I've just reread some of the things that have been written about AMP today and I see that some things have been repeated, others non seen until too late, differences of opinion, etc... This is natural in a public place with many people with various ranges and types of experiences. In fact this is a healthy sign of open discussion.
As one of the authors involved and having been in contact with others I think it would be worthwhile putting a personal slant on the issue. Sometimes we're so close to the situation that we think others know more than they in fact do.
As with people here on AW, the range of personalities involved with the authors is almost as great as the range of problems involved with the issue.
In general the authors and their problems can be sub-divided as follows:
- those with active contracts that have not been paid(or not regularly) for various periods of time, who have not seen sales statements and want to know what exactly they're owed or if the amounts paid truly reflect sales. These are details which will need to be shown for any form of small claims if that path is taken and this may not be easy for all of them to do. Without forgetting that these "details" are an important part of the contract and should be the first thing respected by the publisher.
- those whose contracts have expired, with no request by AMP to extend who find their books still being sold, in many cases formal requests have been made(even before the resignations) for books to be removed from sale as the books on AMP's catalogue as their presence puts at risk contracts with other publishers. Of course, these auhotrs also have the same payment issues as the above group
- those who have recently signed contracts(I am one of these). The books are now in limbo, no editors assigned, in most cases no cover art, no idea if and when the books will ever see the light of day. This group is not owed money, which makes the small claim court an improbable solution. I have no doubt that most, if not all, are like me and no longer have any faith in AMP respecting the contract. We simply would like to have the rights back to be able to search for another publisher.
I have yet to hear from an author now willing to remain at AMP.
Member of all three groups have sent letters to AMP as per the contract asking for rights to be returned, payments made, statements issued, books to be removed from sale, etc. In virtually every cases no reply has been received. Emails have been ignored, certified letters returned by the post office as they were not collected.
Many would be happy to give up the money to get rights back(and this too is wrong, that money was earned and should NOT be lost!).
We have discussed, examined, looked at every possiblity, including those made here and also others. Some moves have been made as Celina stated,to have books removed from third party sites, etc. We're publicizing what we can.
Other moves will be taken, NOTHING has yet been excluded. As they develop we will inform AW and those who have supported us.
BUT, as you can imagine, we must limit what we say for now. This period is probably the most delicate.
All I can say is that we all hope that the sitation can be resolved quickly. I won't tempt fate by making any predictions or other wishes...
As one of the authors involved and having been in contact with others I think it would be worthwhile putting a personal slant on the issue. Sometimes we're so close to the situation that we think others know more than they in fact do.
As with people here on AW, the range of personalities involved with the authors is almost as great as the range of problems involved with the issue.
In general the authors and their problems can be sub-divided as follows:
- those with active contracts that have not been paid(or not regularly) for various periods of time, who have not seen sales statements and want to know what exactly they're owed or if the amounts paid truly reflect sales. These are details which will need to be shown for any form of small claims if that path is taken and this may not be easy for all of them to do. Without forgetting that these "details" are an important part of the contract and should be the first thing respected by the publisher.
- those whose contracts have expired, with no request by AMP to extend who find their books still being sold, in many cases formal requests have been made(even before the resignations) for books to be removed from sale as the books on AMP's catalogue as their presence puts at risk contracts with other publishers. Of course, these auhotrs also have the same payment issues as the above group
- those who have recently signed contracts(I am one of these). The books are now in limbo, no editors assigned, in most cases no cover art, no idea if and when the books will ever see the light of day. This group is not owed money, which makes the small claim court an improbable solution. I have no doubt that most, if not all, are like me and no longer have any faith in AMP respecting the contract. We simply would like to have the rights back to be able to search for another publisher.
I have yet to hear from an author now willing to remain at AMP.
Member of all three groups have sent letters to AMP as per the contract asking for rights to be returned, payments made, statements issued, books to be removed from sale, etc. In virtually every cases no reply has been received. Emails have been ignored, certified letters returned by the post office as they were not collected.
Many would be happy to give up the money to get rights back(and this too is wrong, that money was earned and should NOT be lost!).
We have discussed, examined, looked at every possiblity, including those made here and also others. Some moves have been made as Celina stated,to have books removed from third party sites, etc. We're publicizing what we can.
Other moves will be taken, NOTHING has yet been excluded. As they develop we will inform AW and those who have supported us.
BUT, as you can imagine, we must limit what we say for now. This period is probably the most delicate.
All I can say is that we all hope that the sitation can be resolved quickly. I won't tempt fate by making any predictions or other wishes...
