Posts with this tag are identified by writer Cortni Merritt as related to topics of business, leadership, entrepreneurship, and the business of publishing.
For the first time, SRD Editing Services is excited to announce special pricing for Small Business Saturday (Nov. 30)! And guess what? It’ll be the perfect gift for a writer in your life.
New clients will receive 15% off their first project (usually reserved for our repeat clients!), and repeat clients will receive 25% off all editing services on their next project!
Whether it’s a single service or a package, writers (or gift-givers!) can take advantage of this limited time offer to secure their spot on Cortni’s calendar. Even if the manuscript isn’t done yet, the editing service can be scheduled in advance through March 2025.
This reduced pricing offer is extended only for November 30 through December 2, so send your message, get your Estimate, and secure your spot on the calendar fast!
Since 2018, SRD Editing Services has helped hundreds of writers in fiction and nonfiction genres turn their dreams of a book into a reality.
For the first time, we’ll bring together and introduce all our writers and interested readers to one another through a quarterly newsletter!
Although the blog and social media channels have been where interested readers could find information about our various authors and their books, readers of our quarterly newsletter will find a catalog of those publications all in one place. Additionally, the newsletter will include brief updates on what’s happening with the SRD Editing Services editors, business news, and even exclusive discounts to subscribers.
The first quarterly newsletter is scheduled for distribution on Friday, November 22, to give readers a chance to review the enclosed booklist and save those great gift ideas for their Black Friday or Small Business Saturday shopping.
Hint: SRD Editing Services will be offering a special deal on Small Business Saturday that you don’t want to miss!
To begin receiving the quarterly email newsletter in your Inbox, fill out the Form HERE.
Beginning November 11, Veterans Day, 2024, SRD Editing Services will extend a 10% discount to active duty and veteran service members of any branch of the US armed forces.
Founded in 2018, SRD Editing Services began offering discounts to repeat clients in 2019, and discounts to current students and alumni of the schools our editor Cortni attended — the University of Central Florida, Florida State University, and Colorado State University — in 2021. We are proud to extend lowered pricing to anyone who has previously served or is currently serving in the US military.
We do ask for verification of your service, such as a picture of your military ID, to ensure that the discount is being applied fairly and accurately. Personal information can be redacted for security and privacy reasons.
The discount will be applied to any and all services on the first invoice with SRD Editing Services. Then, if the writer is interested in additional services — whether on the same or a new manuscript — the writer will receive our higher discount of 15% for repeat clients!
As someone who grew up in a military family and has family members active in the US armed forces currently, Cortni is excited to connect with and provide editing services to more service members, helping them tell their stories and turn their dreams into books.
Editor Cortni had a wonderful time at the Read It Write It Book and Writing Festival 2024. The event took place at the Mall at Wellington Green on a bright and sunny Saturday, June 15, a perfect backdrop for the sunny group of writers who met to swap ideas and share their stories. While most writers were local to central or south Florida, at least two had traveled from Georgia and South Carolina to connect with other authors.
The most represented genre was romance, with everything from sweet to spicy making an appearance. Additionally, fiction genres of various authors included fantasy, small-town mystery, and science fiction.
Our editor also spoke with authors of nonfiction, including memoir and social/political critique and analysis. Additionally, several authors at the event were showcasing their children’s books as well.
Speaking of a showcase, SRD Editing Services was privileged that several of our own writers were kind enough to send copies of their printed books to display and distribute. Cortni gave away several copies of various books from the display at no cost to interested people. We love sharing and promoting our authors’ work and hope everyone who walked away with a copy enjoys their gift!
SRD Editing Services display table at the Read It Write It book and writing festival 2024.
Throughout the event, there were several highly interesting panel discussions. Panelists included award-winning authors and publishers of a variety of materials Unfortunately, due to our table placement and the acoustics of the venue, they were sometimes difficult to hear unless stationed near the seats at the front of the stage.
When visiting various writers’ tables, we saw inventive, interesting merchandise from numerous authors, including 3D-printed figurines of characters, colorful and creative stickers, bookmarks, calendars, and notebooks. Several writers described using QR codes to lead readers to Spotify playlists that accompanied their stories.
Perhaps most interestingly, one author of a children’s book explained how he integrated a QR code for readers to scan in order to access augmented reality features designed to enhance the kids’ reading experience. How cool! Can’t wait to check it out.
There was so much talent that the room was bursting with it. In addition to all the writers, publishers, and illustrators, Cortni even chatted with a few future editors who stopped by the table to ask for advice.
At the end of the day, no visitor left empty-handed. Whether you picked up some merch or some swag, you at least walked away with the knowledge that the book reading and writing communities are strong in South Florida.
SRD Editing Services is looking forward to maintaining these new connections and growing these new relationships with all the Read It Write It authors over the next year. In fact, the date has already been announced for 2025, and we’ve submitted our interest form. See you in June next year!
