Agents and publishers grapple over 'enhanced' e-book rights
14.03.10 | Benedicte Page
Enhanced e-books, which offer multimedia content such as video, are emerging as a new right in the marketplace, with publishers and agents tussling over who should own them.
The increasing popularity of the Apple iPhone and imminent arrival of the iPad has led to a surge in interest in enhanced e-books. A Mobclix survey revealed this week that there were more books than games available for download as applications for the iPhone.
Some publishers, such as Canongate, negotiate their enhanced e-books on a case-by-case basis with agents. However, others take a more broad-brush approach, with a Hachette spokesperson stating "we aim to get all digital rights".
Some publishers are understood to favour a broad definition of electronic rights, which would fold "enhanced" e-books in with the verbatim text e-book right, often granted to publishers as a matter of course. However, agents are keen to mark out a distinction between text e-books and others with additional multimedia elements.
Tom Williams of Peters, Fraser & Dunlop said: "We think that for publishers to do e-books is a very good thing since if they're not available it encourages piracy. Enhanced e-books are a different proposition and we see them as a separate right." Eugenie Furniss of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment also said the agency negotiated e-book and enhanced e-book rights separately.
Jim Gill of United Agents said the enhanced e-book "seems to us an all-encompassing category that some publishers are seeking to throw a rope around at the moment, potentially covering anything from incidental music with an e-book edition or author interviews, right out to highly designed and produced iPhone applications."
He said while some basic enhancements might be covered by an existing grant of e-book rights, "beyond that we're talking about very sophisticated products which don't resemble at all what we'd all understand to be ‘a book' licensed under a volume-rights agreement". Gill added United Agents would "no sooner naturally sell those rights to a book publisher than we'd sell them film rights."
The need for all parties to define terms has also becoming a pressing issue. Penguin is understood to be particularly proactive in approaching literary agents to clarify its boilerplate language on digital rights via contracts director Louise Hughes. Michael Bhaskar, digital publishing manager of Profile Books, said wording was difficult in what was still a very new area. "In all contracts it's becoming a more difficult question. It's positive, because it means a greater level of awareness that we have to get this right," he said.
Comments on this article
By Wonderful
This is very exciting. After this, perhaps we can also split rights for pdf, epub, etc? After all, those are different formats too. With a bit of luck, we'll end up with a situation in which it becomes so difficult and expensive (in legal fees) to secure the exclusive and future-proof rights to publish a piece of text in a given territory, that nobody bothers anymore.12 Mar 10 10:56
By Bookmark
Well, personally I am in favour of the e-book format regardless of the rights publishers and agents are dealing with. As an author who has been turned down by every publishers in London I see e-books as my way of publishing my book without the constraints of the current system. All I need to do is find the capital to have my novel converted into an app and sell it via the app store. Bye bye publishers... sayonara agents... welcome, brave new world...12 Mar 10 15:38
By Ted Burford
We've reached a stage where you don't have to get into bed with big corporate publishers like Random House, Hachette etc.. These days, the rather cynical large publishing companies are run by their in-house lawyers, staffed by two groups. The first insist that you take all the interesting stuff out of your books, because their bonuses depend on the libel insurance premiums staying low year-on-year. The second group are smug commercial/contracts lawyers and 'strategy' types who seek to bleed every last penny out of an author through rigid boiler-plate contracts.13 Mar 10 14:49
By X
Ted - what a cynical view - really extraodinary. You paint a picture of a mafia-style publishing environment, which is quite ludicrous.... publishers, agents, authors need to work collaboratively to embrace diversity and change across the book industry, not against each other, or as you suggest, with publishers beating everyone up in pursuit of the fast digital buck. There has to be a commercial view, a respect for copyright, the interests of authors and rightsholders, and a sensible approach to risk - you are misguided if you feel we live in a world of purists, who see the written word as sacrosanct, and not open to the letigious nature of all media these days - I would wake up and smell the coffee, instead of seeking to malign and blame those who commercially exploit the written word, and its enhancements.13 Mar 10 17:18
By yawn
Why we pander so often to the meaningless angry drivel spouted by authors disappointed because they have been rejected, mostly with good reason, is utterly beyond me. Yes, you should self-publish, because there is no quality control. Yes, you should do it by ebook, because it will save you money. But will it be a success? You probably have a better chance of winning the lottery.14 Mar 10 00:48
