Today is Independence Day here in the United States. I like the not-so-subtle irony of giving you (as I promised) my full thoughts on the latest Dorchester twist today of all days. And here they are, after the cut.
As noted, while I was on vacation, Publisher’s Weekly reported that Amazon “has made a bid to acquire the assets of the company and, as part of the sale, Amazon will pay all outstanding royalties owed to Dorchester authors. Through the deal, Amazon will acquire 1,900 active titles in many of the genres in which it already publishes, including romance and westerns.” The article also reiterated what I’ve been reporting for the last two years – that Dorchester is not paying authors, “yet they continue to pocket receipts for e-books and foreign royalties.” Amazon states “We want all authors to be happy being a part of the Amazon Publishing family going forward and we have structured our bid so that we will only take on authors who want to join us. As part of this philosophy, if we win the bid, Dorchester has committed to revert all titles that are not assigned to us.”
Now, as I said earlier in the week, I’m cautiously optimistic about this deal. While this move does not impact authors such as myself, Bryan Smith, J.F. Gonzalez, or others who already managed to get their rights reverted and have gone on to other publishers or begun self-publishing, it does help the vast majority of former Dorchester authors who have not been so lucky (such as Stacy Dittrich, Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, Mary SanGiovanni, Sarah Pinborough, Robert Dunbar, and hundreds more). There are, however, some very important questions which need to be answered before those authors celebrate.
1. Amazon states they will acquire 1,900 active titles. That’s only a portion of what Dorchester illegally retains the rights to. If these are mostly from the romance and western lines (of which Amazon has found success) what happens to the horror, thriller, science-fiction and other lines Dorchester still holds?
2. Amazon states they will pay all outstanding royalties owed to authors. But will this be for all authors or only for those authors who choose to publish through Amazon? And how far back will those royalties be calculated? Numerous sources state that Dorchester was misreporting royalties long before its financial plight became public knowledge. And what of authors whose work Dorchester continued to illegally sell, even after those authors had obtained the reversion of their rights? Will Amazon financially compensate them?
3. Amazon states that as part of this deal, “Dorchester has committed to revert all titles that are not assigned to us.” How will this be enforced? I mean, Dorchester has committed to all sorts of things, but haven’t actually followed through on those commitments. They were committed to reverting rights but they didn’t. They were committed to paying authors, but they didn’t. What assurances can Amazon give authors who choose not to publish with them that Dorchester will suddenly do the right thing after several years of lies and malfeasance?
These are questions that must be answered. As I said, I’m cautiously optimistic for those authors still trapped in this situation, but I don’t think they should pop the champagne just yet.
Yesterday, I received my monthly royalty check and statement from Deadite, who have published a good portion of my Dorchester backlist. In a little over a year, I have earned more money from Deadite on those same titles than I did from Dorchester in seven years. I want my fellow authors to be able to enjoy that same independence and success, and I hope this new development eventually leads to that, regardless of whether they choose to publish through Amazon or simply obtain their rights and do something else. But I suspect this is going to get messy and it might be a while before that happens. That’s why it’s important that we as a community continue to stick together. In the last three years you’ve seen the horror and romance communities come together on this Blog and elsewhere. We need to continue with that solidarity. Authors need to continue supporting each other, and fans need to continue supporting those authors.
It’s also important to remember that Dorchester is just the tip of the iceberg. There are other, bigger publishers out there who are just as capable of doing this to their authors. We need to make sure they know that, just as Dorchester found a fight on its hands, so will they all.
Happy Independence Day.
For a complete accounting and timeline of Dorchester Publishing’s malfeasance, as well as links to other sources, click here.
Well said, Brian! Have a great Independence Day!
Thank you, Brian
This is the first I’m hearing of this. I hope it works out for all authors involved. Sucks what Dorchester did. And I heard they are still taking submissions and publishing books. Is that true?
Charles Day
I hope this all works out for everyone involved. I just traded in 3 books(Bryan Smith’s Depraved and The Killing Kind and your own Darkness on the Edge of Town) that were Dorchester published to make room for the Deadite Editions. I am still supporting the boycott any way I can.
