Date: Wed, 22 May 2013 20:47:13 -0400
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Amazon "Kindle Worlds"
From: Michael Walsh <walshmichaelj at gmail.com>
To: wsfa-forum at yahoogroups.com, WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

On Wed, May 22, 2013 at 7:58 PM, mark <whitroth at 5-cent.us> wrote:
>
> Excerpt:
> Essentially, this means that all the work in the Kindle Worlds arena is a
> work for hire that Alloy (and whomever else signs on) can mine with
> impunity. This is a very good deal for Alloy, et al - they're getting
> story ideas! Free! =E2=80=94 and less of a good deal for the actual write=
rs
> themselves. I mean, the official media tie-in writers and script writers
> are doing work for hire, too, but they get advances and\or at least WGA
> minimum scale for their work.
>
> Another red flag:
>
> "Amazon Publishing will acquire all rights to your new stories, including
> global publication rights, for the term of copyright."
>
> Which is to say, once Amazon has it, they have the right to do anything
> they want with it, including possibly using it in anthologies or selling
> it other languages, etc, without paying the author anything else for it,
> ever. Again, an excellent deal for Amazon; a less than excellent deal for
> the actual writer.
> --- end excerpt ---
>
> <http://whatever.scalzi.com/>

All true, but is anyone putting a gun to the head ofthe writer to sig
such a contract?

As for the rights issue, it's probably the same deal as any media tie
in work: work for hire.

Not that I have any concern about signing any writing contracts <g>.

mjw