I blogged about Nightshade last week, and since then there’s been a number of developments, including modification of the contracts that were so crappy. Authors should be feeling a little happier, at least.
But, I wanted to point to another group that’s involved in this and which is getting worse treatment than the authors, which is the production crew.
Marty Halpern says:
…all the focus online this past week has been the deal that Skyhorse and Start are offering the Night Shade authors. Authors. Authors.
There has been absolutely no mention, nor commitment made, to all the artists, designers, editors (including myself), and others who are owed tens of thousands of dollars — and seem to have been forgotten in all this “discussion” over the authors’ deal.
And now that NS is essentially closed and in “escrow” for this potential sale, the money that is owed to me (for invoices dating back to October of last year) — and all the other production people — may never get paid.
There would be no books to speak of if there weren’t editors, artists, and designers willing to work continuously for Night Shade for just the promise of pay. We are a dedicated lot and deserve to have our story told — and responded to — as well.
I’m afraid that when all is said and done, and the authors make their decisions — some will join S/S, others will not — those of us production people who helped put Night Shade books on the shelves and in ereaders, may be left holding a lot of empty invoices and bills.
Since I first heard about this, Rose Fox has posted about the production crew’s plight, and now there’s an addendum that comes from Jarred Weisfelt at Start Publishing saying that if the deal goes through, the creditors will get 30-50% of what they’re owed.
Better than nothing, sure. And Start and Skyhorse have been both communicative and willing to listen to authors, despite the deluge of “shame on you” comments on their Facebook wall. Still, finding this out is disappointing, particularly since production crew aren’t usually particularly well paid in the first place.
3 Responses
Thanks, Cat; your support in this is greatly appreciated. As I mentioned on Rose Fox’s blog post: that “30-50%” statement is just that, a statement. I don’t wish to imply that anyone is not being truthful, it’s just that I’ve seen nothing in writing (even though I have asked, and been ignored); I don’t even know if there is some legal/contractual obligation in this deal in which Night Shade must pay the freelancers — and if so, when?
-martyh
I was a lowly freelance book jacket designer. I have unpaid invoices from as far back as last summer. I didn’t even know Night Shade was being sold until I started looking around on the internet after I started getting a continual busy signal at the billing department. I can’t imagine I will ever see that money, considering how far down on the priority list I am. It’s sad, too because I really enjoyed the work, and I don’t imagine I’ll see more of that either.
Martha – that is really shitty. I hope you see at least some of the money. 🙁