Every now and then, I’ll get a request for legal advice for writers that I don’t know the answer to — but I love learning! When I was completing my BA in English, I was a copywriter at a local attorney’s office, so I learned a few things about legalese. And after nearly 14 years as a freelance writer and editor, I’ve learned a few things about the publishing business and the legal side of writing and publishing books. I don’t think I can answer all the questions in a single blog post, but today, I’d like to try to hit the highlights and explain a bit about copyright, intellectual property, and estate planning for authors.
Disclaimer: Seek Specific Legal Advice for Writers in Your State or Country
While this blog will discuss some general legal aspects to consider as a published author and in the industries of writing and publishing books in general, I am not a legal expert. IP law is complex and can vary by location and other factors. I advise you to seek specific legal advice from a professional for your particular situation.
The Basics: Copyright Laws & Intellectual Property
You worked hard on your writing, your craft, and you should feel a bit protective of it. Because you created it, you own the “copyright” on it. Because it is not a tangible item–it’s an artistic creation born of your intellect–it’s known as “intellectual property” or IP, for short.
Like any other property, your writing–both published and nonpublished books and all rights associated with them–can be legally protected, passed on/inherited, gifted, insured, taxed, and all those other things that come along with legal properties. You likely do a pretty good job of managing this during your lifetime, but we’re here to answer some basic questions about how your writing fits into your personal estate and post-life legacy.
Copyright Laws
First, a few basics about US copyright laws that you should know if you’re writing and publishing books. When you wrote your document, the copyright was automatically granted to you. So whether or not you ever registered your book with the US Copyright Office, you own the copyright. Registering your book does give you extra legal benefits and protections, so go ahead and visit the Copyright Office website and do that first.
Generally, copyright protection lasts throughout the creator’s life and for 70 years after their death. At that point, your book will enter the public domain, meaning that anyone can use it without permission. During those 70 years, the copyright can be managed by someone you trust, who can benefit in many ways from holding that copyrighted property.
Access to Your Digital Materials & Archive
It’s important to think ahead about putting together all your IPs into a single organized system. If you’re not the most organized, ask for help! There are a number of legal or publishing business consultants and coaches who can help you not only compile the appropriate paperwork, but they can help you organize your digital assets too.
The intellectual property associated with your book isn’t just limited to the final print or e-book version, after all! The IP includes your unpublished materials such as notes, rough drafts, correspondence, and literary archives (aka, your scrap heaps). All those random items on your computer or stored in the cloud.
If organizing all that seems like a daunting task, don’t panic. At the very least, make sure that you specify in your estate documents who should manage your unpublished materials or have access to your computer or cloud storage. Compile all your passwords and give them to the appropriate person or include them in the estate document. It’s the digital version of not organizing boxes of items in your home but giving the right person a key: they have access to rummage through and find what’s useful when the time comes.
Succession Rights
Authors should consider how their literary works will be managed and maintained after their life has ended. This may involve appointing a literary executor responsible for overseeing the publication, licensing, and adaptations of your works. Clearly defining the terms of this role in the estate plan is crucial to ensure a seamless ownership transition. If you clearly outline how your property should be legally distributed, your inheritors will be set up to continue enjoying royalties and residuals for any ongoing or unfinished projects, posthumous publications, and future interests in your work.
More than Authorship in a Self-Publishing Business
Self-publishing includes both writing and publishing books, which means that it’s more than just authorship and copyright protection to be concerned with as part of an estate; there’s a whole publishing business to consider.
Tax Advice for Writers Who Self-Publish
Tax laws can get complicated quickly, so American authors should familiarize themselves both with the federal estate tax system as well as any state systems such as probate that could affect their business of writing and publishing books. Additionally, you want to make it as easy as possible for the person who inherits your business to access all necessary tax documents and manage your business’ taxes. When assembling your estate paperwork, be sure to include your most recent tax filing as well as any passwords and login information to digital assets such as accounting software or contact information for tax consultants.
Royalties & Residuals
If you set up a publishing business for your own self-published materials, your work can continue to sell and generate income after your death; make it easy for your inheritors to continue running that business and carrying on your legacy. If your publishing business also publishes and represents work by other authors, the best advice for writers says to definitely consult a reputable business lawyer who can both help your business’ inheritor access and manage all your own assets while also protecting and doing right by the authors whom your business publishes.
Licensing, Permissions, & Translations
Your work is automatically copyright protected and recognized as your intellectual property in the language and medium in which you published it. For example, if you’re writing and publishing books in English that are distributed in the US. But what if, in the future, a publisher wants to translate it to other languages and distribute it in other countries or new markets? What if, after your death, someone wants to turn your book into a movie or a TV show?
Make sure you consider long-term and alternate uses for your IP beyond what you did during your life. Include your thoughts about what should be done in those scenarios in the instructions for your inheritors! Of course, if the executor is familiar with licensing, permissions, and international copyright, that is wonderful, but if not, provide in your instructions some basic resources that might be helpful to the future executor of your estate.
Other Publishing Business Items to Consider
Charity
If your business has been involved in a charity during your lifetime, you can include instructions to continue that connection and your support for causes you love as part of your estate. For example, you might leave instructions that a certain percentage of royalties is donated to a specific organization. Or, you might want to establish a charitable trust as part of your estate. Your business and your art can continue to support the causes you loved through legacy donations.
