Over on BlueSky, authors are sharing their #unbound horror stories. It’s awful. So much worse than I imagined. It’s Alan Dean Foster vs Disney all over again.
Unbound went into liquidation and immediately a new company, Boundless, popped up. They now own all of Unbound’s assets … and none of its debts.
There are so many authors owed tens of thousands of pounds each. Many of them have no other source of income and this represents a year’s worth of royalties.
Shouty person
in reply to Shouty person • • •And #Boundless are stringing these authors along. Saying things like: We feel terrible so we’ll make goodwill payments of as much of your outstanding royalties as we possibly can.
#Unbound
Shouty person
in reply to Shouty person • • •That leaves authors having to choose between:
A. Playing nice and letting #Boundless keep selling their books, hoping they’ll someday get some of the money they’re owed (while allowing that figure to increase daily); or
B. Claiming rights reversion on the basis of nonpayment, thereby cutting their losses to an entire year’s worth of income and having to start fresh on their own.
#Unbound
Shouty person
in reply to Shouty person • • •I supported several books through Unbound, bought others, and borrowed some from my library. Seeing how they’ve shafted so many people out of so much money, I’m really feeling like I participated in this scam. It’s awful. I’ve lined the coffers of management at the expense of the authors.
#Boundless #Unbound
Shouty person
in reply to Shouty person • • •Aaron Reynolds of Effin’ Birds is owed £75k, including royalties paid by a US publisher to Unbound.
#Boundless #Unbound
Aral Balkan
in reply to Shouty person • • •Shouty person
in reply to Shouty person • • •Laura Kate Dale, who wrote Gender Euphoria, is owed £8k.
#Boundless #Unbound
Tim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE
in reply to Shouty person • • •It really doesn't cost much to use the online form to sue.
It's worked for me with a business in the process of going bust - they paid me, to stave off court proceedings, and went bust a few months later. If I'd done nothing I wouldn't have got the money.
moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/wel…
HM Courts & Tribunals Service
HM Courts & Tribunals ServiceShouty person
in reply to Shouty person • • •Alex de Campi, who wrote The Scottish Boy, is owed $8k.
#Boundless #Unbound
Jennifer
in reply to Shouty person • • •Noodlemaz
in reply to Shouty person • • •UkeleleEric
in reply to Shouty person • • •Steffi Jên 🏴🏳️⚧️
in reply to Shouty person • • •Bruno Girin
in reply to Shouty person • • •Charlotte Walker
in reply to Shouty person • • •srslypascal
in reply to Shouty person • • •United Kingdom publisher
Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)Dr Alice Violett
in reply to Shouty person • • •Calligrafae
in reply to Shouty person • • •