Minds on.

I’m out there to clean the plate. Once they’ve read what I’ve written on a subject, I want them to think, ‘That’s it!’ I think the highest aspiration people in our trade can have is that once they’ve written a story, nobody will ever try it again.

Richard Ben Cramer

This is the did you know icon. Did You Know?

In Canada, copyright lasts for 50 years after the death of the creator, whether or not the creator still holds copyright.

Writers of the World Unite?

Since 1973, and with a membership that includes famous Canadian writers such as Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje, the Writers’ Union of Canada has been an advocate for supporting and protecting writers’ rights. While they acknowledge that the following is “not set in stone,” they propose that writers require the following rights in the digital age:

“TO RESPECT THE RIGHTS OF THE CREATORS OF LITERARY WORKS IN CANADA:

  1. Copyright legislation shall ensure the protection of intellectual property and appropriate compensation for rightsholders.
  2. Exceptions to copyright shall be minimized.
  3. The publisher shall split the net proceeds of ebook sales equally with the author.
  4. The author shall retain all electronic rights not specifically granted to the publisher or producer and shall have approval of any modifications made to the work.
  5. The publisher shall not exercise or sublicense ebook publishing rights without the express authorization of the author.
  6. When a book is out of print in print form, continuing sales in electronic form shall not prevent a rights reversion to the author.
  7. For ebooks, the publisher in its contract shall replace the traditional “out of print” clause that triggers a rights reversion with a sales volume clause (e.g., less than a specified quantity of ebooks sold in a specified number of royalty periods) and/or a finite term of license (e.g., five years).
  8. When rights revert, the publisher shall provide the author with the digital file of the book.
  9. The Public Lending Right Commission shall provide author payments for electronic books and allot additional monies to this end.
  10. Libraries shall acquire digital copies of works in their collections only from rightsholders or their licensing agencies.
  11. Ebook retailers shall require the rightsholder’s permission for any free preview or download of an electronic work, and the rightsholder shall specify the maximum amount to be made available.
  12. Agents, publishers, aggregators, retailers, and libraries shall ensure that works in digital form will be well protected and will not be shared, traded, or sold outside the boundaries authorized by the contract.”

This is the discussion icon. Right Rights?

Consider that writing can be an art, a craft, and/or a career. Do you agree, partially agree or disagree with the rights listed above?  Make sure you include your rationale why.

Action.

Protect Yourself

This is an image of a laptop with a computer mouse, hardcover book, and smart phone on top of it. They are tied together with metal chains.

Writing is meant to be shared, not stolen.

The issue of copyright is a controversial subject for writers, and there are many diverse opinions on this matter. For some, copyright is an essential protection that helps to ensure writers are confident that their hard work will be properly credited, while for others, copyright can be used to limit ideas and silence voices.

For example, for some, fanfiction is a legitimate narrative expression, while for others, it stems from plagiarism.

fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular pre-established work.

This is the discussion icon. Protect Yourself

Regardless of where you stand on the issue, it’s important for writers to know how to protect their creations. Take a moment to research how to protect yourself as a writer. There are some resources below to assist you.

Resources

  1. A Guide to Copyright is the governmental webpage for copyrighting material in Canada.
  2. wikiHow to Protect Your Written Ideas and Stories provides step-by-step instructions for securing your creative works.
  3. Are You Worried Your Ideas or Work Will Be Stolen? lists strategies from an author, herself.

Hey, Have You Ever Read Anything By…?

Now that you’ve crafted a collection of your own written work, it’s time to learn how to get your texts out to the public! And, while some may say that buying books is a dying desire, according to StatsCan’s Book publishing industry, 2014 report “[b]ook publishers in Ontario (66.7%) accounted for the largest share of the industry's operating revenues…[i]n total, 14,218 new titles were published, 10,433 of which were titles by Canadian authors.” Clearly, there’s room for new writers!

To learn more about how you can get your work into a reader’s hands, take a moment to visit Writers Market

Of course, with today’s technology, many authors are choosing to self-publish. If this is something you are considering, why not review some of the resources below?

Resources

  1. Self-publishing a book: 25 things you need to know is a thorough blog post that explores many aspects to successfully self-publishing your work.
  2. Self-publishers can’t afford humility provides an account of one Canadian author’s self-publishing journey.
Consolidation

This is the dropbox icon. The Beginning of The End...

As your culminating activity for this course, you will complete:

  • a portfolio which includes polished examples of your best work (one sample from each of Units 2, 3, 4, and 5). For each sample, you must include a preface in which you explain why you chose this work among the others in the unit, as well as a detailed comment on its successful aspects along with areas for improvement;
  • a major creative piece edited for publication (for instance, a short story, a script, or a collection of poems). Your major creative piece must be an entirely new work; and
  • your polished portfolio that may take any form you wish (e.g., word processed, slide show, web page, blog, etc.).

Afterward, exchange your portfolio with a classmate and provide one another with descriptive feedback on what works well and what can be improved. Feedback should focus on (but is not limited to):

  • portfolio completion;
  • genre specific forms and elements; and
  • portfolio presentation.

It is recommended that you utilize the genre specific rubrics and checklists and unit success criteria lists so that your feedback is as focused and clear as possible. Ultimately, it is up to the writer to decide what, if any, advice to adopt.

This is the dropbox icon. ...The End of the Beginning

When you have completed your portfolio, take a moment to consider the following questions by writing the following “Reflecting on My Writing” response.

  • What changes in your personal writing style do you notice as you survey your course work? Be sure to comment on specific elements and forms.
  • How did the ‘Analysing and Acknowledging Authors’ assignments influence your writing and understanding of writing as an art, craft, and career?
  • Of all the writing techniques you learned this year, which one did you use with the most success? Give specific examples of this technique in your writing.
  • Did you find the collaborative writers’ workshops effective in improving your writing?  Why/why not?
  • What was the most frustrating experience you had as a writer? Why do you think this happened?
  • Did you ever face writer's block throughout the course? How did you overcome it?
  • Of the pieces chosen for your final writing portfolio, which one gives you the most satisfaction? Support your conclusions by referring to specific aspects of this piece.

This is the dropbox icon. My Polished Portfolio

Now that you’ve completed the portfolio’s requirements, put together the following:

  • a polished portfolio that includes your polished examples with prefaces and newly written work;
  • descriptive portfolio feedback that you provided to your classmate; and
  • your “Reflecting on My Writing” response.

Learning Skills Reflection

If you're working on a tablet, click here to open the following interactive in its own window instead of using the embedded version below.

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