Tales of the WTF: Dorchester Reverts Rights, But Continues To Sell Digital Books

imageSomething is very rotten in the state of Dorchester.

Both Jane Litte and I have been pretty frank about our hesitation to recommend or buy books from Dorchester since it is relatively well-known that some authors haven’t been paid royalties for years. I know Dorchester’s decision to go digital-first has meant some very tricky and pain in the ass changes for authors, particularly when they were anticipating and planning for a print release that was rescheduled at the last moment for a digital release sometime in the nebulous future.

But I thought the Dorchester drama was, for the most part, over – until I received an email in my inbox from author Jana DeLeon.

DeLeon received the rights to her work from Dorchester on 15 September 2010. She even sent me a PDF of the rights reversion in case I doubted her story. She hasn’t been paid, nor has she received royalty statements in months, but now she has a bigger problem.

Over a month later, her digital books are still on sale pretty much everywhere. (Please note: links to books on sale ahoy. I’m going to do something horrible and ask you NOT to buy them. Please. Do not buy them. I have no faith that DeLeon or any Dorchester author I link to would ever see a dime.)

Her books, including “Showdown in Mudbug,” are online at Amazon.com, and there’s a paper copy available, too.  Barnes & Noble also has her books for sale for the Nook, and independent retailer All Romance also has them listed for sale.

Why? Short answer: Dorchester, despite being contacted by DeLeon and her agent, Kristin Nelson, hasn’t stopped their digital distributor from selling them.

On 9/20/10 my agent sent the first request to Tim DeLong that they take down the ebooks that had reverted. He replied that they would take them down when they did the next data update to the retailers. That did not happen….

On 9/23/10 my agent informed me she had asked Tim for a date when they would do the update and removal but had as yet received no response.

On 10/1/10 my agent sent an email to Tim Delong and Chris Keeslar, demanding that they take down the books that had reverted and she clearly spelled out that they had no rights to sell what they did not own. Chris responded on 10/4/10 with apologies claiming her email went into his spam folder and he’d just received it. He agreed that the issue needed to be looked into right away.

As of today, 10/14/10, we have still heard nothing and the books are still for sale.

I sent DMCA notices to the appropriate departments at both b&n.com and amazon.com, per the instructions on their website. I have received no communication from either site or their legal department. I included a copy of my reversion rights contract with the DMCA notice. My agent has contacted Dorchester every week since the rights reverted and asked them to remove the listings. I have not contacted them directly as my agent handled all the reversion contract negotiations with her attorney.

Today is 20 October 2010 – and DeLeon’s books are still on sale.

But wait, there’s more – DeLeon put me in touch with Leslie Langtry, another Dorchester author.

Langtry’s rights were also returned from Dorchester, and her digital books are still for sale at Amazon and other digital vendors. But Langtry finds herself in an even more uncomfortable situation: after her rights were reverted, her book Guns Will Keep Us Together was offered as a free digital download for Kindle:

[They] offered it free for three weeks, despite my agent’s repeated attempts to get it taken down.  GUNS debuted as the #2 free download for a while and stayed in the top ten for about a week and a half.  It remained in the top twenty another few days and finished at #57.  During that time, I was getting 10-12 friend requests on Facebook and my other books were all in the top 1,000 paid kindle downloads.  GUNS debuted in the top ten on the Paid kindle bestseller list and stayed in the top 50 for a while.  All of my books are still being sold by Dorchester on Amazon, and now I’m getting 15-20 friend requests a day from readers.
 
The problem with this is that fans are asking where they can find my books since Dorchester isn’t selling hard copies now.  I hate to recommend them to Kindle when I know all the money is going to Dorchester, but I hate the idea of losing a budding audience.  It is very frustrating.
 
I’ve had my rights since mid-September and to this day, Dorchester is still selling my books and profiting from them.  I truly believe I won’t even see a royalty check from this.  My agent, Kristin Nelson, has repeatedly asked Tim DeYoung and Chris Keesler to “cease and desist” since the ink was dry on the agreement.  They have either given excuses or refused to answer.

I don’t know what to tell my readers.  If I tell them not to buy my books, I could alienate a new audience.  If I tell them to buy them, Dorchester gets all the money.
 
This is theft, plain and simple. 

