In an ongoing response to criticism from the Authors Guild, Wiley issued a press release explaining that the company had mailed contract letters to 117 Bloomberg Press authors–the company felt Bloomberg writers would find better terms under a new Wiley agreement. Last week, the Authors Guild sent a letter to members, urging Bloomberg Press writers to reconsider signing the Wiley letter.
Read Wiley’s entire note below, but here is a sample: “Of the ninety-three authors with ‘net receipts royalties’ who have responded to Wiley’s contract modifications to date, all have accepted them. Why? Because precisely as Wiley’s letter accurately depicted, the royalty calculations will be simplified and royalty payments overall are likely to increase, not decrease, due to factors plainly described in Wiley’s letter to our authors.”
The Authors Guild responded this morning: “While it’s true that Bloomberg contracts often provide that royalty rates are reduced when sales discounts reach certain thresholds, Wiley’s suggestion that these reductions uniformly apply once discounts exceed 50% is wrong. The royalty reductions kick in at various levels, depending on the contract. Sometimes royalty rates are reduced when books are sold at 51% discounts to retailers and sometimes at 53% or 55% discounts. But here’s the thing: even taking that into account, authors do far better under the original Bloomberg contracts than under the Wiley amendment.”
Follow this link to read the complete Authors Guild alert.