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The Magic Bakery: Copyright in the Modern World of Fiction Publishing
USA Today bestselling writer Dean Wesley Smith helps writers understand the very nature of their business, how to sell more, and make more money from every story. Using the metaphor of a magic bakery, copyright becomes easy to understand, and the writing business makes far more sense. This book functions as a guide to help writers gain more from every story they write, protect their property, and understand how to expand their business into the future. Clear, easy to read, and full of insights from a forty-year-career writer who understands how every story contains magic. Want more sales, more money from your writing? Come on in to The Magic Bakery.
86 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 29, 2017
4 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Dean Wesley Smith
822 books177 followersPen Names
Edward Taft
Dee W. Schofield
Sandy Schofield
Kathryn Wesley
Dean Wesley Smith is the bestselling author of over ninety novels under many names and well over 100 published short stories. He has over eight million copies of his books in print and has books published in nine different countries. He has written many original novels in science fiction, fantasy, mystery, thriller, and romance as well as books for television, movies, games, and comics. He is also known for writing quality work very quickly and has written a large number of novels as a ghost writer or under house names.
With Kristine Kathryn Rusch, he is the coauthor of The Tenth Planet trilogy and The 10th Kingdom. The following is a list of novels under the Dean Wesley Smith name, plus a number of pen names that are open knowledge. Many ghost and pen name books are not on this list because he is under contractual obligations not to disclose that he wrote them. Many of Dean’s original novels are also under hidden pen names for marketing reasons.
Dean has also written books and comics for all three major comic book companies, Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, and has done scripts for Hollywood. One movie was actually made.
Over his career he has also been an editor and publisher, first at Pulphouse Publishing, then for VB Tech Journal, then for Pocket Books.
Currently, he is writing thrillers and mystery novels under another name.
Edward Taft
Dee W. Schofield
Sandy Schofield
Kathryn Wesley
Dean Wesley Smith is the bestselling author of over ninety novels under many names and well over 100 published short stories. He has over eight million copies of his books in print and has books published in nine different countries. He has written many original novels in science fiction, fantasy, mystery, thriller, and romance as well as books for television, movies, games, and comics. He is also known for writing quality work very quickly and has written a large number of novels as a ghost writer or under house names.
With Kristine Kathryn Rusch, he is the coauthor of The Tenth Planet trilogy and The 10th Kingdom. The following is a list of novels under the Dean Wesley Smith name, plus a number of pen names that are open knowledge. Many ghost and pen name books are not on this list because he is under contractual obligations not to disclose that he wrote them. Many of Dean’s original novels are also under hidden pen names for marketing reasons.
Dean has also written books and comics for all three major comic book companies, Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, and has done scripts for Hollywood. One movie was actually made.
Over his career he has also been an editor and publisher, first at Pulphouse Publishing, then for VB Tech Journal, then for Pocket Books.
Currently, he is writing thrillers and mystery novels under another name.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 6, 2019
I appreciate Dean Wesley Smith's books on the publishing world--he always breaks through the Shoulds and Musts of the business to really think through what is being said and expose the limitations, shortcomings, and faulty logic within. This book is no exception. He helped me to think bigger, to realize more fully what copyright is, and how easy it is to give away without thinking through the long term consequences of that action.
January 16, 2018
This book started life as a series of blog posts and was part of The 2017 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Bundle.
Dean has a Master’s in Architecture, 90% of a law degree and plays pro-poker… oh, and he’s written more than 300 books.
In 2018 he turns 67 so he has challenged himself to produce 67 printed works with his name on them. (that includes edited, anthologies, short story collections etc)
By January 12 he’s five down.
He publishes ‘smith’s monthly’; the 70k words include: a short novel, four short stories, and a serial every month.
[does that only count as one, Dean?]
***
It’s not a bad metaphor. Think of each work as a pie. You rent a door in the mall of Amazon and Kobo that opens into your magic bakery, but your pie shop needs more than one pie to encourage a customer to buy.
Once you’ve got a few pies, maybe you can put up that jar of cookies (short stories), or the muffins and cupcakes (novellas)? You can give away a small sample for free but if everything is free, you won’t make any sales. And if everything is a dollar, you start to look like a bargain store.
Don’t put your savoury pies in the dessert section. Branding. Keep all your pies in one store rather than have two or three called different names.
Nothing goes off. A sale of a book is magically replenished no matter how many sales you make. Make sure you put a ‘door’ in each pie that leads back to your store.
Smith and Rusch go on and on and on about this. Do NOT EVER give away all your rights to something.
I learnt recently that even in audiobooks there are different kinds of rights: full cast, one narrator, summarised version… only sign the contract for the right they want to use.
Joanna Penn told a story about a person she knew who sold their world wide rights in all forms to one company who only ever intended to publish an ebook AND only publish in New Zealand. They did it for a year and then ditched it. There was no buy-back clause in the contract so the author could not buy back their own story. That work is gone now for that author. GONE.
Don’t throw your pies away.
