‘By Forcing The Issue In Book Contracts’ The US Authors Guild is making common cause this month with its counterparts across the Atlantic, the Society of Authors. These are lead advocacy bodies for the creative communities of the world’s two largest trade-publishing markets. And the Guild and the Society are speaking with unusual harmony, candor, and… Read More
Can authors compete with 'non-competes'?
‘An unacceptable restriction on authors’ livelihoods’ No publisher would agree, at an author’s request, to forgo publishing another author’s book on a particular subject. So why should an author assume a similar obligation? But it happens all the time. Of all the contract-reform issues being discussed today around publishing and its contracts with authors, the non-compete… Read More
Reaching for accord: Authors' Contracts and Controversies
Authors approaching accord Two venerable author advocate groups, the UK’s Society of Authors and the Authors Guild in the USA, have recently stepped into the limelight to announce that they are fighting for fairer contracts between publishers and authors. The impetus for these actions seems to come from reports that authors’ median incomes have dropped precipitously since 2009, while publishers have fared… Read More
What's 'fairness' got to do with publishing?
We seem to encounter ‘fairness’ questions in publishing at every turn these days. Three weeks ago, our #FutureChat focus was on questions of an “unfair” tendency to allow inconsistent metadata procedures and sheer negligence overlook proper credit for book illustrators. Two weeks ago, we talked about writers contributing articles and posts without pay to… Read More
Do Personality Traits Have Any Business in Business? Yes, Says One Agent — With Authority
When The Gatekeeper Works For You There are many agents who are absolutely lovely people but who don’t command authority naturally. Why should you, as a writer, care about this? Literary agent Kristin Nelson doesn’t make you wait long for the answer: It’s simple: Authors with strong contracts have more successful careers. And say what… Read More