Register for the Zurich Writers Workshop

Hello Yodelers,

It's about time that Zurich celebrated something other than banking, oder?

Well, that's where I come in. I'm co-founding the Zurich Writers Workshop, which will take place October 1-3, 2010. If you're interested in writing fiction or memoir, this weekend might be for you. You'll learn from instructors like New York Times Bestselling Author Susan Jane Gilman and University of Oxford Fiction Tutor Amal Chatterjee. You'll also get a literary tour of Zurich and you'll eat (what else?--) a lot of cheese. Sound good?

Registration is limited to about 24 participants and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information, click here. To register, click here. And please spread the word by sharing this post (see buttons below for your preferred choice of social networking options). Danke to all!

Switzerland—a great place to be a writer

Switzerland tends to be a decade or two behind many trends that happen in the United States. And sometimes this is a great thing.

Take rights for writers. Until the mid-80s, most magazine publishers in the U.S. asked for only “first North American serial rights (FNASR)” to a piece they wanted to publish. This meant they had the one-time right to publish the article first in the North American market and the writer retained all other rights.

While writers for Swiss publishers still enjoy this “one-time right to publish” as the norm (not to mention get paid much better despite it), things are terrible for writers in the United States. Even very reputable publications try to grab all or almost all rights from writers through all-rights contracts, work-for-hire contracts, or through the back door via “non-exclusive rights” contracts, which sound much better, but really just mean the publisher can do whatever the heck they want with a writer’s work and never pay the writer another cent even though the writer still retains the copyright. And the worst part is, North American publishers still pay like they were only buying one-time rights.

It’s time to fight, writers. We have to ban together and not accept such terrible terms. If you are offered all-rights, work-for-hire contracts, or non-exclusive contracts, offer FNASR contract terms instead. If they say no, negotiate additional payment for additional uses and put a time limit on rights. Or demand higher payment. I’m doing my best to not be taken advantage of and I ask you to join me. It’s not easy, but every little piece of your rights that you can retain is a victory for all of us.

If you’re a writer and want more information about contracts relevant to publishers in North America, the American Society of Journalists and Authors is a great source. I refer to this page often when I receive a contract.

For writers in Switzerland, you can find information about publishing in Switzerland here (in German). And for any of you in Switzerland tired of writing for U.S. markets and looking for better terms, Swiss News is currently looking for journalists.

Six Reasons to Work as a Writer Abroad

Six Reasons to Work as a Writer From Abroad

1. You differentiate yourself. There are thousands of writers in New York City. But most editors want fresh perspectives on things. It's easier to be memorable when you can write about things no one else could. Not to mention, an international perspective is highly regarded by many publications.

2. Stories. You barely have to try to come up with ideas when crazy things happen to you every day. When you have to bring your xmas tree home on a bus, for instance, stories just come naturally.

3. Characters. If you're into writing fiction, there's no better place to live than abroad, where people have habits and styles of communicating that challenge what you're used to and create possibilities for characters you never would have thought of before.

4. You'll want to write all the time. Especially if you live in a country where English isn't spoken, writing becomes an escape and a daily drug that keeps you sane.

5. Travel Writing. It's easier to carve a nitch out for yourself if you live in an exotic land. With slashed budgets, publications are more and more likely to hire someone that's already living in the local they want to cover so they can avoid paying travel expenses.

6. Less Competition. Chances are, wherever you decide to live abroad, there will be English publications. And if you're in a non-English speaking country, you will have less competition for those jobs. So if you're good, your ideas are more easily accepted and you'll most likely be able to find some steady work while you keep reaching for those dream publications.

Anyone else have any points to add? Of course, being a writer abroad isn't all fun and games--permits to work can be an issue, cashing checks for pubs back home can be challenging, and many of your favorite publications won't be readily available at a reasonable price. Still, in my opinion, the pluses outweigh the negatives. But then again, there are days I'd give anything just for a big English bookstore.

Working as a Writer Abroad

For any of you interested in a day in the life of a writer living abroad, I was interviewed by Kristine, a writer and creator of the blog, TeleTwenties, which is a great source of information about being a telecommuter. Check out her blog where other recent posts include "Are Home Offices Lonely?" and "Working from Home in a Tough Economy."

Interview on Freelancedom

As a writer living abroad, I was interviewed yesterday on a great blog called Freelancedom. If any of you reading my blog are interested in freelancing or becoming a writer, I highly recommend the Freelancedom blog where writer Steph Auteri shares her wisdom after a full-year of supporting herself freelance style.

The English Argument

Never argue with a non-native English speaker about your English. Because you’ll never win. I have done so and failed numerous times, beginning in fourth grade, when a new neighbor moved to Illinois from Switzerland and her idea of a Swiss “hello” was to circle every grammatical and spelling error in my “Neighborhood News Magazine” and pass it along to my mother.

Now that I’m living in Switzerland, I’ve moved on to new levels of English correction. For instance, Germans use the phrase “Something on top” to mean “something extra”. Never mind the fact that I advised that in this context I would not say “something on top” in the headline because it could mean something sexual. They insisted that because they used this English phrase in German and it was clear to them that it would be clear to any English speaker reading the ad. In the end, after much argument, they did change it to “something extra” but wow was it a struggle for them, not to mention for me.

One of the things that happens when you’re advising non-native English speakers on English matters is that you start to doubt your very knowledge of English. Not to mention, things start sounding normal after you hear them wrong hundreds of times. Starting an e-mail with “hello together”, what’s wrong with that? I don’t had an idea. But if you do, send me a mail. It would please me.