Are Your Author Affairs in Order? Must-Know Essentials to Protect Your Legacy

Picture this. Your book is a bestseller and your legacy as an author is cemented in your readers minds. But what happens to your royalties, rights and reputation when you're no longer around? I know it's not a subject many of us want to face, but if you want to know how to protect your creative legacy, this video is for you.

Hey there. I'm Julie the Book Broad, founder of Book Launchers, your self publishing services team that helps you write, write, publish and promote a nonfiction book to build your brand and a business. Now, authors often forget that being an author is a business. And whether you've published one book or ten, you have created intellectual property. Yes, that is an asset or many assets, and that needs to be taken care of in life and in death. This isn't just for big names. Every author deserves to have their affairs in order. Now, one of the reasons I get so darn excited about being an indie author is because it means you have full rights and control over your intellectual property. Now, far too many authors are in a hurry to get a publishing deal, and don't stop and think about the fact that you need a deal that is worthy of your ip. So let's talk about your intellectual property, because that includes your manuscript, your adaptations, translations and audiobook rights. Keep a detailed inventory of all your formats, assets and distribution locations and where to find the sources, files, original documents. Because it's important to consider every contract and licensing deal you've ever signed, if you have them. And of course you need to create a map for whoever inherits your estate so they know what you own and where they are. One of the things you want to do is make a comprehensive list of contracts, contacts and accounts. For example, all platforms where you earn royalties and the associated accounts. This is where things are messy for many indie authors, because if you're like me, you probably have a half dozen accounts or more and less. And this is why doing this is so important. A simple thing to do is just create a spreadsheet and have a variety of columns and where appropriate, Dropbox links or website links to the places where people can access either the files or other so like work title, type of work, whether it's book, article, screenplay, audiobook course, publication date, or the original release or the editions, the rights that are held. Because if you have some publishing contracts and others that are your own, some will be worldwide or territorial or format specific so that all needs to be listed, then note any licensing agreements that you might have. Again, this could be translations, or if you've had something optioned for television or film. Then include expiration dates or terms is applicable for those things. Revenue sources List where work generates income so royalties, direct sales or if you have bundled content or anything that's kind of an ongoing relationship like an affiliate relationship. You also want to have a column for publisher or platform. Identify the entity responsible for distribution. Amazon KDP draft two digital findaway voices, authors, Republic IngramSpark whatever it is. Like I said, that's where a link would also be helpful. 8. Ownership details are you the sole owner? Are you a co author, part of a partnership? Make sure that's noted copyright Information Obviously if you can include in a Dropbox all your copyright proof, date of registration, any trademarks, those kind of things. Also have on top of all of this estate instructions, so specify any instructions for handling the work after your passing. This can be continue publication, transfer, ownership, discontinue use and contact details. If there's stakeholders like a literary agency, a publisher, distributor, legal representation, make sure that's included. Put notes for any pending issues or planned updates as well. This example is just something that is made up, but create your own but cover most of these details the alliance of Independent Authors Ally offers a free rights reversion guide for managing intellectual property effectively. Now if you have more complex literary library, it might be worth assigning a literary executor because they have the skills to manage your author estate. Just like we have someone in our estate that will be familiar with real estate because we've been in real estate and have been investors for years. It's important that if you have any sort of complicated aspect of your estate that as an author you have somebody assigned that can understand republishing opportunities or copyright issues or anything like that. So you might want to identify someone you trust who's knowledgeable about the publishing industry to be named as executor. Outline their responsibilities in your will, such as managing those royalties, negotiating contracts or licensing rights and of course provide them with this map the contact details key partners all of the details that we just covered so that they can access what you have and be able to manage it effectively for your family. Now Ally provides templates and legal advice for assigning a literary executor. So if you aren't already a member of Ally, our referral Link is book launchers.com Alli it's a resource we highly recommend as they have all kinds of training materials and training events to help indie authors. Now here are a few other tips on this don't assume family's the best choice. Look for Someone experienced in the publishing world or a trusted agent. Consult an estate planner to determine whether a trust is right for your situation. It's a small fee to pay today to save your family a lot of money and hassle later. Now, I've already alluded to this, but let's talk digital files. Your digital files, manuscripts, cover design, marketing materials and even email lists. Those are gold. Create a secure, well organized archive of these assets as well and include instructions on how to access them and any software or passwords needed. So if you aren't already doing it, use a cloud storage platform like Google Drive or Dropbox to store your files and keep a master document with access credentials and and clear instructions for navigating those files. And of course, back this up to a hard drive. Royalties don't stop when you do, and neither should your planning. Work with a financial advisor to ensure your heirs can collect royalties seamlessly. This may involve setting up a trust or giving clear instructions on how to access royalty payments from platforms like Amazon or IngramSpark. We just went through this with one of our clients who's worked with us on many different book projects. She passed away, but she knew it was imminent and so she got plans in place for her in progress work. Her team and my team are going to work together to publish her final book. So if you have half finished manuscripts or notes for future projects, be clear about what should happen to them. Do you want somebody to complete your work or should it stay unpublished? Put it in writing and have conversations with key stakeholders. Because our client was clear on what should happen, we we know our role and so does her family. By the way, did you know royalties can sometimes continue for up to 70 years after your death? That's a long time to leave things unplanned. So make sure your will is up to date and specifically mentions your intellectual property and what should happen to it. Work with an estate attorney who understands copyright law as this will prevent disputes and ensure your wishes are legally binding. Now, our client had a diagnosis that let her know what was coming, so she was well planned. We often as humans don't know, so I think it's important to have conversations with people involved. Your family, literary executor and your publisher from time to time. So people know what to do and what is planned for your estate. Now our client had a diagnosis that let her know what was coming, but we had another client who had something happen more suddenly and unexpectedly right before his book was about to publish and he hadn't had conversations with people involved in and so it was a lot more complicated to sort things out for him. All I can say is clarity now avoids confusion later. A simple conversation could prevent disputes and ensure your work is handled the way you want. Remember, your books are your legacy, and for many authors they will provide impact and income for years after they are gone if the right steps have been taken to protect the work. Now, I know this was not the most fun topic we've ever covered, so let's lighten it up and talk about five secret strategies best selling authors use to sell more books. And this is the video YouTube thinks you'll enjoy most. Head on over. I'll see you there.