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Post by Joxcenia on Jun 23, 2005 20:11:39 GMT -6
I have registered a children's manuscript on 'how to survive a fire' for a copyright with The Library of Congress, and today I got this letter in the mail:
Dorrance Publishing Co. Inc. [Their address & phone/fax numbers]
October 28, 2004
[My name & address]
Dear Ms. [My last name]:
One of our researchers has discovered your manuscript registration with the Library of Congress and has forwarded your name to me as a possible candidate for publication with our company.
As an author, you are probably aware of (and perhaps have experienced) some of the problems of trying to get your work published by a commercial publisher. Just having your manuscript read by most commercial publishers is difficult and usually involves long delays.
Dorrance Publishing Company, Inc. provides a practical alternative for consideration by authors of book length fiction and nonfiction manuscripts, collections of poetry, collections of short stories, children's books, etc., who wish to see their works in print.
The Dorrance name has been associated with a tradition of quality subsidy publishing since 1920. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss our services with you and to review your manuscript to determine whether it meets our requirements for publication, and if so, if we can be of help. You may submit your completed, typewritten manuscript to me for a no-fee, no obligation review.
Also, I will be happy to send you a complimentary copy of our 32-page brochure, Author's Guide to Subsidy Publishing. The brochure outlines our publishing programs, including the manner in which we mechanically edit, design, produce, and promote our books. To the best of our knowledge, we are the only subsidy publisher to offer our authors the opportunity for simultaneous publication in bookstore quality traditional format, and also in an on-line electronic format.
When and if you do send your manuscript to me, we will review it and respond directly to you within 30 days. Your completed manuscript may also be sent to me on disk or as an e-mail attachment at <snip>@dorrancepublishing.com in ONE, CONTINUOUS FILE. If you choose to submit your manuscript in either of these formats, please save it in a common word processing program such as Microsoft Word for Windows or WordPerfect. If your completed, typewritten manuscript is less than 50 pages, you may fax it to my attention at 1-412-***-****.
You're invited to call me, toll-free, at 1-800-***-**** between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday. When writing or sending a manuscript, please address all correspondence to Tony Piccuillo and include your name, address, and phone number.
By all means, call and/or send a copy of your completed manuscript as soon as possible to reserve a place on our busy review schedule. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Anthony B. Piccuillo Senior Author Relations Representative
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Post by Joxcenia on Jun 23, 2005 20:12:02 GMT -6
Has anyone else who has registered a manuscript for copyright gotten such a letter?
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Post by Joxcenia on Jun 23, 2005 20:13:29 GMT -6
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Post by Joxcenia on Jun 23, 2005 20:13:55 GMT -6
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Post by Joxcenia on Jul 5, 2005 15:16:51 GMT -6
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Post by Joxcenia on Jul 5, 2005 16:15:50 GMT -6
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Post by Joxcenia on Jul 13, 2005 22:24:23 GMT -6
In order to protect your work from those claiming to be the "real" owners:
You should print out everything you write and put it in a trunk or storage box -- I have two storage containers full of large manilla envelops filled with my printed out writings in them. I print out every rewrite and save every draft that I edit on with pen/pencil. Better safe than sorry.... <toothy grin>
Anyone who claims to be the real author of a "work" should have more than the one finished version. And who else but the original writer is going to have that many drafts? I mean, _really_, who's going to take a book and rework it from last/final draft to first draft to lay claim to it? Some of my manuscripts have up to 20 different versions... no one but the actual author would have that many versions... I would think.
To prove the copyright of your work, you can have the manuscripts notarized.
As of this writing it costs $30 per "completed work" to get a copyright, and so I figured that $30 a manuscript was too much. Then I recently learned that you can send your works in in "bundles", and so I'm in the process of doing that. I'm going to "bundle" up all my finished children's poems & short stories together and call it: Children's Poems & Short Stories Volume One. And then I'm going to "bundle" up an: Adult Poems & Short Stories Volume One of my finished adult manuscripts.
So if you have a "collection" of short works, why not "bundle" them together to send off for a copyright, and save some money at the same time as you get protection for your works? <shrugs> You will still be able to sell the various works separately at a later date, and you don't have to update a copyright on a manuscript unless it has undergone a major overhaul.
Instead of the children's poems and stories collection, I sent in the collection mentioned in the first post above.
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Post by Joxcenia on Jul 25, 2005 21:25:43 GMT -6
Now I'm glad I didn't get in contact with them:
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Post by Joxcenia on Aug 8, 2005 15:59:36 GMT -6
I got this letter in the mail last week... I don't know why they wrote me, I'm not a songwriter. I guess maybe it's because the children's manuscript I copyrighted was in rhyme.
ARE YOU A SONGWRITER? DO YOU WRITE LYRICS? POEMS? MUSIC? Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Bruce Springsteen were once unknown songwriters. Their songs, perhaps like yours, were once heard by only a few close friends. Then... they got a break. They got a chance to record their music. And now their songs are a big part of the multi-billion dollar music industry.
The music industry continues to grow at an enormous rate. Radio stations constantly call for new recordings. The explosion of satellite and cable television with scores of new channels and special music programs has created still a greater demand for new songs.
New songs are recorded and released every day. Your song could be one of them.
HILLTOP RECORDS is searching for new songs... for fresh, original lyrics. Our award-winning professional musicians, arrangers and producers have worked with many of the giants in the music industry. Players on our talented team have recorded tracks for Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Ray Charles, Bette Midler, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Neil Diamond, Diana Ross and Phil Collins. We have shared the stage with Trisha Yearwood, Natalie Cole, Frank Sinartra, Jose Feliciano, Chuck Berry, The Four Tops and many, many more. We have played some of the greastest songs of all time with the artists who made them famous, and now we want to review your material.
We are currently reviewing all types of songs and lyrics... Rock, Pop, Country, Gospel, R&B, Contemporary Christian, Easy Listening, New Age, Standard, Broadway, Blues and Folk.
To increase your chances for acceptance, send us three or four of your very best compositions. You may send completed songs, lyrics only, poems or instrumentals. If one of your compositions is chosen, it will be arranged and recorded by some of the best in the business. Your song will then be professionally packaged, shipped nationwide to stores and radio stations, and you will be paid a royalty for every recording sold.
Don't delay. Our professional team is well into production on a very special music project. Some outstanding new songs have already been selected. Remember, send us three or four of your very best. We will carefully review your material, and you will receive our decision promptly. If you send your songs on cassette or CD, please include lyric sheets. Your songs will absolutely not be used without your written permission; and they will be returned to you upon request if return postage is provided.
We look forward to reviewing your material. And we wish you great success with your songs. This could be a tremendous opportunity for the right songwriter... HILLTOP RECORDS could be your first big break in the music industry.
All the best,
Tom Hartman Executive Producer
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Post by Joxcenia on Feb 17, 2010 22:32:56 GMT -6
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