Last month, to mark a week of events celebrating World Poetry Day on 21st March, the International Authors Forum (IAF) and JAIKU, a non-profit organisation dedicated to meeting the needs of the poetry community in the Caribbean, hosted a special edition of the ‘Ink and Insights’ online forum. We discussed how poets can monetise their poetry and how to negotiate an effective legal contract to make the most of such opportunities.
The event was hosted by Kacy Garvey, poet from Jamaica and founder of JAIKU.
Chair: Katie Webb, Coordinator of the Latin America and Caribbean Network of the International Authors Forum
Panellists:
- Gustavo Schötz – Copyright lawyer, partner at Schötz and Viascan, consultants in intellectual property and technology transfer, teacher, authors and editor.
- Alejandra R. Olvera – Translator and Vice-President of External Relations, Mexican Association of Literary Translators (AMETLI)
- Christoph Jenkins – Poet and Founder, The Poet Life
- David Felipe Alvarel Amezquita – Intellectual Property Lawyer, Associate Professor of Law, University of Tolima
Christoph Jenkins got the panel off to an inspirational start, reminding aspiring poets to think about the plethora of skill sets they have which make them also public speakers, copywriters, event hosts and planners and networkers. He encouraged poets to be strategic and to write with a plan, to think about their networks and how to engage them – ultimately to take responsibility for and think creatively about their career when entering into business negotiations to which contracts are so fundamental.
Gustavo Shötz, echoed Chritsoph’s message of thinking about your goals when entering contractual negotiations. With the Statute of Anne in 1709, authors were granted laws to protect themselves because they were the weaker party. Therefore, because authors have the power to negotiate, he encouraged them to think about what value they can add to the agreement. He also advised poets not only to think about the economic value of the contract but what other goals and interests they have in the project and how the contract can help them to achieve those. They need to add their imagination to the contract as well as to the book to make it a win-win outcome for author and publisher, as it is the author’s responsibility to ensure the contract works for them. Finally, he urged authors to look at the positive aspects of their contract.
Alex Olvera from AMETLI suggested that during their contract negotiations, authors take into account which of their works are both protected and financially exploitable. Alex reiterated the importance for authors to register their work as in this way they are protected. She suggested authors make sure that their standard contract includes clauses regarding the receiving of royalties for secondary uses by signing up to collective management organisations (CMOs), and a commitment from their publisher ensuring adequate remuneration for uses of their work and a clear definition in time.
For all authors, but particularly for translators who are often ‘invisible’ and not named on the book they have translated, it is essential to ensure you assert your ‘attribution’ right. She also warned authors to make sure that an advance payment is included as just reward for their efforts, and that it is separate from the royalties and isn’t subject to sales.
David Felipe Alvarez reminded the audience of the basics of standard contracts: to be valid, a contract must be in writing, and it should include moral rights. He outlined the importance of CMOs and their establishment and agreed on the importance for authors to register their work and stay informed regarding the usage of their work.
To conclude, Christoph took the floor, advising poets not to announce how much they charge, to avoid putting themselves at a disadvantage. Instead, he advised to propose a ‘discovery call’ that would enable the authors to find out the needs of those who wish to contract their services, to know how best to serve the client, be it publisher or another organisation. Christoph urged poets not to let the client dictate the fee, but instead to know your own value and how much to charge based on the nature of the project. Being able to read the client comes with experience, but it is important to take advantage of mentors to leverage their experience. He emphasised them importance of not appearing desperate or needy, and to not be afraid to say no if it isn’t a good deal. Not all money is good money, and often we learn more from our mistakes than from our successes!
You can find the recording of the online event here.