“In a little over a year, I have earned more money from Deadite on those same titles than I did from Dorchester in seven years.”
Good to hear
Does this buyout preclude any lawsuits in the matter? I know it’s expensive to sue, but maybe there is some way to force them. I’d put my ice skates on and kick them if I could. Hard.
I’ll look before I buy to make sure I’m not giving them any money. Sorry if I already did.
It’s so disheartening to hear things like this. It won’t stop me from writing (nothing can do that), but I can’t afford to self-publish and if all the companies turn evil like Dorchester, what will I have to do? All I want is to put my stuff out there. I don’t really want to put whole novels on my blog.
Elizabeth asked: “Does this buyout preclude any lawsuits in the matter?”
That’s a great question. Maybe Ron Malfi or another author with pending legal action against Dorchester can answer that for us.
Those are some great questions to ask on this matter. As fans I also think it’s important that we do not purchase anything that the authors don’t get paid for. Even if we have to wait a while for a book to come out from a publisher that actually pays, so be it. Some time ago I really wanted to read The Dark Ones by Bryan Smith. I could have got the kindle version through Dorchester but I knew he would never see a dime. I waited for the Deadite edition and felt confident with my purchase. Great book too, and worth waiting for.
Dear Brian and gang –
I don’t know any more than you do, at this point. But with four of my titles tangled up with them (THE BRIDGE with Spector, THE LONG LAST CALL, and JAKE’S WAKE and SPORE with Cody G.), I am certainly observing with enormous interest.
Speculation # 1: Even if Amazon winds up paying off ONLY THE ROYALTIES FROM DORCHESTER’S SALES THROUGH AMAZON — sales they know about, cuz they have the fucking receipts — a lot of us will probably be looking at some dough. So that’s cool.
Obviously, we’d like the rest of the money, too. But since Amazon accounts for a huge percentage of sales worldwide… if I had to pick a slice, I’d probably pick that one.
Speculation # 2: Amazon Publishing may wind up treating its books differently from everybody else’s. And since it’s probably gonna be bigger than Random House by mid-decade, this might amount to something nice for those inside.
Speculation # 3: We will also be extremely small fish in an utterly enormous pond. Or maybe a pimple on the ass of the Behemoth. Guess it depends on how much they’ll value all their little fish and ass-pimples.
Speculation # 4: Once the new terms of a deal with Amazon are made clear — if, in fact, this goes down at all — we’ll be able to dispense with speculation, and get down to business.
At this point, I don’t know whether it makes more sense to join my Bizarro/hardcore brethren over at Deadite/Eraserhead, or stay inside the Amazon machine, or send THE BRIDGE over to Crossroad Press where the e-versions of all the old Skipp & Spector titles now live, or what.
As I said, just watching and thinking.
I will say this, however. Right now, I feel pretty good about people buying THE LONG LAST CALL, SPORE, JAKE’S WAKE or THE BRIDGE through Amazon, even if Dorchester’s name’s still on ‘em. Cuz that shit will be the first money I see, if this goes down.
My two cents, for this Fourth of July. HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!
Yer pal,
Skipp
P.S. — Dorchester saying one thing and doing another, vis a vis authors, was standard operating procedure. Dorchester pulling that shit on Amazon will probably be another story entirely.
Ever notice how fast the playground bully folds when an actual tough guy steps up to the swings?
That’s all I’m sayin’. It’s a whole new ballgame.
My lawyer assured me that our lawsuit against Dorchester will not be negatively impacted by Amazon’s bid to buy. Once a judgment is rendered (and Dorchester is obliged to pay what they owe me), that judgment will be carried over to Amazon if they go through with the purchase of Dorchester’s assets. In fact, this may only help our cause, as even when Dorchester loses and is obligated to pay, this doesn’t necessarily mean they will. With Amazon assuming their fiscal responsibilities, they would be obliged by the court to pay based on the court’s ruling.
Ronald
Excellent post, Brian. I really applaud how various genre authors banded together over this affair and would like to see more of such solidarity. Happy holidays, sir.
“Ever notice how fast the playground bully folds when an actual tough guy steps up to the swings?”
Yeah, and I’ve got the folding emails from Dorchester to prove it…
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