Work for hire is a specific type of contract. The publisher essentially wanted a vampire series, so they contacted agents looking for writers who wanted to try out. When they found one with a decent idea, they hired her to write the books, on a book by book basis. The publisher retains rights to the series in that case -- the author is an employee.
I did a deal like that with Penguin, and it was a circle jerk and a horrible experience, but it was essentially book by committee, which I hadn't anticipated.
yeah...she's been emailing fans for days now about it. esentially the publisher wasn't happy with the direction she was taking the series(i.e. a Damon/Elena ending) and so they fired her and hired ghostwriters to finish up the series. apparently, they have no clue about the fanbase because most of us are wanting an endgame of D/E. even in the books, S/E is BO-ring!
You just have to remember, she's essentially a ghostwriter who just got to use her own name, though.
It sucks, but she's really being classy about it.
The new books were horrible though. Horrible! Kind of excited about The Secret Circle tv series though!
Someone needs to help The Tolkein Professor with that website problem.
I know. I hate it when sounds start up as soon as a site opens.
The new books were horrible though. Horrible!
I know. The first ... four? Were entertainingly cheesy. But the latest ones are just
ew.
What was weird was that I turned on my sound to watch the video on the copycat covers site, not really focusing on the fact that I'd opened the TP page in another tab.
So I got a very thoughtful and crunchy dissertation on the way a narrative is built while watching a cover being composited.
If you're looking for some other good Tolkein discussion, my online friend Kate Nepveu did a chapter-by-chapter reread of LotR for the Tor.com site:
[link]
It's quite a great discussion, with some cool arguments in the comments. I'm waiting for her to post her commentary on the last movie, as well.