Bottom Line Advice for Writers: Don't Wait, Draft Your Will
Update Your Will Regularly
Like many other things in life, your Will isn’t a one-and-done item. Update your Will whenever a substantial change happens with one of your IPs, your business structure, your overall financial situation, or with one of the people whom you’ve named as inheritor. Some legal professionals suggest updating your Will every five years; if you publish more than one book per year, I might suggest updating it every year when you file your tax return.
Talk to Your Beneficiaries & Executors
Don’t surprise whomever you are going to name as the inheritor for your IP and your publishing business. In the middle of a period of grief, your inheritor may not be in the right headspace to learn about and manage your writing and publishing. Books that are already published may be neglected, and opportunities to publish new materials can be missed.
Instead – and this is excellent advice for writers but for anyone, really, even if it is difficult – you want to have a serious and thorough conversation about your estate with the person (or people) you’ll name as inheritors. Talk with them about your intentions and your concerns. Give them a chance to ask questions. Clear communication can prevent a ton of hassles and mistakes when the time comes, and even if it becomes a bit emotional, it is well worth the person being prepared to handle any financial obligations or enjoy the benefits associated with the hard work of writing and publishing books that you did in your lifetime.
Last Piece of Advice for Writers: Think Long-Term
Seventy years is a long time. In 70 years, your IPs could reach three whole new generations of fans, be translated into countless other languages, reach global fame, and become the basis for stage plays, graphic novels, or other media you never thought about during your life. Whether you’ve gone through a traditional publishing business or self-published your own works and established your own business entity, there’s great, easily accessible legal advice for writers to make it as easy as possible for their IPs to live on vibrantly and lucratively for those seven decades. (For an excellent article that inspired me to write this blog post, visit this article at selfpublishingadvice.org!) You want to make it easy for your loved ones to benefit from your hard work! When you put together your estate and wishes for your IPs, dream big. You never know what might happen with your work in the future.
SRD Editing Services is excited to announce our confirmed attendance to the “Read It, Write It” festival in Wellington, Florida, in June 2024!
The second “Read It, Write It” festival will be free to the public and include a number of exciting authorship events, including:
Author talks, book signings & meet-and-greets with renowned authors.
Writing workshops to hone your skills, led by experienced writers and industry experts. From storytelling to poetry, there will be something for everyone.
Book fair to explore a range of publications from local and national authors.
Panel discussions to engage in meaningful conversations about literature, publishing, and the power of storytelling in society.
Literary open mic to enjoy shared writing and enjoy the creativity of fellow attendees.
Connection with Palm Beach County Library and other sponsors, literacy organizations, and writing groups to discover opportunities to nurture your passion for books and writing.
Currently, Cortni Merritt, editor-in-chief at SRD Editing Services, is scheduled to have a table from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is collecting books from authors she has worked with to feature, along with other freebies and giveaways, including a raffle with terrific prizes. As of this writing, SRD Editing Services is scheduled to be the only business at the event offering professional editing services.
Mark your calendar for June 15, at the Mall at Wellington Green to stop by and see Cortni in person!
SRD Editing Services is excited to announce our membership in the International Association of Professional Writers & Editors (IAPWE) just in time for summer editing to ramp up for the holiday publishing schedule in 2023!
Logo of the International Association of Professional Writers and Editors
IAPWE is a professional organization that provides resources to writers and editors and functions as a networking and freelance contract portal. Creating a professional community focused on outreach, blogging, and thought leadership, the IAPWE provides professionals a site to connect and expand, as well as the ability to promote their business, increase their skills, and grow as a professional.
Currently, Cortni Merritt, editor-in-chief at SRD Editing Services, is drafting a blog to submit to the IAPWE for publication and is excited about the multiple opportunities available through the IAPWE Freelancer Portal. In addition to the webinars and courses offered through the Editorial Freelancer’s Association that are already on the 2023 calendar, Cortni is interested in the IAPWE courses on business copywriting and freelancing best practices.
The team at SRD Editing Services is delighted to announce our membership in the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) just in time for the new year and our planned growth in 2023.
Since 1970 the EFA has provided training, networking, and contract opportunities to freelance editors in all areas of publishing. The association is dedicated to enhancing the quality of editorial standards and supporting highest quality publishing in all areas.
So far in 2022, Cortni Merritt, founder and editor in chief at SRD Editing Services, has attended EFA virtual seminars on contracting and streamlining business processes, as well as authenticity reader training, geared at providing a higher quality and more dedicated sensitivity reader services. Cortni plans to continue this trend in 2023, with attendance to workshops on editing memoirs, trans allyship and representation, and enhanced copy editing techniques.
The next in-person conference of the EFA is scheduled for August of 2023, in Virginia. SRD Editing Services would be delighted to attend, if circumstances allow.
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First, a few basics about US copyright laws that you should know if you’re 
Self-publishing includes both 
