GK's immediate response was that I was obsessed with death. To which I replied, "I was a probate and estate planning attorney. I know how fucked up things can get if you don't plan things ahead of time."
You see, if I died today, the copyright on my works would end in 2088. That's right. My son would be older than both of his grandfathers when ALL my copyrights expire and still potentially collecting income on the stories.
Despite my own body's efforts to kill me, I could potentially live for another twenty to forty years. If I do, my copyright will continue well into the 22nd century. You know, about the time Jonathan Archer would be born if he were real.
This is what is meant by the long-tail. I'm still reading books written over a century ago. The odds are someone will be reading my work a century from now.
Fictional life will continue long after you're gone. It's something to think about if you're a writer. Your work has more value than you realize.
All true. My brother has that, "OMG don't talk about death!!" attitude. He seems to think talking about it will make it happen, or means we're looking forward to it or something, especially pertaining to our mother. [sigh] Which means Jim and I talk to Mom about what she wants when Sean's not around. Which from one perspective isn't fair to him, but if he won't talk about it...? [shrug]
ReplyDeleteBack to writing, another way to look at it is that if you don't set something up to ensure your literary estate is managed after your death, it might not be. Your work might fade away and be forgotten forever, if some knowledgeable person/entity isn't taking care of it. Or your heirs might end up hiring some selfish flake, like Octavia Butler's family hired, who only gives a damn about her novels, but refuses to deal in good faith with anyone who wants to reprint her short stories; they don't bring in enough money for it to be worth his while, so he doesn't, and damn what the IP owners want for their ancestor's work. :/
Angie
Got my will all done up, it's hanging on my wall with copies to my brother. It includes passwords, updated lists of everything, and a few choice names of people he can call should he have questions about Amazon or whatever.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Angie. There's no guarantee the guys will do as I ask, i.e. like not publish a story that didn't work just to make some dough. Or hire idiots.
ReplyDeleteBut I like the idea of some kid rummaging through her grandma's antique Kindle and finding one of my books. LOL