Authors United, the group of more than 1,000 writers that author Douglas Preston set up two years ago to battle Amazon's treatment of writers during the period the online retailer was restricting the sale of Hachette titles, is merging with the Authors Guild, the Bookseller reported.
 |
|
| Doug Preston | |
Preston has told members that he is concerned that the incoming Trump administration could make things "very, very much worse" for authors and wants to fight for author and press freedoms.
The Bookseller quoted Preston: "The Guild is extremely concerned about potential high-level appointments in areas that affect writers: copyright, anti-trust, libel law, and freedom of the press. The Authors Guild cannot and will not stand by while the livelihood of authors and press freedoms are under attack."
Preston said also that by taking legal action when necessary and employing a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., the Authors Guild is making sure that copyright laws are "not whittled away by the scorched earth lobbying efforts of Google, Amazon, and their ilk."
Another major concern, Preston continued, is falling authors' income, particularly for debut and midlist authors, writers of serious nonfiction and freelance journalists. He attributed this to the digital revolution, which has led people to expect more information for free. "We prevailed against Amazon once but the struggle is far from over," Preston said. "This is going to be a long effort and the Goliaths are only getting bigger and more powerful."