by Jim
Hello Jim,
I have a question that… may be a bit strange and is more about author
etiquette than writing itself.
Some time ago, I’ve contacted the author of one of my favorite books,
asking him whether he’d be okay with me making a reference/easter egg
(or how people call it these days) to his book. I’ve already considered
that quite daring but, to my surprise, he agreed.
Now that my book is done, I wonder whether I should contact him again
and offer him a copy of the book but, as I’m new to being author and my
knowledge of author etiquette is minimal, I don’t know whether this
might be the right thing to do, or not. Part of me sees it as an
expression of gratitude and another part as rudely showing my book to
someone else’s hand.
And, on the side line, the doubtful me keeps screaming that I would
probably make a fool of myself in case he’d accept and not like the story.
Thanks,
Anonymous
Hi!
It’s a good question. One thing I will say is to make sure that you credit the original creator for permission to use their characters.
Honestly, a lot of work goes into my books, requiring many hands. At any time, the team includes
An editor
A second editor
A Photographer
A model
An artist
and a distribution planner.
That’s usually at minimum. That’s not including reps and the legalise. Typically though, I try to offer anyone who put work into the book a copy in addition to whatever compensation they receive.
In your case, I get the impression that the original author isn’t asking for royalties or anything like that. So if absolutely offer them a copy. It’s only polite.
Hope this helps. Readers, what do you think? Did you offer copies of your work to people who helped make it possible? Do you plan to? Let us know I the comments.
Readers,
Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.
jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com
I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.
I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.
Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.
Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:
http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU
Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!
Thanks friends!
Catch you on the flip side!
-Jim
James Harringtons Creative Work 
I believe that a reference to the title, author, and isbn is sufficient. And yes, sending the author a copy of all the published formats is the minimum curtesy that should be respected in such case. There still might still be the slippery issue that not the author but the publisher holds the copyrights. You have to check that too because in such case the author´s consent might be void.
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