The movement to counter unregulated AI usage initially gained traction among writers, who were among the first to voice concerns over AI’s potential to replicate their creative styles without consent. Early on, groups like the Authors Guild led legal challenges, arguing that AI models, often trained on extensive datasets without permission, posed serious risks to intellectual … [Read more...] about Authors and Artists Join Forces Against Unregulated AI
authors guild
Ebook Piracy is out of Control and the Authors Guild is Mad
The Authors Guild has accused Google of promoting ebook piracy in their search engine results and paid services such as Adwords. Piracy is rewarded with millions of dollars in revenue from the Adsense program. The US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property is looking for options to address online piracy. Earlier this year, it held a hearing to see what could … [Read more...] about Ebook Piracy is out of Control and the Authors Guild is Mad
Authors Guild is rolling out chapters in 14 US cities
The Authors Guild is rolling out 14 regional chapters to host a variety of programs serving members in their local writing communities. They will primarily be based in metropolitan cities, but will eventually expand to smaller markets. Twenty-eight Guild members have been chosen to serve as ambassadors to lead the first group of chapters, in Los Angeles, San Diego, the Bay … [Read more...] about Authors Guild is rolling out chapters in 14 US cities
New Collaboration Brings Indie Authors Much-Needed Attention
In the nearly ten years or so since the recent self-publishing revolution began, the most trying aspect is still discoverability. Whether or not we agree that the online retail shelves are filled with dreck isn't even the issue; the fact that those virtual shelves are filled to overflowing--even with great content and talented authors--is the problem. Two mainstays of the … [Read more...] about New Collaboration Brings Indie Authors Much-Needed Attention
Authors Guild Membership Now Available to Indie Authors
The Authors Guild is the oldest organization of its kind and they have finally opened up membership to indie authors. Emerging Writer is a new program where indies can get support and it costs $100 per year. “The Authors Guild exists to help working writers. But it’s hard to get established; we know that as well as anyone. With the new Emerging Writers membership, we’re now … [Read more...] about Authors Guild Membership Now Available to Indie Authors
Taking Copyright Infringement to Small Claims Court
In a move that's been a long time coming, the Authors Guild announced this week a small measure of victory on a project that it's had in the works for a while. Their efforts are on copyright infringement--something that's getting a lot of attention this week due to an embarrassing public display of plagiarism--and more specifically, on the prohibitive costs associated with … [Read more...] about Taking Copyright Infringement to Small Claims Court
Authors Guild Study Shows Most Live Under the Poverty Line
The Authors Guild is poised to release their first author earnings study since 2009. What they found should be a cause for concern in regards to how much the average writer is generating solely from their writing. It is dramatically apparent that most of them live below the Federal Poverty line, which is less than $11,670 per year. The survey, was conducted earlier in the … [Read more...] about Authors Guild Study Shows Most Live Under the Poverty Line
US Authors Guild Demands 50% of e-Book Royalties
The US Authors Guild is demanding that publishers start paying 50% of the revenue an e-book generates to authors, instead of 25%. They are trying to get the big name authors and agents to fight for it under the “fair contract initiative”. The Guild has stated that publishers have not kept up with the times and they want their authors to have a larger piece of the pie. This … [Read more...] about US Authors Guild Demands 50% of e-Book Royalties
Authors Guild President Advises Authors Not to Write for Free
The President of the Authors Guild has decreed that authors should not be writing online for free. She says that it devalues book sales and there is no correlation between blogging and making more money. In an interview with the Bookseller, Authors Guild President Roxana Robinson said “People write on Huffington Post, they write for Goodreads, they write for Medium.com: … [Read more...] about Authors Guild President Advises Authors Not to Write for Free
Amazon Offer Rejected by Hachette, Authors’ Organization
In a semi-olive branch move, Amazon offered last week to extend 100% of the sales price of Hachette titles to the authors themselves, in a conciliatory move meant to eradicate fears that Amazon's alleged "sanctions" against Hachette have hurt their authors. In an effort to avoid dragging the children into this while the grown-ups fight, Amazon offered to give the entire … [Read more...] about Amazon Offer Rejected by Hachette, Authors’ Organization
Hugh Howey on Writers’ Unions: Who Really Speaks for Authors?
There are a few groups out there that claim to be the voice of advocacy and support for authors. Chief among them is the Author's Guild, an organization that actively works to block self-published authors from its inner sanctum by imposing hefty sales requirements before indie authors can join, thus making them a retailer's guild, rather than an author's guild. There's also the … [Read more...] about Hugh Howey on Writers’ Unions: Who Really Speaks for Authors?
Authors Guild, Authors Alliance Battle Over Speaking for Writers
A new dramatic battle is brewing in the publishing industry, this time over competing organizations that both claim to advocate and speak for authors but who have vastly different goals and ideals. The long-standing Authors Guild, often scoffed as a proud member of the gatekeepers club and a rather irrelevant entity that has yet to embrace the current publishing climate, … [Read more...] about Authors Guild, Authors Alliance Battle Over Speaking for Writers
Author’s Guild Elects SelfPublished Author CJ Lyons to Executive Council
In the ongoing world of us-against-them where traditional and self-publishing are concerned, there is possibly no greater source that fosters this antagonism than among authors themselves. Phrases like "real author" get thrown around among writers, and organizations, contests, and review opportunities specifically alienate self-published authors and their works. But one group … [Read more...] about Author’s Guild Elects SelfPublished Author CJ Lyons to Executive Council
The Battle is Not Over for Google’s Digitization Project
Eight years of legal battles to halt Google's digitization project have not produced the results that some organizations have wanted, and therefore, the litigation will continue. Only a matter of weeks ago, US Circuit Judge Denny Chin ruled that Google's massive digitization project fell within the reasonable bounds of copyright and fair use, throwing out the copyright … [Read more...] about The Battle is Not Over for Google’s Digitization Project