The Bittersweet Irony in Valuing a Book

Since 2003, I’ve been receiving, along with many other Canadian authors, an annual payment from Access Copyright Canada. This organization is a nonprofit, national organization who licenses the copying of the work of Canadian creators (including visual artists, publishers, and others) to educational institutions, businesses, governments and so forth. They then pass the monies collected onto the copyright holders. (You can read more about this on their website). 

My highest income came in 2012 (over $870, however, after that time, the Supreme Court of Canada added a “fair-dealing” provision to the copyright law and, let’s just say, it’s been a game changer.

Over recent years, educational institutions and others have since challenged how much they should pay to share, remix, or copy someone’s work. Access Copyright has since been forced to significantly reduce payments to copyright holders.

Despite adding a new book to the roster nearly every year, the cheque I received this year was just over $200.00. A recent article in Quill and Quire reports that the organization might have to reduce payments by as much as 55% in 2017. You can read the reasons HERE.

In a world where writers earn well below the poverty line as it is, and people (I’ve seen them) think it’s quite okay to photocopy an entire book, it’s just another unneeded obstacle in the quest to be paid for our hard work.

Ironically, I’ve been selling my mystery novels at Christmas craft fairs this month, and have found that customers are happy to pay full value for books primarily because they love mysteries and believe in supporting local authors. These people aren’t loaded with money. But they are loaded with goodwill, a love of reading, and respect for artists.

You could well argue that this is an apple and oranges issue; that buying an author’s book at a fair is hardly the same as paying a pittance, if anything, to photocopy copyrighted work for teaching and research purposes. But for me, it all boils down to the same issue: what value do people place on a book? Does it have any value at all? Or only as long as it doesn’t interfere with their own agendas and priorities? Maybe everyone, including, businesses, governments, educational organizations, and even the Supreme Court of Canada, should be giving this further serious thought.

Debra

Six Things Canadian Authors Should Know About Publishing

Curtis Sittenfeld recently wrote a blog titled “24 Things No One Tells You About Publishing”, which inspired author Scott Berkun to respond with “28 (Better) Things No One Tells You AboutPublishing”. Both blogs are terrific, mixing humor with poignancy with business and philosophy. Many points I agreed with, a few made me pause to think, and one or two I disagreed with.

The blogs made me realize that there are specific issues that Canadian authors need to consider. Given that a lot has been said in the other blogs, I’ve listed only six points.

. Despite the comments of a few publishers, authors, and agents I’ve heard at conferences over the years, it’s okay to use Canadian scenes, characters, and references. Plenty of American readers are happy to read stories set in Canada. The challenge has been convincing publishers of this. Of course, not everyone will take to your setting, but to ignore the unique and gorgeous geography in our backyards to appease an American publisher is a missed opportunity.

. If your published book is in certain Canadian libraries, you might be entitled to take part in the Public Lending Right (PLR) Program through the Canada Council for the Arts. There’s a list of rules for co-authors, illustrators, and so forth. If you qualify, you could receive a cheque every February based on random samples taken from larger libraries across the country. To learn more about how it works, go to www.plr-dpp.ca

. You might also qualify for remuneration for published articles, short stories, books, etc. through the Access Copyright program. You can learn the details at www.accesscopyright.ca

. Based on my self-publishing experiences, libraries in smaller cities and towns that aren’t part of a larger library system will buy your book directly. A professional query letter, flyer, and ordering information were all that I needed. Library wholesalers will also buy books from indie publishers, although expect them to ask for discounts.

. Doing business with Amazon can be costly, particularly if you have a larger book. They ask for a 55% discount, and you pay the shipping costs, and it isn’t cheap. Don’t rely on Amazon.com for print sales. If you don’t have a U.S. post box, it’s a pain.

. Finally, if you’re going to be a Canadian fiction author, you’d better have another income stream. It’s a fact of life for 99% of authors. But you already knew that, right?

Debra

Access Copyright, Bill C-32 and Canadian Writers

As a Canadian author, I'm very concerned with protecting my copyright and my works, and it's great that we have organizations like Access Copyright fighting for us and fighting to keep Canada's literary culture alive and well. Don't get me wrong, I am all for making it easier for schools to have access to Canadian works, but authors must be rewarded for their work, just as teachers are.

In the video below, a handful of Canadian writers share their thoughts on Bill C-32 and its possible effects. I'm sharing it to help educate the public. Most Canadian writers earn very modest incomes. Many writers try to get by on less than minimum wage. Some people say that's our choice. And it is. But creating is our calling, our vocation, our passion.

Just like anyone else, creators need income to survive. Our incomes depend not just on sales. We also depend on income we receive when universities, colleges, schools, corporations and governments make copies of our works for their own use, instead of buying more copies of the original.

Copyright exists to protect creators. When others use our works, copyright law should ensure the people who worked so hard to produce them are compensated.



Cheryl Kaye Tardif,
bestselling Canadian author
http://www.cherylktardif.com