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Z I N E n new media |
a journal of new media experimental visual literary theory practice
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1998 NOV 20
Writer's Rights
An open letter
<FWD>--------------------
From: Richard Curtis <rcurtis@curtisagency.com>
October 26, 1998
Dear Author:
As you are undoubtedly aware, there have been some exciting
developments in electronic publishing technology, and they are
going to change if not revolutionize every aspect of the business.
As your own interests will be affected we want to describe these
briefly to you, to make some recommendations and sound some alarms.
1. Print on demand. Publishers, distributors, and booksellers now
have the capability to print economically single copies of a book
upon request by a consumer.
2. Online sale of books. Electronic versions of books may be
ordered directly from publishers or from companies like
barnesandnoble.com, to be read on handheld electronic reading
devices known as e-books. Though these devices are still expensive
and certain technical problems remain, there is no question that
the price will come down and the quality will go up, and portable
e-books will eventually win consumer acceptance.
The good news for authors is that these developments will enable
them to reach larger audiences for their work, and to earn more
royalties. But the bad news more than outweighs the good.
Because electronic versions of your book, unlike
print-
This means that when you believe your book is out of print (in the
traditional sense of the term), your publisher may refuse to revert
your rights to you.
Under current copyright law, that means that your publisher will
be entitled to keep your book exclusively until seventy years
after your death.
What is worse, publishers are beginning to insist on those same
interpretations of "in print" and "out of print"
when you sell them a new work. To put it plainly, that means you
must sell it to them forever.
Perhaps they will actually exploit your book aggressively and earn
good royalties for you. But if they don't, you're out of luck. You
will never be able to recover the rights to that book.
There's something else you should know. Publishers entering the
electronic book field are offering authors a traditional royalty,
around 10% or 15%.
Such royalties make sense for books printed on paper because of
the expenses incurred by conventional publishers such as paper,
printing, production, warehousing, and distribution. But the costs
of storing your book on a disk and fulfilling an electronic order
for it are negligible, and it is certainly not out of line for
authors to be thinking of far higher royalty percentages.
Author and agent organizations are awakening to these threats and
developing strategies for combating them. Among those strategies
are: limiting publishers to a term of years when they acquire new
books; requiring a minimum annual royalty if a book's earnings drop
below a certain dollar figure; and contesting publishers' expanded
definition of "in print".
Author and agent organizations are awakening to these
threats and developing strategies for combating them.
How can authors protect themselves?
First, by raising the consciousness of all authors about this threat
to their interests. Forward this e-mail to every author and author
group you know.
Second, by raising the consciousness of editors, who may not be
aware of, or may not be comfortable with, their company's policies
or the implications of those policies.
Third, by supporting those publishers that are flexible and
negotiable about their definitions of "in print" and
"out of print" and about royalties payable on electronic
versions of books.
Finally, by supporting efforts of author and agent organizations to
promote author-
When you or your agent negotiate your next book deal, you may be
given a take-
For this reason -- because this is no less than a matter of
survival -- we urge you to do all you can to fight the
takeover of your most precious asset: your copyright. |
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Copyright © 1998 Ted Warnell. All Rights Reserved |