- Joined
- Nov 6, 2011
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he has imposed a gag order on those rights he does revert
Wait, what? Only judges can issue gag orders. And only under very special circumstances as part of a court proceeding.
he has imposed a gag order on those rights he does revert
Again, this is only something I was told so don't know if it's fact. But those were the words. A confidentiality clause/gag order for receiving rights back...the thing is the person's books are still available for sale through Silver. I don't know how it played out. If the author refused to accept the offer or if it was rescinded. Whatever, the intent is to keep authors from doing what I did for fear of never getting paid or never getting their books back. I don't know. Again all hearsay at this point. But that's where we all are...and since the actual news we do receive is not reliable then it's anyone's guess.Wait, what? Only judges can issue gag orders. And only under very special circumstances as part of a court proceeding.
A contract can ask you or agree to pretty much anything that isn't illegal. Non-disclosure, non-compete etc.
But an NDA can't be inserted into a contract retroactively.
I'm trying to figure out why one of the authors don't take the initiative, find all the other authors on the list, and contact them via email, after contacting a lawyer about the issue, and simply file a class action suit against this company?
If there are that many who have had this done to them, and this blatantly, it would be pretty much open and shut.
I'm not sure about the class action aspect - there are special rules for those.
But in terms of just suing... there's not much point, if there's no money to claim. They could sue to get their rights back, etc., but in terms of unpaid royalties? If there's no money, there's no money.
I think it's quite possible that authors are keeping quiet not out of true loyalty but rather out of a hope that the company will turn it around and GET some assets which could then be paid out. I agree that it's not kind to innocent authors who may sign with the company unaware of the problems, but in terms of self-interest, I think it may be the best of a poor bunch of choices.
Well, I haven't got much of a dog in this fight, having only one story in an anthology with Silver, but I have to say, Eden, you lost my sympathy when you said:
The implication is plain. I read it as only the top five he owes have the right to speak out and protect the public. I expect to be tarred and feathered and held responsible if he cannot meet his next partial payment of an ever-changing 'plan'. I accept I will be the new reason these authors cannot keep their cars, their homes, their kid's vacation plans, what have you. God forbid, we drop the blame where it belongs. God forbid we stop whitewashing what has gone on at SP. Because then..and I quote, "No one gets any money."
When you get snarky about your fellow authors and accuse them of protecting their interests at the expense of everyone else, then you cross a line. I'm sorry you are one of the many writers who's been shafted by Silver, but making unfounded, snide remarks like that is just a step too far.
How does speaking the truth cross a line when these authors are the ones who are doing their best to keep the information contained, to keep it from the people who really need to know - the innocent, uninformed new authors who think they have a future with Silver and trust this untrustworthy publisher with their precious words?
Even now, they insist that going public will help no one. If it saves even one author from going down that road, then it will have been worth it. And I know for a fact it has saved more than one would-be Silver author.
To hope for what? A miracle? To hope for new sources of revenue, aka innocent authors, in order to pay off the authors who were shafted? There was never anything to base real hope on. The fact that he's gone ahead with his new imprint shows how out of touch with reality he is. At some point you have to cut your losses and move on. I'm not even sure what good a class action lawsuit would do since, to my knowledge, he owns nothing, not even his own home.
Keeping silent is a disservice to fellow authors. When kids' vacations are equated with making one's mortgage payments, I too have to take umbrage. Some of us have never been able to afford such a luxury, and those who have should be grateful, but it isn't an entitlement.
Only a new infusion of money, in the form of bank loans, will help. I can't help but suspect he cannot get them, whether because he has no assets or because he is not a citizen, I do not know. As for the latter, that is speculation on my part. I have no knowledge of his citizenship status one way or the other.