December 31, 2017December 31, 2017 by Porter Anderson

Translators’ Challenges Ahead

Only 14 of 205 respondents to the Authors Guild’s unprecedented survey said that all their income is from their work as translators. Read More

March 21, 2016 by Porter Anderson

Cuba's Book Embargo Tackled by Trade With White House Petitions

Key players in the American publishing community are unified in their call for a lift of the US book embargo of Cuba; a public petition is also up. Read More

February 4, 2016 by Porter Anderson

Authors United’s Divisive Stand on Amazon

Authors Unlimited’s 3-hour event at New America warned that Amazon’s market position will cause “long-term effects on the global book trade.” Read More

January 6, 2016 by Porter Anderson

2016: An International Coalition of Author Advocacy Challenges Publishing Contracts

The author contract battle goes global Dated today, 5th January, the Authors Guild’s open letter to the Association of American Publishers leads the loudest call yet for contract reform in publishing’s relations with authors. This is a coordinated campaign being mounted by the world’s key author-advocacy organisations. The letter’s signatories include the UK’s Society of Authors, the Authors Licensing… Read More

October 28, 2015 by Porter Anderson

Calling For Updated Writer-Payment Practices: Authors Guild & Society of Authors

‘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

September 20, 2015 by Porter Anderson

Age, Surveys, And Income: The Authors Guild’s View

‘Only One Piece Of The Puzzle’ Subsequent to our report on the Authors Guild’s release of results from its 2015 Member Survey, I’ve invited the Guild to provide some interpretation of how it sees the release of its “The Wages of Writing” survey results. In response, I have this explanation of the survey exercise, and I want to… Read More

September 19, 2015 by Porter Anderson

Your Survey Of Surveys

‘Perspective on the Book Business’ Is there any industry so feverishly bent on surveying itself as publishing? This week, my colleague Philip Jones at The Bookseller in Taking a measure of the FutureBook audience has launched the 2015 Digital Census, results of which will be released in relation to the Author Day / FutureBook week of activity in… Read More

September 16, 2015 by Porter Anderson

The Authors Guild Survey’s Self-Selected Sample: More Fuel On The Fire?

First, The Bad News While some parts of the Authors Guild’s survey of writers’ income had been released earlier, the writer-advocacy organization has now produced its full report. The news, while not shocking to anyone near the publishing business, is nevertheless troubling. Some initial results, and then a bit of discussion follows. Writing-related income of… Read More

September 3, 2015 by Porter Anderson

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