I'm an unintentional author -- now what?

[ArnoldBabar]

Tonight a high school friend wrote me via Facebook saying he was impressed at how many books I had "written." Curious, I looked myself up on Amazon.

I'm the listed lead author on one book our paper put out on my team's landmark season, and am referenced in a handful of other books that I knew about (Jose Canseco called me an idiot in his first book, which I consider kind of a badge of honor). Plus a few I didn't know about, which cited things I'd written with full credit and bibliography, which I'm fine with.

But in the list was a baseball anthology, apparently produced by a major baseball publication, that includes an entire story I wrote a few years ago. I'm listed as one of the authors of the book, a 450-page hardcover that goes for $30.

Thing is, I've never heard of this book and had nothing to do with it. And I've definitely never been paid for it. I'm surprised, pissed off and confused.

Has anyone else dealt with this? Any idea what happened here? Did my paper sell this behind my back? Did the guy who put the book together just steal it? Is it legal? Do I have any recourse, and if so, where would I start?

 

[imjustagirl]

You were never honored when I called you an idiot.

 

[ArnoldBabar]

You were never honored when I called you an idiot.

Sure I was, but when it happens so often it kind of loses its impact.

 

[imjustagirl]

Idiot.

 

[BYH]

If it's a book I have, I'm going to burn it.

In a show of support, of course.

(I think I know the book you're talking about, and I think it was listed as first annual or something, and of course there never was a second)

 

[RayKinsella]

Out of curiousity, I amazoned myself (it isn't nearly as cool as googling myself).

I am listed as an author for nothing. I fail at life.

 

[Tom Petty]

i think this might help:

 

[Moderator1]

How 'bout someone actually answer his question?

I don't think they can use your work without permission. My guess is this is "actionable" but I also guess it's the ol' blood out of a rock thing. You can win. What would you get?

 

[write then drink]

is it possible your paper without you knowing agreed to let them use your stuff? and accepted whatever compensation should have gone your way? they would own the story and legally be able to do it, right?

 

[In Exile]

The paper may well have sold the rights, which they probably own (check the rights statements in the book), and pocketed the money, without ever telling you - they are under no legal obligation to give you that money, or even tell you they received it. The anthology editor(s) should have contacted you, but many publications will under no circumstances give out your personal contact info, and we all know that newpaper e-mail boxes sometimes go unread for a long long time. Or else someone at the paper may well have told the anthology editor they were going to do it, and then never have.

In all likelihood, the rights fee was only a couple of hundred dollars. I've been involved in similar situations. It's not really something to get all worked up about. This is likely a "fell through the cracks thing," not a "the mfer's ripped me off thing." Your work appeared in a book, and that's good. You'll spend more pursuing this legally than you have a prayer of getting back.

I would contact the book editor and ask for some free copies, though. They'll give them to you.

 

[I Digress]

I think your paper is free to do what it wants with the work you do for them, but I could be wrong.

 

[In Exile]

I think your paper is free to do what it wants with the work you do for them, but I could be wrong.

They are. Unless you have a different contractual arrangement (which some big names have) they own the copyright and can do what they want with it.

 

[swenk]

The paper can do what it wants with your stuff, they own it (unless, as stated above), you have a rare different agreement.

I wouldn't worry about how Amazon lists author credit, it's a real mess. I've seen assistant editors listed as co-authors, Foreword writers listed as authors, covers and prices and pub dates are wrong; you've got some data entry person just slamming hundreds of items into the system.

Does that baseball anthology list the permissions for each story? That might tell you where they got it from.

 

[Howard Sprague]

Last year, I was surprised to learn that one of my stories was reprinted in a book about the Masters. One of my editors mentioned it off-handedly. He assumed I knew.

I didn't ask many questions and don't know all the specifics, but I understand the book publishers contacted our editor. I don't believe any money changed hands. I think the paper's stance was that having the article printed, with full attribution, was payment enough.

I recall being pissy for about 60 seconds, until I realized that my paper had flown me halfway across the country to interview this guy and had paid my salary while I was reporting and writing the story. Flat-out, the story belongs to the paper.

Having said that, I wonder whether Reilly, Jenkins, Feinstein, Dave Anderson, etc. got paid to have their work in this book. I would imagine they at least knew about it ahead of time.

I would have appreciated the publishers sending me a copy of the book. And if the publishers had told me ahead of time, I would have given them a heads up about a typo in one of the quotes. Yep, it made the book, too, where it'll remain forevermore.

 

[In Exile]

Anthology rights payments, even for the big guys, is relatively modest. It's a math thing. Say you have a collection with fifty stories. If you have to pay even $500 a story, that's $25,000, which, since anthologies in general don't sell all that well, (and the editor gets paid an advance as well) starts to price it out of being published at all.

Most newspapers and magazines charge a set price for book reprints, usually $200-400. Most writers who own their own rights, relaizing the numbers, charge about the same, because in an anthology if you try to charge too much you'll simply get dropped, and it is better to be in, and get something, than be out and get nothing.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

AB, it occurs to me that you may wish to refer to those anthologies on your resume in some way.

 

[Ace]

The paper may well have sold the rights, which they probably own (check the rights statements in the book), and pocketed the money, without ever telling you - they are under no legal obligation to give you that money, or even tell you they received it. The anthology editor(s) should have contacted you, but many publications will under no circumstances give out your personal contact info, and we all know that newpaper e-mail boxes sometimes go unread for a long long time. Or else someone at the paper may well have told the anthology editor they were going to do it, and then never have.

In all likelihood, the rights fee was only a couple of hundred dollars. I've been involved in similar situations. It's not really something to get all worked up about. This is likely a "fell through the cracks thing," not a "the mfer's ripped me off thing." Your work appeared in a book, and that's good. You'll spend more pursuing this legally than you have a prayer of getting back.

I would contact the book editor and ask for some free copies, though. They'll give them to you.

I think InEx nailed it.

Hey, at least you can tell people that you're an unintentional best-selling author!

 

[forever_town]

Sadly, In Exile is right on the money. By and large, the work you do for a publication is a work for hire, which means they control its distribution and they have the right to pocket any royalties that come from it.

If the anthologies or other pubs use your work without getting your shop's permission, different story. Your shop then would take action from there.

 

[dixiehack]

AB, it occurs to me that you may wish to refer to those anthologies on your resume in some way.

See if the local B&N will let you sign autographs one Saturday morning. Maybe you'll get some free juice and doughnuts.

 

[I Digress]

AB, it occurs to me that you may wish to refer to those anthologies on your resume in some way.

See if the local B&N will let you sign autographs one Saturday morning. Maybe you'll get some free juice and doughnuts.

I always feel so sorry for authors a see doing that, guys no one has ever heard of and everyone is taking a pretty wide berth around their table. I think to do that, you need your own copies of the books. A publishing contract usually includes some. My one, brief foray into fiction did.