The official blog of Writer Beware® shines a bright light into the dark corners of the shadow-world of literary scams, schemes, and pitfalls. Also providing advice for writers, industry news, and commentary. Writer Beware® is sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.
It’s spring! Here in chilly New England, climate change seems to be taking a break, and it felt as if the warm weather would never arrive. But daffodils and primroses are blooming in my garden, and it’s almost–almost!–mild enough to sit outside. My family emergency situation is still ongoing, and my book deadline is onlyRead More
NOTE:
Since this post was written, Autharium has modified and improved its Terms and Conditions. Please see the addendum at the bottom of this post.
Over the past few weeks I've gotten a number of questions and alerts about author-unfriendly Terms and Conditions at Autharium, a new epublishing startup. So I thought I'd check into it myself.
Autharium describes itself thus:
Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Here is an example of the sort of solicitation PublishAmerica authors receive daily (if not more often). Dear author: For authors with multiple titles only! The March Madness Multi-title option is here! We’re offering two of our most popular services for ALL of your books, for one lowRead More
Yesterday afternoon, I had a cordial conversation with Allison Dobson, Director of Digital Imprints at Random House, about the the recent controversy over deal terms at Hydra, Alibi, Loveswept, and Flirt. Based on strong criticism from writers’ groups, authors, and agents, Random House has decided to make major changes in its digital contract. Allison wasRead More
EDITED 10/12/13 TO ADD: This lawsuit has been settled. Gag orders apparently prevent the plaintiffs’ lawyers from commenting, but from information I’ve received from writers, those who added their names to the suit have been sent release forms to sign that terminate their contracts and return their book rights. In exchange, authors release PA fromRead More
Following on my post last week about unattractive deal terms at Random House’s new digital-only imprint, Hydra, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America has determined that Hydra will not be a qualifying market for SFWA membership. SFWA has determined that works published by Random House’s electronic imprint Hydra can not be used asRead More
