New months just keep on happening, don't they? Welcome to August and another Insecure Writer's Support Group post. You can learn more about the IWSG on their website and Facebook page.
Our question for August is an interesting one: What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?
I've never published anything with one of the major publishing houses; it's been either zines or small presses/anthologies. It's also been a couple of years since I've had a short story published in an anthology. Nevertheless, from what I remember from the days when I was more involved with indie publishing and publishing blogs, the contracts always struck me as one of the worst parts of dealing with publishing. The rights grab that covers technologies that don't even exist yet seems over-the-top to me. My understanding is also that advances haven't, well, advanced much, if any, in the last couple of decades, so you're handing over more potential income streams for less compensation. That's why I prefer to indie-publish my longer works.
How do you feel about the publishing industry? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
5 comments:
Now I'd like to know what some of those technologies that don't exist yet are. I don't believe the last contract I signed had anything weird in it.
It's best to have a professional review a publishing contract before signing it to negotiate some of the unfavorable terms. I don't think many authors get big advances unless they're really well-known.
Most small publishers don't do advances because we just can't afford it.
Technologies that don't exist yet? Well, that's an unsettling thing to include in a contract.
I don't trust the publishing industry, at least not the mainstream of it. That's why I've gone indie and plan to stay that way.
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