- Joined
- Aug 8, 2007
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So someone sent me a link to this strange story on an author's blog, and I thought I'd put it here for discussion.
http://kianadavenportdialogues.blogspot.com/2011/08/sleeping-with-enemy-cautionary-tale.html
In short: The author, who is reasonably well-established, signed a contract with an unnamed Big 6 house for her novel. Meanwhile, she self-published a short-story collection in which that publisher had no interest. It was her second such collection -- the first had been published before the contract with BigSixFirm.
The company apparently went ballistic. They wanted her to withdraw the second collection from circulation and ideally, suppress all references to it, until after the publication of her book with them was completed -- 2 years. When she refused, they sought to terminate the contract and recover the $20K advance. Legal discussions continue.
This is in stark contrast to other companies that have reportedly been happy to have their authors build their reputations online.
http://kianadavenportdialogues.blogspot.com/2011/08/sleeping-with-enemy-cautionary-tale.html
In short: The author, who is reasonably well-established, signed a contract with an unnamed Big 6 house for her novel. Meanwhile, she self-published a short-story collection in which that publisher had no interest. It was her second such collection -- the first had been published before the contract with BigSixFirm.
The company apparently went ballistic. They wanted her to withdraw the second collection from circulation and ideally, suppress all references to it, until after the publication of her book with them was completed -- 2 years. When she refused, they sought to terminate the contract and recover the $20K advance. Legal discussions continue.
This is in stark contrast to other companies that have reportedly been happy to have their authors build their reputations online.