Now, I asked a few digital folks what they’d do. One suggestion I received was that the author continue to pester Amazon and BN with weekly email messages. It doesn’t seem that Dorchester will be that responsive.  I also know from my own experience that small bookstores like All Romance are pretty responsive so if you contact them directly about a rights dispute, you would likely see those books removed.  However, if Dorchester isn’t answering, and Amazon and BN aren’t either, you might also try contacting Ingram and Overdrive, the two major digital book distributors, directly. If the book is for sale at any retailer, it’s probably coming through either or both of them.
ETA: I’m informed that not every retailer uses Ingram and Overdrive, though some do. Some buy direct from the publisher. Either way, it seems that the best option is to make as much noise as possible, in as many places as possible.

I am not at all an expert in the backstage mechanics of digital sales, but I should think a month is more than enough time to have this corrected and the books removed from on-sale positions.

For any author, this is a ridiculously sticky situation and I don’t envy your position.

From my perspective, I would say to any reader looking for a new book to read:

Don’t. Buy. Dorchester.

 

Categorized:

Ranty McRant

Comments are Closed

  1. Alice Duncan says:

    Wowzers. I guess I’m glad Dorchester dumped me when they did. I’m really sorry for everyone embroiled in this fiasco—although I think it’s dipped from fiasco into legal muck. I love Chris like a son, but I must tell you guys that being ignored by him is nothing new. When he was my editor, he routinely ignored my e-mails, even when I was desperately attempting to tell him that one of my books had been given the EXACT same cover as another of my books (if you look it up on Amazon or B&N, you’ll still see the incorrect cover art). He said he hadn’t responded because he knew I was “cranky” sometimes. And I still like him. Go figure. As for Dorchester, they’ve been screwing their authors from time immemorial. This is a dirtier trick than their usual, but it’s not all that UNusual. Too bad we authors are generally so desperate to get published, we’ll put up with crap in order to do it.

  2. Rabid Fox says:

    Wow. I’m astounded at this—and not in a good way. It’s one thing if Dorchester is withholding payments from authors due to their financial situation, it’s quite another if they’re flagrantly pulling off these stunts.

    Very good article.

  3. Holly J. Bauer says:

    This may have already occured to all you former DP authors, but why don’t you join toghether, write revised editions of your best books that you have rights to and publish them yourselves on a joint “we were burned by DP” website that explains all of the above as part of the site.  By offering additional content your readers for get value for the re-purchases.  You could link your personal websites to each other and the “DP burned” site creating business for each other.  I would bet that your readers will follow you and would rather buy from you directly than a retailer.  Just a loyal reader’s thought…

  4. Alice Duncan says:

    Well, thank God I got the rights to all my Emma Craig books back a few years ago, and I’ve already put them all up on Kindle and Smashwords. At least if somebody buys them there, I’ll get paid! I know lots of current Dorchester authors who are going through hell getting their rights back. Not fair and, unfortunately, not unusual. Once I had to threaten legal action when Dorchester kept publishing e-books of my Emma Craig books after my rights were returned. They finally capitulated & gave it up, but it was no darned fun, especially if, like me, you’re not normally an assertive type.

  5. RhyanB says:

    I think the idea of a group web page is a great idea. Know I would love to buy direct from the author. I would also help promote the site as well.

  6. This is going to sound like a stupid idea, but I would definitely suggest you try to change it through your author central page management tools on Amazon.

    I know you are not supposed to be able to change core catalog stuff there, but you actually can. I have done it.

    There was an oversight with the way my books were titled on Amazon, and my publisher was having a hard time getting through the bureacracy to change it, or I don’t know what, it was apparently this huge complex thing to change something to central on Amazon as a title once it was up, so for the heck of it, I tried that using my author central tools, and my request had to be vetted by whoever, but then it was corrected in 2 days. I think that department is smaller and more responsive. I was shocked it worked. So was my agent.

    Good luck you guys. My heart goes out to yo.

  7. jane says:

    Here is my supposition as to why the Amazon books & other retailers haven’t taken down the books.  Theretailers have a contract with the publisher.  Violating that contract has potential legal problems.  Confronted with a DMCA takedown notice that is contrary to that contract likely necessitates the etailers contacting the parties that to the contract to get a response.  Clearly Dorchester is not super responsive to inquiries and thus the delay.

  8. Alice Duncan says:

    Good idea, Carolyn. The book came out in 2001, but what the heck. It would be nice to have the correct cover art on Amazon 🙂

  9. Those of us at Red Rose who have been dealing with that fiasco have created a second Yahoo loop called Bogus Publishers Beware.  If any of you at Dorchester would like to join us for support and information on how to proceed, we’re here for you. Our link is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BogusPublishersBeware/?yguid=145986201 .

