Publishing News Roundup Series: Kindle Unlimited Pay Changes and the Authors Guild Push for Better Rights
by Maureen Crisp • June 29, 2015 • Follow
Published in News • No comments
This week, we look into Kindle Unlimited’s new pay policy and author backlash to the change.
Though this could be a blow to writers, the Authors Guild is pushing for better author contracts which is a definite plus. See the positive and negatives in this week’s Publishing News Roundup series:
Challenging Contracts
This week my Twitter feed is still full of the Kindle Unlimited pay per page write ups from media… So much angst out there.
What does it mean? Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service- like a library. Authors who have their book in KU (which is exclusive) used to be paid per borrow. Now they will be paid per page read. If you write short stories- great. If you write page turning epic fantasies of encyclopedia proportions- great. If you write boring rip offs of turgid junk – not so great. This comment seems to sum it up – They are paying us to write well.
The Authors Guild fair contract campaign is gathering momentum. Take a look at what the Authors Guild are asking for… Are you shocked that authors don’t get these rights in their contracts? After years of reading Writer Beware posts… I think its about time Publishers were being called on this.
This week Taylor Swift called out Apple for not paying artists on free trials of their music streaming service… and Apple backed down. Phillip Jones from The Bookseller notes what Taylor has done for the music industry and asks do we need Taylor to come over to publishing because there are a few things…
Molly Greene has an interesting post on estate planning forthe self published writer. Even if you are traditionally published you need to think about your literary estate. Have you got any ideas on what might happen to your work? If you have a shonky contract your publisher may be able to do anything….
Anne R Allen writes some good solid advice. Here she outlines the six bad reasons to write a novel and also the six good reasons.
James Scott Bell has the ten things you need to know about the writing life. This is a print it out and stick it on your wall kind of post!
Janice Hardy has an Indie Author business series happening on her blog. This week Marcy Kennedy is looking at competitive analysis in the business plan. This is a fascinating dig deep look at your genre and what works…. (Bookmark)
Recently Susan Kaye Quinn was interviewed by Lindsay Buroker for the SFF Marketing podcast. This was a wide ranging interview just stuffed with great questions and answers about what works and what doesn’t for marketing online. This is well worth a watch! It is long so set some time aside. I’m really looking forward to chatting with Susan at our conference in October.
In the Craft Section,
What type of secret does your character keep?– Angela Ackerman
Using Back Story effectively– Kristen Lamb
Seven sneaky ways to bring your dialogue alive– (I do this all the time)
Will readers find your protagonist worthy?– Angela Ackerman
Getting what’s in your head down on the page– Janice Hardy (Bookmark)
In the Marketing Section,
5 book promotions that really work– Molly Greene
Building a literary community– Joanna Penn
Seven reasons why authors fail to publish-Michel Neff (Bookmark)
To Finish,
All writers go through the feeling like a fraud syndrome, sometimes every day. Bob Mayer has some questions for you to ponder about how far into The Imposter Syndrome you are and tips for getting over it.
Maureen
@craicer
About Maureen Crisp
Maureen Crisp has been writing her weekly publishing roundups for over seven years. She is a traditionally published children's author as well as indie-published. She lives in New Zealand and is heading the team organising the 4th National Conference of Children's Writers and Illustrators. She is currently trying her hand at writing a children’s book series if she can drag herself away from forever tweaking her Mars novel or obsessing over space.