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Mistake #1 – Rights

Adventures in Self-Publishing – Mistake #1 – Rights: Who owns what?

In January 2024 I decided to self-publish Phosphate Rocks: A Death in Ten Objects

There was never any doubt that the rights to publication of ‘the work’ (Phosphate Rocks) reverted to me after Sandstone Press went into liquidation. But what does ‘the work’ consist of exactly?

My first mistake was to take far too long trying to establish who owned what – in particular the cover art, typesetting and associated digital files.

I am hugely grateful to the Society of Authors (SoA) who guided me through the morass. The annual membership fee is an absolute bargain – if you’re in the UK and not a member, join now. The SoA had been involved with the original 2020 Sandstone contract which meant that that the rights reversion was straightforward. They then negotiated with the liquidator (McLenan Corporate), audio licensee (WF Howes) and ebook distributor (Faber Factory).

Anyone who has tried to do this themselves knows how difficult it is to get so much as an acknowledgement of a query. As an individual, it’s almost impossible to find the right person with time and authority to get something resolved. If I’d had to commission separate Scottish (Sandstone was based in Inverness) and English lawyers myself, I’d be bankrupt before I even got started.

In my naivety, I couldn’t see what value the cover art and typesetting had to anyone else. If I chose to self-publish, I imagined that who-ever owned it would be happy to hand it over as a gesture of good will or for a nominal fee.

Think again.

The rather pithy advice from the SoA after many fruitless exchanges trying to identify who owned what was:

‘Whoever owns it, it’s not you.’

I joined The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) – another subscription that’s worth every penny – and through them I found an excellent typesetting tool on Reedsy.

Then I contacted the original cover designer – Mark Swan at Kid Ethic – and that’s where the fun began.

More on that next week

Summary

My mistake #1: Trying to acquire what was not mine.

What I learned?

Get an independent professional review of any contract BEFORE you sign it.
Join organisations designed to support authors like SoA, CWA and ALLi. Quite apart from free guides, seminars and professional advice, you get access to groups with similar interests who can be wonderfully generous with practical help.
It isn’t enough to put your books out there, somehow you have to find the readers too!

Progress Update to 2nd Feb 2024

Ebook now available through Barnes and Noble and Amazon as well as Kobo (Kobo were the simplest, clearest and quickest by far)
Amazon reviews successfully transferred (90 reviews, average 4.3*)
KDP Print Proofs arrived
First of 2 test translations of 1000 word extract from English to Italian delivered (I may lack sense, but I certainly don’t lack ambition)

Financial Update