By yawn
Why we pander so often to the meaningless angry drivel spouted by authors disappointed because they have been rejected, mostly with good reason, is utterly beyond me. Yes, you should self-publish, because there is no quality control. Yes, you should do it by ebook, because it will save you money. But will it be a success? You probably have a better chance of winning the lottery.14 Mar 10 00:53
By Bookmark
@Yawn. My what an apt name you have for your rather boring comment. I'm guessing it's aimed at me for daring to suggest that I could use the medium to self-publish my novel? As for people on this site "pandering so often to the meaningless angry drivel spouted by authors disappointed because they have been rejected, mostly with good reason, is utterly beyond me."... well, can I just say that what I write on this site in merely in the spirit of discussion and open dialogue. I expect no sympathy from anyone that I have yet to be published, nor do I expect the world to give me a break. I work hard for a living, even harder at writing but I do so for my own pleasure and those who want to read my writing, "amateur" though it is i.e. unpublished. At no point do I bombard this site with my views and rants about my own writing, but in this thread I have merely suggested that there is now an interesting and more cost-viable way to get my writing out there without the need for a publisher; publishers who are constrained by their own costs because they only have so much money they can spend on new talent and whose opinions I value. When I was rejected I sent a card of thanks to all of them to say how much I appreciated their comments and that I learned something valuable about my writing from their insight. So please, Yawn, do not assume that I am some bitter amateur writer who hates publishers because they cant see "just how good I am!" when I send them my writing. My feet are firmly on the ground, my head is not in the clouds but I refuse to let small-minded and cynical people stop me from turning my gaze to the stars and dreaming. If we all did that we would never have some of the great fiction that has ever been printed. And as for quality control, my book has been edited with the help of my first agent - a wonderful man who has helped some of the most successful authors achieve that success - and my second agent worked her socks off to get my book in front of many a good editor, all of whom had some thing negative and good to say about it. The quality, in my case, was there, just not the opportunity sadly. My comment was not meant with any bitter maliciousness towards agents or publishers - these talented individuals still have a role to play in publishing - but the very medium of publishing is changing, and those who don't embrace it will be left behind, yawning...14 Mar 10 09:31
By Yawn
Hi Bookmark, it actually wasn't aimed at you, to be honest, and the points you make are very fair. There does need to be an outlet for new writing, and it can't always be through established publishers, so there is a role for self-publishing, and I genuinely wish you well in your efforts. I really don't presume that any comment of mine would stand between someone and pursuing their ambitions, and neither would I want it to. What I am objecting to is the notion of the publishing world, that is often portrayed here (though not by you), as a bunch of corporate mercenaries who work against new talent. There is a 'them and us' mentality that is completely off the mark. Anyway, for it's worth, apologies if any offence was taken.14 Mar 10 13:19
By Bookmark
@Yawn. Thanks for your reply, and my apologies if my rebute was a little off the mark in terms of target. I agree there can be a contigency on here that see publishers and agents as "them" against the often miscast "poor misunderstood author". What I dislike is being lumped in with that minority, although I now understand you weren't doing so in terms of myself. We're both right: change is inevitable, and if handled correctly i.e. with an open mind and a measure of quality control it could re-energise what I sadly witness as a floundering industry. I have no wish to see either agents or publishers go under - there are far too many valuable intellects to lose if that happens - but what I do want to see is a little more opportunity on the part of authors who just miss out on making a publisher's list. But we'll see...14 Mar 10 17:11
By tigger959
How often have you listened to some unkown sing and say Wow, can that person sing! I wonder why they aren't on the stage instead of some of these others? With the advent of Kindle2 and Amazon's size, the publishers no longer have a lock on who can write and what we can read. No longer do we have to read a series of books by an author, make them wealthy and then have them get ghost writers to write later books. Nor, do we or should we continue to pay outrageous prices for books that are questionable in value. I believe this will open the door to competition and also for those storytellers that simply like to weave a good yarn without expecting to earn millions from their first book or two.15 Mar 10 18:15
