The Authors Guild

by Campbell Geeslin

There once was a certain kind of novel that guaranteed controversy, critical upheaval and big sales. In a June Vanity Fair article, this genre was called “Young Women on Life’s Threshold.”

The first, Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa Harlowe, was published in 1748. That novel was described by VF as “an anti-romance with a prowling sexual engine. Clarissa sent a reverberation through the culture—to this day novels about women that become social signifiers tend to be just as raw.”

One novel about young women that registered as notably shocking for its time was The Group, published in 1963. The female characters were recent college graduates, and Vanity Fair called Mary McCarthy’s account “Vassar Unzipped.”

Other famously bestselling Clarissa offspring include Fear of Flying by Erica Jong (1973), Looking for Mr. Goodbar by Judith Rossner (1975), Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann (1966) and The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe—which appeared in 1958.

What we don’t need now is yet another book about a fictional female with “a prowling sexual engine.” Bookstore shelves today are crowded with thousands of shades of gray novels.

P.S.: Sunday, June 16 was Bloomsday. James Joyce’s Ulysses offers us perhaps the most famous fictional fantasy female of all.  Here’s a quote from Molly Bloom: “of course a woman wants to be embraced 20 times a day almost to make her look young no matter by who . . . and yes I said yes I will Yes.”

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This week’s recent and upcoming releases by Authors Guild members include titles by Warren Adler, Rochelle Alers, Terry Brooks, Sheri J. Caplan, Patrick A. Durantou, Donna Grant, Carolyn Hart, Megan Hart, Eloisa James, Michael A. Kahn, Susan Mallery, Jamie Michalak, Patricia L. Papernow, and Lisa Unger. Titles after the jump.

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Week two in the Apple ebook price-fixing trial wrapped up Thursday with Apple executive Eddy Cue, the man the DOJ says orchestrated the alleged conspiracy, testifying that he negotiated vigorously with publishers but had no idea what they were saying to each other, as Thomson-Reuters reports.

He said he also did not know of calls the government said publishers were making between themselves, nor did he think anyone else at Apple knew.

“If they were working together, I assume I would have had much easier time negotiating,” Cue said.

Cue was also questioned about another key aspect of the government’s case, the contention that Apple caused ebook prices to increase. Cue acknowledged that the cost of some books did go up from the $9.99 Amazon was charging after Apple opened it’s iBooks store, but he said it was publishers who pushed for higher prices.

Cue is scheduled to take the stand again when the trial resumes on Monday. Though he was considered the government’s key witness, so far the only really surprising revelation from his testimony is an idea Cue had back in early 2009, nearly a year before Apple announced the launch of its iPad. He sent an email to Steve Jobs discussing an arrangement for Amazon’s Kindle app on the iPhone. After discussing whether there might be some financial arrangement with Amazon (other than Apple’s standard 30% commission for iPhone app sales) that would make sense for Amazon and Apple, Cue considers whether Apple might cede control of the ebook market to Amazon in return for Apple’s control of the audio/video market:

If it is not monetary, than i [sic] could see a scenario where iTunes becomes an ebook reseller exclusive to Amazon and Amazon becomes an audio/video iTunes reseller exclusive to Apple. I can’t see them agreeing to this but if they really value books and want to own the category going forward than maybe they would consider it.

Apple’s leverage, Cue suggests, is that Apple could otherwise open its own ebook store. He continued:

At this point, it would be very easy for us to compete and I think trounce Amazon by opening up our own ebook store. The book publishers would do almost anything for us to get into the ebook business.

The worst-case scenario of exclusive markets run by Amazon and Apple didn’t come to pass, of course. Instead, Apple would enter the ebook business in April 2010.

Other highlights from the week include:

U.S. attorney Mark Ryan questioned Macmillan CEO John Sargent about congratulatory emails he received from the heads of other Big Six publishers after publicly defying Amazon’s terms, Publishers Weekly reports.

Ryan’s rhetorical question to Sargent was “these are competitors, right?” and he was quick to hone in on a note from Hachette Livre CEO Arnaud Nourry: “I can ensure (sic) you that you are not going to find your company alone in the battle.”

Sargent responded, “we do business with and we compete with each other.”

Apple attorney Orin Snyder “went ballistic,” when he found out Random House COO Madeleine McIntosh wouldn’t be taking the stand, Publishers Weekly writes. Government lawyers said they didn’t need her to testify, and it’s too late for Apple to add them to the witness list. That means written statements submitted to the court by McIntosh, a former Amazon executive and the friend of an Amazon executive who testified earlier in the trial, will go unchallenged by Snyder.

