Society of Authors says publishers ripping off authors

[Brian G Turner]

Some people won't be surprised by the claim that author average incomes are down by a third - while publisher profits are up by a third - but it's still not good news that average author earnings from trad publishing are now £11,000/year:

The profits from publishing: authors' perspective | The Bookseller

 

[Luiglin]

If you take a long view that can only be self defeating for publishers.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Most publishers these days are owned by large corporations, who are very good at finding ways to make a profit if one of their subsidiaries fails and goes out of business. In other words, I don't think the people at the top who make the important decisions care if it's self defeating in the long run. They can make their money now, and then move on. And I suppose that the smaller independent publishers who do want to stay in business have to adopt some of the same policies in order to compete in the short run and survive as long as possible. Most, of course, won't survive. It's a mess.

 

[Luiglin]

Most publishers these days are owned by large corporations, who are very good at finding ways to make a profit if one of their subsidiaries fails and goes out of business. In other words, I don't think the people at the top who make the important decisions care if it's self defeating in the long run. They can make their money now, and then move on. And I suppose that the smaller independent publishers who do want to stay in business have to adopt some of the same policies in order to compete in the short run and survive as long as possible. Most, of course, won't survive. It's a mess.

You're right. Get the money now as that retirement yacht moored in Monaco will not buy itself.

 

[Cathbad]

This isn't really a surprise, is it?

Decades ago, I had the opportunity to read a couple of Author contracts. I decided right away, I would rather remain unpublished than allow such thievery. (I did have stories published in several small publications - without contracts.)

 

[Dan Jones]

The SOA are always trying to make waves about this issue, and have been pushing their CREATOR scheme for a couple of years now, attempting to get ministerial / Government support for it. But for a while now successive Governments have been falling head over heel to support investment into the sciences and STEM subjects, while support for the Arts withers, so I'm not holding my breath. If we're not careful we'll end up with a highly technological society but without the wisdom needed to wield it. Ho hum.

In any case, anyone trying to pursue a traditional publishing contract should read the SOA's proposals for their CREATOR scheme - C.R.E.A.T.O.R | The Society of Authors

 

[Coconut_Sundae]

If it gets too bad, the process of advertising and marketing etc. isn't nearly ten times as hard as writing a good book. There's no reason you can't learn the former if you've mastered the latter. Failing that, there's definitely people who will do it for you without taking so much that you get less than minimum wage for your creative efforts.

My question is whether this is uniform across all book types: I'm concerned illustrated children's books for example might have real trouble switching to digital media.

 

[Guillermo Stitch]

This is the age of content provision. Makers of literature are bottom of the heap in the literature business. sh*t shovellers to a voracious sh*t eating machine.

End of alienated outburst.