Please don't buy my titles that don't give me royalties

I posted about this a while ago on Twitter, but wanted to let you know that if you want me to get royalties, do buy my titles from Cleis Press, Seal Press and Pretty Things Press, but if you buy my Alyson Books titles (First-Timers, Secret Slaves, Ultimate Undies and Sexiest Soles), I won't get royalties, at least, as of when they decided to not pay them in 2009 and then give me the giant runaround about it.

If they ever step up and decide to pay me the money they owe me (over $900), I'll let you know and even take down this post (or adjust it), but I'm obviously not holding my breath. It's a shame because Alyson gave me my start and were once wonderful to work with, and I guess it doesn't matter now that they're not putting out new hard copy books, as far as I know, but still, I'd like to get the money that is owed me. (For the record, I got a flat fee, of $1,000, to co-edit Up All Night, my first anthology. I DO NOT recommend going this route, but I was young, and I lived and learned - I'd sooner take no advance and get a cut of royalties, but everyone has to make those decisions for themselves.)

This is what I last heard on September 24, 2010; they have my address - the same one where I received royalty checks for many years prior to their poor decision-making on this issue. I have no idea if those books sold anything last year, but if so, I am owed even more money. It's easy to write it off...if you can afford to. I can't. I still want my money and will continue to notify them until I get paid, but in the meantime, please support publishers that pay their authors what they are owed.

Dear Rachel,

For the majority of this year we have been reconfiguring Alyson books.

In connection with such, we have essentially put all Alyson related business on hold until we determine how we are moving forward with that division of our company. We have made great strides over the past few weeks with the reconfiguration and expect that within 30 days we will have a definitive plan for Alyson books. Once a new plan is in place we will begin to issue outstanding royalty payments.

I’m sorry that your royalty payments have gotten caught up in the restructuring process, but please know that it is the Company’s full intent to get your back royalties paid to you as soon as our finance department allows us to issue royalty payments for Alyson.

Regards,


Brian Goldman
Vice President, Operations

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