Simon & Schuster trying to exploit authors


Wants perpetual rights
Nothing like trying to rob the people who provide your product. Provided as a public service.

Simon & Schuster Appears To Be Seeking A Permanent Stake In Authors' Copyrights
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: PAUL AIKEN
MAY 17, 2007 (212) 563-5904

SIMON & SCHUSTER APPEARS TO BE SEEKING A PERMANENT STAKE IN AUTHORS' COPYRIGHTS

Contract Change May Herald Move to Retain Exclusive Rights to Books the Publisher Fails to Sell

NEW YORK-- Simon & Schuster, one of the largest book publishers in the U.S., has altered its standard contract with authors in an effort to retain control of books even after they have gone out of print. Until now, Simon & Schuster, like all other major trade publishers, has followed the traditional practice in which rights to a work revert to the author if the book falls out of print or if its sales are low.

The new contract would allow Simon & Schuster to consider a book in print, and under its exclusive control, so long as it’s available in any form, including through its own in-house database -- even if no copies are available to be ordered by traditional bookstores.

With the new contract language, the publisher would be able stop printing a book and prevent the author from publishing it with any other house. "A publisher is meant to publish, to get out there and sell our books,” said Authors Guild president Roy Blount Jr. "A publishing house is not supposed to be a place where our books are permanently squirreled away.”

All major trade publishers have been willing to acknowledge the requirement of some minimum level of economic activity in order for them to retain exclusive rights to a manuscript. Typically, such clauses obligate a publisher to sell a few hundred books a year. Simon & Schuster has been signaling, however, that it will no longer accept a minimum sales threshold.

“Other major publishers have not followed suit,” said Guild executive director Paul Aiken. “We’ll be watching for that, of course, since coordinated moves would have serious legal implications.”

In an alert issued to its members today, the Authors Guild cautioned members to consider their options carefully:

1. Remember that if you sign a contract with Simon & Schuster that includes this clause, they’ll say you’re wed to them. Your book will live and die with this particular conglomerate.

2. Ask your agent to explore other options. Other publishers are not seeking an irrevocable grant of rights.

3. If you have a manuscript that may be auctioned, consider asking your agent to exclude Simon & Schuster imprints unless they agree before the auction to use industry standard terms.

The Authors Guild (www.authorsguild.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest organization of published book authors.

They got caught. For now.

Simon & Schuster Reacts; Agents Angry
A quick update on Simon & Schuster's rights grab: S&S has fallen back some, now saying they'll negotiate regarding the reversion of rights clause "on a book-by-book basis." They also accuse us of an "overreaction." Their official statement follows.
Agents are angered by Simon & Schuster's gambit, according to this piece in Publishers Weekly.
Here are links to other stories that have run:
We'll keep you posted on further developments. Have a good weekend.
Feel free to forward and post this message in its entirety. The Authors Guild (www.authorsguild.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest organization of published book authors.
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Simon & Schuster's official reaction, from Adam Rothberg, VP for Corporate Communications:
We are surprised at the overreaction of the Authors Guild to Simon & Schuster’s contract. We believe that our contract appropriately addresses the improved technology, increased availability, and higher quality of print on demand books, and reflects the fact that print on demand titles may now be readily purchased by consumers at both online and brick and mortar stores. We are embracing print on demand technology as an unprecedented opportunity for authors and publishers to keep their books alive and available and selling in the marketplace in a way that may not have been previously possible for many authors, and are confident in the long term it that will be a benefit for all concerned. We would also like the author and agent community to know that, when necessary, we have always had good faith negotiations on the subject of reversions, and will continue to on a book-by-book basis.
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The Authors Guild is the nation's largest and oldest society of published authors and the leading writers' advocate for fair compensation, effective copyright protection, and free expression.

Free markets ALWAYS means mutual VOLUNTARY exchange without coercion. Simon & Schuster tried to stack the deck in their favor by assuming rights without renumeration that traditionally belonged to the author. Their competition kept the original deal, so the authors wouldn't deal under the new contract.

Competition keeps us honest.

Hat tip lupa.
 

— NeoWayland

Posted: Sat - May 19, 2007 at 05:50 AM  Tag


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