  10. Mighty hot in here. And I understand completely. Look, if you all want to go and burn down the accounting offices of Dorchester, I’m with ya. I do angry mob just fine.  And I’ll sit in a jail cell with you gals any day. Solidarity, sistas. But SPARE THE EDITOR AND HIS LOVED ONES, please. This thread has already generated results. So, while I’m painting my face with combat camo and strapping on my special ops heels, I’d just like to remind you that our war, as Jana pointed out, is not about any one individual. Anyone manned a sinking ship lately? Deadlines get missed, I assure you. Not because you’re a ‘douche’, but because you’re the only one with the friggin’ bucket. Let’s all remember, for one misty moment, the human being Chris Keeslar, who has been with us for years and years, starting the careers of so many and bringing the books we’ve loved to the market. If we can’t show just a little compassion for the guys clinging to the deck right now (along with some very insistent, no-backing-down nudging on what still needs to be done for Jana and others—-thank you, Sarah) then I think we risk becoming something we’re not, like stupid, maybe. It’s just my opinion. Torch it, and me, and my house, and my dog, if you like. I’ll still borrow bail money from my parents to spring you, when the time comes.

  11. Jana DeLeon says:

    FYI – to Thalia and any others that contacted me through my website, if I did not respond to you, then I did not receive your message. My mail kinda filled up before I could get it cleared. I promise I am not ignoring anyone, so please email me again if you have not yet received a response.

    Thanks to all who sent personal commiserations and support!

  12. Bogus Publishers Beware is there for authors, editors and cover artists who are having problems getting rights or royalties from publishers who are less than honest.

    We’re not going after publishers who are honestly having difficulties and come forward and saying, “Hey guys, we’re having problems, we have to close and we may not be able to pay you all the money you have coming.  We’re really sorry and we’ll pay you what we can. Here are your rights back, best of luck.”  My first publisher did that and since she did the cover work herself she gave us permission to use that and I will always be grateful to Inara Press and Dawn Seewer.

    But I was an editor at Mardi Gras and both an editor and author at Red Rose and it’s the Wendi Felters and Dorchesters of the world we’re going after.  If you’re holding the bucket and trying to do right by your authors, fine.  But if you’re selling books after authors have pulled them and they’re not getting their royalties, they can come to us.  We’re fighting the good fight at Red Rose and we’ll be happy to help you fight the good fight whereever you happen to be. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BogusPublishersBeware/members?o=6&yguid=145986201

  13. Doesn't Believe Everything She's Told says:

    Honestly, it’s hard to judge not knowing both sides of the story.

  14. Lee Goldberg says:

    The Mystery Writers of America has de-listed Dorchester. The MWA statement is below.

    The National Board of Mystery Writers of America voted unanimously on October 6, 2010 to remove Dorchester Publishing from our list of Approved Publishers, effective immediately, primarily because the company no longer meets two of our key criteria.

    First, the initial print run by the publisher for a book-length work of fiction or nonfiction must be at least 500 copies and must be widely available in brick-and-mortar stores (not “special order” titles). In other words, print-on-demand publishers and Internet-only publishers do not qualify.

    Second, the publisher must not wrongfully withhold or delay royalty payments to authors. We have been hearing an unusually high number of reports from our members of unpaid advances and withheld royalties on their Dorchester books.

    Dorchester titles will no longer be eligible for Edgar® Award consideration nor will its authors be eligible for Active Status membership for any books published after October 6, 2010. The board made it clear to Dorchester that it is welcome to re-apply once these problems have been cleared up.

  15. Sue says:

    Question:

    If Amazon (or any retailer) has an author’s book up in digital format & has been told that the entity who offered said digital book does not have the rights to issue that book,

    Does the author & ‘rights holder’ of that book have the right to sue Amazon (or any retailer) for the royalties for the digital book, even if the book was offered for free?

    In other words, Can an author claim royalties from a retailer for books sold/given when they didn’t give permission for the book to be released in that manner?

  16. Sue, those of us at Bogus Publishers Beware aren’t lawyers, but we’ve found that third-party retailers are often somewhat slow in putting our books up and slightly slow in pulling them down.  You can, I suppose file for your royalties in small claims court, but since they would have sent your royalties to your publisher, they are the ones against whom you would need to file a lawsuit, or whatever other legal action you may deem appropriate.  Also, if your publisher is filing for bankruptcy, your copyrights will probably be tied up as company assets for at least six months until the bankruptcy is discharged.  I wish you folks luck.

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