Just when you think you're getting a handle on how this writing game works, you find that some element of the process changes, the situation wasn't what you thought it was, or the situation now requires something you weren't originally aware of. So, come along with me and I'll show you the rabbit hole I stepped in.
When I agreed, They sent a contract in English. Good thing because I don't read a single word of Japanese. The contract was simple as it laid out the terms. They would publish the story in their version of Mystery Magazine in its July 2022 issue, available on June 25th, and in return they would pay $200 USD by check.
I then went on to do my due diligence as best I could. Wikipedia listed them as a long time publishing corporation. Checking an English version of their online site showed they did publish that magazine. I e-mailed them the story and the signed contract.
July rolled past. No check. I gave them a month. Best I could tell, my story was not in the July issue. In August, I sent an e-mail inquiring where my check was. After all, it could have gotten lost in the mail. That is a long way across all that water.
To my surprise, the replying e-mail came within 24 hours. All the previous e-mails had taken about four days or so for a round trip. I had presumed that working out the translation for the two languages was the cause for the time gap in the first e-mails. A couple of things also bothered me about this e-mail. It came from their treasurer and went something along the lines of to avoid Japanese tax laws, they would run the story in a 4-part serial and would I please send them my bank's routing number, my account number and code password. I'd already had a Turkish hacker take a run at my PayPal account, so whatever happened to that good safe check?
Also, the name of the treasurer was Kobayashi. That might be a common name in Japan, I don't know, but maybe you remember Kevin Spacey in the movie The Usual Suspects? He plays the part of a lame criminal on the lower rungs of the hierarchy and tells the story to the cops about Kobayashi being the elusive and nefarious mastermind of the crime they are investigating. At the end of the movie, the cops let Spacey go and as he limps down the sidewalk, you see him become less and less lame until he walks with a normal stride, no limp. At that time you know he is Kobayashi.
Okay, okay, I will admit to a little paranoia in this time of cyber security hacks, phishing and scams. My former profession probably doesn't help the situation much, but like we always said, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you."
I start to question my invitation to this little tea party. I go dark and leave the next step up to them.
And then at the end of September, what to my wondering eyes should appear... No, wait, that's a different story. In this case, a package comes in the mail. It has Japanese postage stamps on it. I open the package and there are the three magazines I asked for as author complimentary copies. Of course, it is all in Japanese. Carefully, I turn page to page searching for anything in English. Finally, on one page is a drawing of palm trees along with four English words in very small print: the Road to Hana. How about that? I am finally internationally published.
All I've got to do now is wait for the White Rabbit to bring me my check.
Not so fast there, Bubba. The Mad Hatter wants his say in this back and forth tale.
Did you know that the U.S. government has a tax treaty with foreign countries? Now, it's going to cost me $85 dollars to fill out an IRS Form 8802 in order to get my IRS Form 6166 Certificate of Residency in order to get that $200 check.
Have any of you people gone down your own Rabbit Hole or taken a trip Through the Looking Glass? We would love to hear about it.
Congratulations on a Japanese translation of your story. The characters always look so elegant.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Japanese was read vertically from top to bottom, but now is generally read from left to right, except in some comic books where it can be either or both.
DeleteR.T., I sold reprint rides to a Japanese publication in the last 2 years. They promised to send a check, and they did. And there was no IRS from I had to fill out to get it or cash it or anything. My bank was concerned it might be a scam, even though the check came from a New York bank. So they asked me not to touch the money until they had enough time to feel certain the check would be covered on their end. That was the only issue.
ReplyDeleteIt appears from comments that some authors have to fill out the form and some don't. Maybe the difference is whether the foreign company is only in their country, while other foreign companies have a branch office in the U.S. and already have some type of agreement with the IRS. Also, my Amazon sales to foreign countries don't need the form.
DeleteR.T., I too have had stories published and reprinted in a number of countries overseas, and haven't run into those issues/problems involving payment, IRS forms, etc.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the sale, BTW.
John, did any of your payments come in the form of a foreign check or via EFT from a foreign bank?
DeleteMine came as checks, but one of those foreign sales was handled by an agent, so as payment for that one (although I received a check on an American bank, from him) I don't know how he first received payment from the publisher. This kind of thing can make your head hurt.
Delete"would I please send them my bank's routing number, my account number and code password." That would be the END of my interest in them.
ReplyDeleteI will request payment in the form of a check just like the contract stated.
DeleteR.T. Congrats on the well-deserved publication. Just to clarify, the character in Usual Suspects was Kaiser Sose. Kobayashi Maru was the name of a ship that plays an important part in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan. I also had to fill out that IRS form to get money from Japan (and what a nightmare it was the second year I did it: the IRS kept telling me I had filled out the form wrong but I had to call them to find out what the mistake was!) but I had them wire the money directly to our bank account. No checks. And we created a separate bank account for that, not out of paranoia but because our usual credit union couldn't deal with international payments.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, you are correct. Guess I need to start taking that memory product made from jelly fish.
DeleteYes! I remember the Kobayashi Maru!
DeleteKobayashi was a name used in Usual Suspects. The interviewer figured it out when he saw "Kobayashi" on the bottom of a coffee cup Spacey had been using.
ReplyDeleteThe Usual Suspects was a great movie. I enjoyed seeing how Spacey made up his tale from various items in the detective's office.
ReplyDeleteYou might enjoy this version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HI5CQ4Oc1I
DeleteI did. Thanks.
DeleteCongratulations, RT! And wow.
ReplyDeleteI contracted internationally for many years and never encountered such a law. Nor did Frenchm Swiss, German, or British companies mention it. Nor did Westinghouse SA, GmbH, come to think of it, which dealt internationally. I even went through a two-year audit duing that period and the subject didn't come up. Now I'm curious.
Leigh, I mentioned this to a friend who did international security and if the foreign company paid him direct, then he had to fill out the form. Another friend, a hard hat diver, said the foreign company filled out the form.
ReplyDeleteI have a fan in Shanghai who translates some of my work into Chinese. No pay. No idea how to stop him. Instead, I consider it homage.
ReplyDeleteWow!
DeleteWow!
DeleteWell written account and I would be paranoid too. However, I did work with you for many years
ReplyDelete