But first, you have to do an inventory, learn some basic business skills. Study IP (intellectual property) - right now copyright is your lifetime plus 50-70 years, but it could change. Plan. Do maintenance; dust them off occasionally; repackage or bundle them; fix the lighting so customers can see the stock.
And get baking.
4 stars
Dean has a Master’s in Architecture, 90% of a law degree and plays pro-poker… oh, and he’s written more than 300 books.
In 2018 he turns 67 so he has challenged himself to produce 67 printed works with his name on them. (that includes edited, anthologies, short story collections etc)
By January 12 he’s five down.
He publishes ‘smith’s monthly’; the 70k words include: a short novel, four short stories, and a serial every month.
[does that only count as one, Dean?]
***
It’s not a bad metaphor. Think of each work as a pie. You rent a door in the mall of Amazon and Kobo that opens into your magic bakery, but your pie shop needs more than one pie to encourage a customer to buy.
Once you’ve got a few pies, maybe you can put up that jar of cookies (short stories), or the muffins and cupcakes (novellas)? You can give away a small sample for free but if everything is free, you won’t make any sales. And if everything is a dollar, you start to look like a bargain store.
Don’t put your savoury pies in the dessert section. Branding. Keep all your pies in one store rather than have two or three called different names.
Nothing goes off. A sale of a book is magically replenished no matter how many sales you make. Make sure you put a ‘door’ in each pie that leads back to your store.
Each area of the pie is a different right. One small slice is paperback rights, one small slice is hardback rights, one small slice is electronic, one small slice is audio, and on and on.
You never sell the entire pie. (Kindle Locations 210-212).
Smith and Rusch go on and on and on about this. Do NOT EVER give away all your rights to something.
I learnt recently that even in audiobooks there are different kinds of rights: full cast, one narrator, summarised version… only sign the contract for the right they want to use.
Joanna Penn told a story about a person she knew who sold their world wide rights in all forms to one company who only ever intended to publish an ebook AND only publish in New Zealand. They did it for a year and then ditched it. There was no buy-back clause in the contract so the author could not buy back their own story. That work is gone now for that author. GONE.
Don’t throw your pies away.
But first, you have to do an inventory, learn some basic business skills. Study IP (intellectual property) - right now copyright is your lifetime plus 50-70 years, but it could change. Plan. Do maintenance; dust them off occasionally; repackage or bundle them; fix the lighting so customers can see the stock.
And get baking.
4 stars
February 2, 2021
Not complex, but how can it be, when as Smith says, each contract looks different where the party buying a slice of the copyright has different needs. If anything, this book brings into focus a very important element any writer selling books should become aware of--and for that single reason, this book is gold.
Dean Wesley Smith is one of the most eye-opening writers out there. He makes good money, but I think he also has a desire to teach and to inform.
Dean Wesley Smith is one of the most eye-opening writers out there. He makes good money, but I think he also has a desire to teach and to inform.
June 1, 2023
Eye Opening!
If you are an Indie author, this a must read. If you want a career as a writer, read this book! I stumbled across John Wesley Smith’s website a few months ago and started reading his blog. From there I went to his wife’s blog. These two have made it their mission to educate indie authors. Take advantage of their combined wisdom! This book will open your eyes to the magic you are creating.
If you are an Indie author, this a must read. If you want a career as a writer, read this book! I stumbled across John Wesley Smith’s website a few months ago and started reading his blog. From there I went to his wife’s blog. These two have made it their mission to educate indie authors. Take advantage of their combined wisdom! This book will open your eyes to the magic you are creating.
May 12, 2022
The Magic Bakery offers a sensible approach to managing intellectual property and copyright for authors. Serious authors will benefit from consuming the delectable ingredients that make up this pie, so pull up a chair and savor a piece.
Read my full review on my authors' blog, "Writing to be Read", here: https://writingtoberead.com/2021/12/0...
Read my full review on my authors' blog, "Writing to be Read", here: https://writingtoberead.com/2021/12/0...
April 22, 2023
read it and read it again
I know I’ll be referring back to this book in the future and I took notes on it. So many writers undervalue their work, and undervalued the potential of their work. Smith really hits home with his bakery metaphor, and makes the concept of IP and being a business-minded author easier to understand.
I know I’ll be referring back to this book in the future and I took notes on it. So many writers undervalue their work, and undervalued the potential of their work. Smith really hits home with his bakery metaphor, and makes the concept of IP and being a business-minded author easier to understand.
April 17, 2021
Short and to the point.
A book well worth the read. First because it is rather small and tells you directly what you need to know. Servings because it shares important business truth beyond publishing. The analogy works far beyond the scope of this book...
I recommend it
A book well worth the read. First because it is rather small and tells you directly what you need to know. Servings because it shares important business truth beyond publishing. The analogy works far beyond the scope of this book...
I recommend it
August 19, 2017
A bit repetitive. The best "meat" was in the epilogue. To the DJ Formula, I would add exclusive or non-exclusive, which may take the place of or supplement "Time Position."
April 27, 2023
Love this concept about copyright and IP
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews