Lobster Press

CaroGirl said:

Lobster Press is currently having financial difficulty. They're in the news over unpaid royalties.

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YEP. I learned this just this morning. And people on their staff disappearing. We shall see if they ever recover. PW is going to be doing an article on them.

KTC said:

YEP. I learned this just this morning. And people on their staff disappearing. We shall see if they ever recover. PW is going to be doing an article on them.

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What a shame.

ElizabethJMW said:

Aw, this is sad news. I had just sent a MS to them in August. I found this thread because I had the same question rekirts had, about how long I should wait before submitting somewhere else.

So is it safe to say I can wait the minimum 3 months then send my MS somewhere else? Especially since they're in hot water... I would have been upset if I waited the entire six months and heard absolutely nothing. It's nice to at least get a rejection so you know you can move on.

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Did they ask for an exclusive? If so, there should be a expiration date on the exclusive. If not an exclusive, then you can start sending it out to other publishers.

Here's the PW article.

This is not the first set of problems for Lobster Press. I got complaints in 2006 and 2007 about unpaid royalties, and in late 2006 the company confirmed to one author that it was in "creditor protection."

- Victoria

Don't bet anything on their recovery. Publishing houses that are sliding down the slope always dig their claws in and fight like crazy to avert their fall; but if they've been having trouble for years, and in all that time haven't managed to pull themselves out of trouble, it's safe to assume they're not gonna.

Elizabeth, you can just take your manuscript and send it elsewhere (and be thankful you never got involved with them) Alison (the owner) likely didn't pack and take it with her when she closed the office last month and moved her business to her house in any case.
Aside from my not seeing royalty statements for 3 illustrated books for 2 years now (along with at least 22 other authors and illustrators) the Writers Union of Canada has taken Lobster to task over their bad contract clause. The clause states (in my own words here) that even after rights revert back to the author, due to whatever causes, the publisher still retains 50% of the rights and they and the author/illustrator enter a partnership for the life of the book. Our best case senario is the press claims bankruptcy. Your luck

ctripp said:

the Writers Union of Canada has taken Lobster to task over their bad contract clause. The clause states (in my own words here) that even after rights revert back to the author, due to whatever causes, the publisher still retains 50% of the rights and they and the author/illustrator enter a partnership for the life of the book. Our best case senario is the press claims bankruptcy. Your luck

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If they still claim 50% of the rights, and assert the existence of an unbreakable partnership for the life of the book, then it's not a reversion at all.

Exactly! It seems the only way rights go back to the creators 100% (per contract) is a bankruptcy or the owner folding the company.

this is really sad. they had such good books. they sold them in stores. I think they even paid advances. I hate to see another press go under, but this is one press that should probably just disappear so their authors can move on. too bad, but better sooner than later.

Just utterly sad it all came down to this. I'd followed Lobster Press for years and thought they were still in the running.

Privately owned = privately consumed. Until there's nothing left. Memories of NightShade.

tri

Any company is only as legitimate as the people who run it. As owners change, so can the goals and motives. I think the next to last paragraph of the article really say it all:

I have learned a lot from all this. Recently I sent a proposal for my next book — a memoir of my hippie upbringing — to my agent. I will read my next book contract carefully. If a small press offers me a deal, I will call their authors for references.

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Good advice for any author---aspiring or veteran.