Early this summer, Amazon announced a major change to its payment structure for Kindle Unlimited. Because Amazon ultimately affects the sales of all writers, it’s important to understand the implications of the change and what, if any, effect it will have on your digital sales. Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service established by Amazon in … Continue reading Amazon Revises Its Kindle Unlimited Contract
On May 28, 2015, at Book Expo America in New York City, the Author’s Guild announced an ambitious new program — a must-read for every writer — named The “Fair Contract Initiative.” This initiative is a series of commentaries that will take “a fresh look at the standard book publishing contract.” According to the announcement, … Continue reading Authors Guild Announces Fair Contract Initiative
Publishers traditionally have based royalties on the retail price of the book – the list or cover price – or more rarely, the invoice (wholesale) price of the book. Another approach, however, always has existed: a net revenue formula. This formula is based on the publisher’s actual receipts after all discounts and costs of sale, … Continue reading The Net Revenue Royalty Clause
Q. I have been given a contract that requires me to waive “moral rights” in my work. What am I giving up? I consider myself a moral person. A. Moral rights actually have nothing to do with what morality – i.e., principles concerning right and wrong, or good and bad behavior. Instead, moral rights are … Continue reading What Are Moral Rights?
In the movie “The Princess Bride” the hero, played by Cary Elwes, is tortured to death. Except it turns out he’s only “mostly” dead, and he can be revived. Likewise, Getty Images now are “mostly” free. Some background. Contrary to what many people believe, photos, drawings, and images are protected by copyright law, and you … Continue reading Getty Images’ New Policy
I have written before about the Author’s Guild copyright infringement lawsuit against Google for its unauthorized digitizing of copyrighted works. Now, after eight years of litigation, we have a decision. Briefly, in 2005 the Author’s Guild and other plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against Google for its “Book Search,” alleging that Google violated the … Continue reading Google Book Scan Lawsuit Decision