Friday 7 January 2011

SO MUCH FOR SO LITTLE by SAM SMITH

I don’t know how many of BeWrite Books’s authors are members of the UK-based Society of Authors but it could be well worthwhile joining if you aren’t.

Although the annual fee is steep –  currently £90.00 – membership includes associate membership of ALCS (the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society) which sends me a cheque most years for anything between £60-70.00 for  photocopying, etc. So membership in effect costs me the price of a magazine subscription.

For that, members receive a magazine four times a year and access to all the services that the Author’s Society provides: contract checking, courses, etc. Services also include personal expert advice for authors and the covering of costs if a member takes legal action.

What’s prompted me to write about this now is that last year the Society of Authors did some research among their members of experiences at author appearances (fees paid, expenses, festival’s merits, etc) and have now produced a booklet of results. For anyone thinking of doing public appearances this coming year it will make invaluable reading.

Yours. Sam Smith

Thanks for the tip, Sam. The SoA website is unclear as to whether membership extends to non-UK-based authors, but it’s certainly well worth checking, and there is a handy email contact address on the website at: http://www.societyofauthors.org. If geographical location is not a roadblock, ALL BeWrite Books authors meet prime membership criteria.

Sam, Smith, by the way, is a prolific professional novelist (working in several genres) and poet with a whole shelf full of published books to his name. Several, including his newly released historical fiction, The Secret Report of Friar Otto, are available in paperback and ebook formats from BeWrite Books and major online bookstores.

Just go to the bookstore section of the www.bewrite.net website and you’ll find a list of his works, cover notes, extracts and biography if you click on the 'Our Authors' button there. Friar Otto is so new that it’s still featured on the store’s front page. Sam is also BeWrite Books’ excellent poetry editor.

Best Wishes. Neil


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