, make a detailed comparison of the two works, listing both the similarities and the differences. This list will prove handy when you go to consult a copyright lawyer.
Know: If you find that the similarities do not go beyond the mere concept and ideas, and that there are a lot of differences in the plot, sequence, and pace of the story, it will be difficult to prove infringement. If, on the other hand, you find that the similarities go to the very core of your plot, and the borrowing is so extensive that the overall look and feel of the two works is the same, you may consider bringing a copyright infringement case (2).
You must register your work with Copyright Office before you can file a suit against someone who steals your work. If you wait till after the theft takes place to register your work, you may not recover attorney fees or some damages against the defendant (1).
To register a copyright
UK Intellectual Property Office:
According to UK IPO, there is no official registration system for copyright in the United Kingdom (UK) and most other parts of the world. There are no forms to fill in and no fees to pay to get copyright protection.
Through the UK's membership of certain international conventions, a copyright work created in the UK is automatically protected in most parts of the world. This can be very beneficial to a person who creates a copyright work, that is worldwide protection for the creation without having to do anything. However, copyright owners can take certain precautions to help protect their rights.
UK IPO also suggests that “a creator could send himself or herself a copy by special delivery post (which gives a clear date stamp on the envelope), leaving the envelope unopened on its return (ensuring you also know what is inside each envelope in case you do this more than once). Alternatively you could lodge your work with a bank or solicitor. It is important to note, that this does not prove that a work is original or created by you. But it may be useful to be able to show the court that the work was in your possession at a particular date.”
US Copyright Office:
1. Request and complete form TX (books, manuscript, online work, poetry) or PA (scripts and dramatic works)
2. Put the following in an envelope (completed form, $30 and non-returnable copy/ copies of manuscript(s) to be registered)
3. Send package to the Library of Congress Copyright Office (see address below)
Reference (Click to read more):
1: Writer’s Market Companion, 2nd Edition. http://media2.fwpublications.com/WDG/Z6921_ProtectingYourWriting.pdf
2: Article - Copyright Basics, How to protect your work (By Innes Smolansky, Created 12/01/2002 - 01:00) http://www.independent-magazine.org/node/67
Useful websites and addresses:
1: Trade union for professional writers:
The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, 1st Flr, 134 Tooley Street, London, SE1 2TU
Tel: 020 7833 0777 Email: admin@writersguild.org.uk https://www.writersguild.org.uk/
Writers Guild of America, 7000 West Third Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Tel: (323) 951-4000, (800) 548-4532 Fax: (323) 782-4800 http://www.wga.org/
2: Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts:
Lawyers Volunteering for the Arts (LVFA) UK was set up in 2012 by a group of London law firms who wanted to offer pro bono legal support to the arts community.
Artquest: provides practical support and critical engagement for visual artists, including the Artlaw archive of over 300 arts-related legal articles and free online legal advice to artists in England.
QMUL Law for the Arts Clinic: Queen Mary University Law School run a monthly advice session for people involved in the creative industries.
LawWorks for Community Groups: the LawWorks team will try and help to find a law firm that can give you pro bono advice.
LawWorks Mediation: LawWorks Mediation offers a completely free mediation service to help find a solution to disputes and grievances.
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (USA) is the pioneer in arts-related legal aid and educational programs about the legal and business issues that affect artist and arts organizations.
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, 1 East 53rd Street, Sixth Floor New York, NY 10022
Tel: 212.319.ARTS (2787) ext. 1 F: 212·752·6575 vlany@vlany.org
3: Copyright Office
Library of Congress Copyright Office, 101 Independence Ave., SE, Washington D.C. 20559-6000 Tel: (202) 707 3000 Website: www.copyright.gov
4: Others:
The National Writers Union, 256 West 38th Street, Suite 703, New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212-254-0279 Fax: 212-254-0673 https://www.nwu.org/
The Society of Authors, 84 Drayton Gardens, London, SW10 9SB
Email info@societyofauthors.org http://www.societyofauthors.org/
MORE
Fair Use
This is the principle that allows you to quote briefly from someone else’s work. If you are unsure of the limits to which you can quote, obtain permission before quoting any copyrighted material. To do this, you have to send a request form to the copyright owner – which usually means contacting the publisher, explaining exactly what you want to quote, when and where the work was first published, how you would use the material and in what publication it would appear. In most cases, you will be granted permission on the condition you credit the original source and in other cases, you may also be required to pay a fee.
Libel
Nearly any form of writing can put you at risk of libel. The only way to be safe is to always be 100% sure of your facts. Please keep in mind that you are not necessarily going to be defended by the publisher if your work prompts a libel suit. If a publisher alone is sued and loses, they could come after you for damages.