Disputing the government’s claim that that iBookstore is a failure, Apple executive Keith Moerer said his company controls 20 percent of the ebook market (a figure that exceeds what many observers have estimated), Publishers Marketplace reported (subscription required).

Moerer also reported that Apple’s US ebook sales for 2012 “grew close to 100 percent year over year,” or “higher” growth than reflected in the 2012 AAP data (which by our count show the overall market for the reporting publishers growing by about 42 percent). He “believe[s] that the iBookstore’s market share is approximately 20 percent in the US and growing.”

Closing statements in the trial are expected by the end of next week.

Audiobook sales, led by downloadable audio, have been on the rise in recent years, and June is audiobook month (who knew?), so this seems a good time for an update on this sector of publishing.

With nearly half of all audiobook buyers doing their listening while driving, Random House has launched an advertising campaign to promote the use of audiobooks outside the car, the New York Times reports.

The ads, running in print, online and on the radio, target consumers who engage in activities like knitting, exercising or traveling for business that lend themselves to listening to books.

Deciding what consumer groups to aim at came partly from identifying Web sites where consumers interested in activities like crafts or exercise also discussed audiobooks as a suitable accompaniment.

“We looked at who was chatting about audiobooks and how could we insert ourselves into that conversation,” said Heather Dalton, the director of marketing for Random House Audio.

In less happy audiobook news, Audible.com is ending the $1 per download author payment program it began last spring. The payments will continue through the end of this month. The Amazon-owned company established the program to give authors an incentive to make sure their books were available on Audible.com and to promote the audio titles. Authors who owned audio rights to titles that hadn’t been made into audiobooks were encouraged to use Amazon’s ACX service to get their books on audio.

Audiobooks are increasingly popular, according to the Audio Publishers Association, the trade association that long ago declared June to audiobook month. In the past, the high price and inconvenience (you could fill an SUV with the CDs required for some unabridged titles) limited the format’s popularity. Research results released by the APA earlier this year, show that 3.8 million audiobooks were sold in 2011 than in 2010, with sales revenues up 2.6%.

More significantly, digital downloads now account for over 60 percent of audiobooks sold and–with a younger, more affluent core audience–show the greatest potential for growth. From 2006 – 2011, revenues from downloadable audiobooks climbed 300%, according to APA figures. Those listeners want the whole book: 89% of audio revenues are from sales of unabridged editions.

This week’s contests include poetry, fiction, and nonfiction with deadlines ranging from July 1 to July 15.

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is accepting submissions for the Barbara Mandingo Kelly Peace Poetry Awards. The contest is open to everyone, but poems must be previously unpublished and written in English. You may submit up to three poems, maximum 30 lines per poem. The winner will receive $1,000 and the winning poem will be posted on the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation website.  Entry fee: $15 for up to three poems. Deadline: July 1, 2013. For complete guidelines, please visit the website.

The Bard Fiction Prize is open to emerging writers who are American citizens under the age of 40 at the time of application. In addition to the monetary award, the winner receives an appointment as writer in residence at Bard College for one semester. Applicants should include a cover letter explaining the project they plan to work on while at Bard and submit a C.V., along with three copies of the published book they feel best represents their work. Deadline: July 15, 2013. For more information, please visit the website.

Teachers & Writers Magazine is now accepting essays on literary arts education for their annual Bechtel Prize. The winner will receive $1,000 and publication in Teachers & Writers Magazine and on the website. Essays should relate to creative writing education and/or the writing life. Essays must be unpublished and no more than 3,500 words in length. Entry fee: $20 per entry. Deadline: July 1, 2013. For complete guidelines, please visit the website.

The 2013 Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award is now accepting submissions for a first book of poetry written in English by a US citizen or permanent resident who has not previously published a volume of poetry. Manuscripts should be between 50 and 75 pages in length. Entry fee: $25 when submitted by mail, $28 when submitted online. All entrants will receive a year’s subscription to Crabtree Orchard Review. Deadline: July 8, 2013. For complete guidelines, please visit the website.

by Campbell Geeslin

Our military mess in Afghanistan waved a flag that helped sell 38 million copies of Khaled Hosseini‘s two novels, providing readers with background on a mysterious land.

The author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, now 48, told The Guardian, “I think if I were to write my first book now it would be a different book, and it may not be a book everyone wants to read. If I were given a red pen now and I went back . . . I’d take that thing apart.”

Instead, Hosseini has written a third novel, The Mountains Beyond. Part of it is set in Afghanistan too.

Hosseini, who trained as a doctor, was the cover subject for the June Writer’s Digest. In it, he said, “One of the things I really love about writing is all the spontaneous moments, all the surprises, all the unforeseen developments that pop up and give you an insight into how different things might be conducted . . . which would make for much more interesting storytelling.”

