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Simon & Schuster rights grab
While away at the Chelsea Flower Show, this email arrived from the
Authors Guild. I have to say that, in at last catching up my email,
I'm only now reading it - but it looks to be a serious busniess.
Simon & Schuster has changed its standard contract language in an
attempt to retain exclusive 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 publisher is signaling that it will no longer include minimum
sales requirements for a work to be considered in print. Simon &
Schuster is apparently seeking nothing less than an exclusive grant
of rights in perpetuity. Effectively, the publisher would co-own
your copyright.
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.
Other major trade publishers are not seeking a similar perpetual
grant of rights.
We urge you to consider your 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.
4. Let us know if other major publishers follow suit. Any
coordination among publishers on this matter has serious legal
implications.
Feel free to forward and post this message in its entirety.
The Authors Guild
(<http://app.bronto.com/public/?q=message_link&fn=Key&id=btbbnmxeddjuymaebferxajsibcabef&link=bcssygeizhjnyqienybtmhlhihydblo>www.authorsguild.org)
is the nation's oldest and largest organization of published book
authors.
There have been further announcements on this topic from the Authors
Guild, and from Simon & Schuster; these can be found on their website
at http://www.authorsguild.org.
It just seems to me that as it gets more and more difficult to make a
living as a writer, this is another example of a publisher looking
after itself and not looking after its authors. Having had the rights
to a number of my older books revert to me - and one revised and
republished, with the possibility of revisions to two more also being
republished - I'm glad that the Authors Guild is taking this issue so
seriously.
Graham Rice
--
Take a look at Transatlantic Plantsman, my blog on plants
and books about plants at http://www.TransatlanticPlantsman.com
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