Big Mouth, Small Dick

To keep matters short, I first posted the Open Casket Press contract.

Scammers and idjits flourish through the desperation of writers to be published.  In the case of Open Casket Press, Anthony Giangregorio shows that he has had access to a genuine contract, possibly the one posted at EPIC and has just enough of their wording to appear legitimate at first glance. However, it goes swiftly wrong from there.

Author Compensation. AUTHOR will receive a total of $1.00 for each paper book sold and $1.00 for each e-book. AUTHOR is entitled to one (1) contributor’s print copy at zero cost to AUTHOR at time of release. The print copy will be mailed to the AUTHOR upon or shortly after the WORK’s official publication date.

That’s a flat fee for a book that he’s selling for $8.99.  Standard practice among legitimate publishers is 25% of cover price for ebooks sold through distributors and  10% of cover price for print edition. That, as most of you know, is a royalty.  Tony G’s is not a royalty.

 AUTHOR retains all subsidiary rights including theater, film, and television rights for the WORK. However, PUBLISHER shall be entitled to 15% commission for all domestic sales and 20% commission on all international sales conducted by film, audio, graphic or comic novel or other medium other than that which the WORK was originally published (print and electronically) if PUBLISHER contacts any third parties on behalf of AUTHOR for the publication of the WORK in these other formats, with the AUTHOR’s permission.AUTHOR grants PUBLISHER the exclusive right to conduct mass market sales of the WORK to a third party, whether domestic or foreign. The license remains in effect for the life of the WORK.

If author retains all rights, then why does the publisher expect to get a cut? Either the author owns it or they don’t. The reason for the Majors to include a similar sub rights clause is because they actually have a marketing department that sells those sub rights. Tony G doesn’t, so he’s trying to sneak up on people with conflicting wording.

Publishing Formats.PUBLISHER will prepare the book for distribution as a Quality Trade Paperback book. PUBLISHER agrees to secure a unique ISBN and submit WORK to distributors including Ingram Book Group, Baker and Taylor, RR Bowker databases, and any other potential distribution channels, so that it may be available for sale at retail and online outlets using these systems.PUBLISHER has the option to prepare the book for distribution as an eBook. PUBLISHER agrees to secure a unique ISBN and submit WORK to distributors that specialize in e-Book distribution.

Submit is a key word here. He’s not guaranteeing distribution, which means he does not understand distribution. PoD is not sold by Ingram unless it is published through Lightning Source, which Ingram owns. LSI is very picky and wants everything done right or they charge you extra.  RR Bowker is Books In Print, not “RR Bowker database.” Also I have a suspicion that instead of an “Unique ISBN” he got a free one through Createspace. The book is not a “quality” book. It is filled with errors and bad manners such as having that long list of ads in the front of it. Good publishers put their ads in the back of the book. The ads prevent the LookInside feature on Amazon from displaying a fair sample of the book itself.

Right there with the word “quality” Tony G is in breach of contract.

Author Copies. AUTHOR shall receive all purchase discounts described herein. AUTHOR may purchase 1 copy(s) or more at 40% discount off cover price plus applicable shipping charges.

Purchase? Standard practice is for the author to get 10 FREE copies of the print edition and then the discount on more. And the ebook edition ought to be FREE to the author in unlimited quantities.

Indemnifications. AUTHOR agrees to fully indemnify, defend and hold harmless the PUBLISHER and its AFFILIATES from and against any losses, lost profits, damages, liabilities, judgments, awards, decrees, settlements, or expenses (including without limitation, reasonable attorneys fees and court costs) arising from, connected with, or by reason of any breach or alleged breach of any of the representations and warranties set forth above, but the AUTHOR shall not be liable for any matter inserted in the WORK by the PUBLISHER or its licensees. All warranties and indemnification made by the AUTHOR herein shall survive termination of this agreement.

Lost profits? This is too vague in some sections. But lost profits? This smells of chicanery.

Author Cancellation. AUTHOR has the right at any time to cancel this agreement within three (3) days written notice to the PUBLISHER prior to publication of WORK after PUBLISHER recieves contract. Should AUTHOR cancel this agreement, AUTHOR will return any compensation in full as outlined in Section 4 of this agreement to PUBLISHER and pay any other costs incurred by PUBLISHER.

This is fun. He wants the author’s to return their royalties. In a standard contract the wording here would be the return of the advance on the book, but there was no advance. This is another way of screwing the author and trying to squeeze money out of them. Tony G informed the author that any changes would cost the author money, even though the mistakes were made by Tony and not the author. Nowhere in this contract does it specify (nor should it) that the author is responsible for fixing the publisher’s errors.

That’s enough for now. The Tony G saga will continue tomorrow. See you all there.

PS: There is a rumor going around that all is not well with Tabetha Jones’ love life. My guess is that Eric’s parole officer suggested he disentangle himself from her.