Richard Charkin wonders if the winners of rights auctions are, in fact, winners. And he considers whether Nigel Beale is right to say there’s more to the book business than money.
From Crowdfunding to Author Advances: German Self-Publishing Experimentation
The self-publishing ecosystem in Germany is expanding into more dramatic experimentation, from crowdsourcing to offering author advances.
Is Vikram Seth the First Casualty of the Random House/Penguin Merger?
The Times of India reports that Penguin Random House is demanding that Vikram Seth return his $1.7 million advance for failure to meet his submission deadline.
Failed to Deliver Your Book? Penguin Wants its Advance Back
Penguin is suing a list of well-known authors to recoup their advances (plus interest) for manuscripts they’ve failed to deliver.
Robert Miller talks about his departure from HarperStudio
By Erin L. Cox A year and a half after founding HarperStudio, the innovative new publishing imprint at HarperCollins, Robert Miller will be leaving to take on the role of group publisher for Workman Publishing. HarperStudio was founded on Miller’s ground-breaking approach to publishing which focused on smaller advances (no advance exceeded $100,000 for one book), no returns, and a move towards the author …
What is the Future of the Book Advance?
By Edward Nawotka In our lead story today, author and marketer M.J. Rose and publisher Robert Miller debate the future of what the publisher/author relationship. Both come at the topic from different angles, but they both agree that advances, as they exist today, need to change. Rose wants marketing expenses undertaken by the publisher to be deducted from the sum …
Best of ’09: M.J. Rose on Changing the Way Authors Get Paid
As 2009 comes to a close we wanted to celebrate by bringing you a week’s worth of your favorite articles that we’re run on Publishing Perspectives. We’ll be back on Monday, January 4, with our next new feature. In the meantime, enjoy the best of ‘09 and check our news blog for updates and analysis. Today, M.J. Rose discusses how …
Global Trade Talk: Author Advances Suffer in the UK; Frankfurt’s Biz Survey
By Edward Nawotka Publishers are cutting author advances by as much as 80% in the UK, reports Benedicte Page in The Bookseller. Clare Alexander of Aitken Alexander said: “For an established author who is not a bestseller, the advance may be down by as much as 50%, or books may not be being bought at all. The decline has been …
Top US/UK Trade Talk: Twilight Eclipses Harry Potter; Oxford Has Record Profits
By Edward Nawotka As noted in today’s “Bonus Material” the Twilight juggernaut chugs on, crushing all in its path, including Harry Potter. According to USA Today, Meyer’s series — when compared directly with the first four editions of J.K. Rowling’s wizardry series — has outlasted the Scot on the bestseller list. It will be interesting to see if all the …