In Kite Runner, the fictional narrator says that there is an “Afghan tendency to exaggerate—sadly, almost a national affliction.” I remember back when anyone who fibbed was called a storyteller. Hosseini lives in California, but he was born an Afghan storyteller.

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Week two in the Apple fix-pricing trial began Monday with HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray and Macmillan CEO John Sargent testifying that they weren’t forced by Apple to revise their terms with Amazon–as the Justice Department’s claims–but simply engaged in tough negotiations with both e-tailers to get the best possible deal.

While all five major publishers originally named in the suit have settled with the DOJ, the government’s case hinges largely on their actions in 2010, when Apple allegedly acted as “ringmaster” compelling them to adopt the agency model.

Monday’s witnesses also included a Google executive who finished testimony that began last week, when the Apple’s lawyer aggressively grilled him about his contention that publishers had told him Apple forced them to adopt a model that would result in higher prices. CNET reported:

Apple started to pick away at the Department of Justice’s claim that the tech giant conspired to inflate e-book prices by repeatedly and rapidly firing questions at a key Google witness.

The tactic paid off for lead Apple attorney Orin Snyder, who began to wear down on Thomas Turvey, director of strategic relationships for Google. Turvey appeared increasingly frazzled and frustrated as the afternoon went on.

Asked to name a publisher who told him about Apple’s demands, Turvey could not.
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Will the availability of the Kindle be enough to convince Chinese readers to actually pay for the ebooks they download? That’s the hope as Amazon starts selling its Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle HD Fire in a nation of rampant piracy.

Stemming copyright violations would require quite a change in mindset. Consider a 2012 survey of nearly 19,000 Chinese readers, as reported in the People’s Daily Online:

The survey, carried out by the  Chinese Academy of Press and Publication, also showed that 40.1 percent of respondents who have read e-books before would be willing to pay for the books, down 1.7 percent year on year.

So, six out of 10 ebook readers in China would not even be theoretically willing to spend money on the titles they download.

Amazon is hoping to discourage piracy by keeping prices low, selling most ebooks at the equivalent of $1.63. But it will also have to convince consumers to choose the Kindle over cheaper Chinese e-readers, as Bloomberg reports:

Amazon, a brand known for bargains in most of the places it operates, finds itself in a more premium position with its Kindle products in China. The Paperwhite costs 849 yuan. E-Commerce China Dangdang, one of Amazon’s Chinese competitors, began selling its own e-reader there a year ago. The price: 599 yuan.

Amazon’s move comes on the heels of a scandal highlighting China’s pervasive problems with copyright, the arrest of Lou Li, the founder of that country’s largest online literature site, Qidian. Press accounts differ as to the nature of his alleged misdeeds–reports have him arrested for either selling copyrighted material that belonged to Qidian’s parent company or accepting bribes in a copyright negotiation.
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This week’s recent and upcoming releases by Authors Guild members include titles by Elizabeth Bailey, Hendrik Booraem V, Martha Brockenbrough, Claire Cook, Patrick A. Durantou, David E. Gumpert, Cary Holladay, Stephen King, Susan Mallery, Philipp Meyer, Fred Nadis, Francis Ray, Elizabeth Richards, and Polly Shulman. Titles under the jump.
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Organizations were lining up to file briefs in the HathiTrust appeal this week. Before we get to that, however, let’s take a moment to recap for those of you who may be foggy on the details of this mass book digitization lawsuit.

In the fall of 2011, authors’ groups from Australia, Canada, Norway, Sweden, UK and US (ourselves and the Authors League Fund) and eleven individual authors sued digital book repository HathiTrust and five universities over their storage and use of millions of books. The basic facts are pretty clear. Everyone agrees that some of the universities authorized Google to digitize copyright-protected books by the million (we say seven million, but we think that’s conservative). Those books comprised nearly the entire stacks of some university libraries, and included in print and out of print books by authors from all over the world in dozens of languages.

Google employees and contractors produced complete digital replicas of each library book and converted those page scans into machine-readable digital text. Google then gave the libraries the resulting ebooks — a readable page-by-page image file accompanied by an embedded, searchable digital text file for each of the seven million books. For its trouble, the libraries agreed that Google could keep its own copy of the ebooks it created. (Google’s actions are the subject of a separate, ongoing, seemingly unending, class-action lawsuit, Authors Guild v. Google, which we and representative plaintiffs brought in 2005.) Neither Google nor the libraries sought or obtained authors’ or publishers’ permission to convert their books into machine-readable form for ingestion by Google and the university library data centers.
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