from Amazon
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
The Publisher of The Book (Potomac Books) has finally paid us our royalties
UPDATE: Nov 6, 2010: The title of this thread has changed. The original title was:
The Publisher of The Book (Potomac Books) is delinquent on a portion of our royalties
***
Here is a summary of the facts, with new items noted below (after Aug 7, 2009):
On November 6, 2006, we (Tango, Andy, and MGL) entered into an agreement with Potomac Books for them to publish, advertise, and offer for sale, our book, The Book.
Paragraph 6 of our agreement reads as such:
“After publication of the Work, Publisher shall render annual statements of the Author’s earnings under this Agreement as of each December 31 and shall mail the statements and applicable payments during the following March, but not later than March 31.”
In early Spring of 2007, Potomac began selling The Book.
In March of 2008, as per the agreement, the first accounting of sales and our first royalty check was due. It did not arrive by March 31.
Over the next few months, we sent emails, made phone calls, and finally an official “demand letter” was sent to Potomac.
In July of 2008, a statement and payment was received, over three months late. No reasonable explanation was given for the delay.
By March 31, 2009, again, no statement or payment was received by us from Potomac.
Again, we sent them several emails, asking about the payment. At least one email was sent to us informing us that payment will eventually be made.
In July (2009), we received a letter postmarked July 1, containing a statement but no payment.
On July 25, we sent another letter to Potomac containing the facts herein, informing them that if we do not receive payment, or proof that payment was sent, by July 31, we will publish these facts on our blog and that we will initiate legal action.
That deadline has passed and we have received no response to that email. The above statement of facts was posted to our website.
On Aug 7, 2009, the Publisher of The Book (Potomac Books) has finally paid us our royalties.
(WHAT FOLLOWS ARE NEW STATEMENTS OF FACT.)
In the months following that, we presented negotiating points aimed at explictly specifying results for further breaches of contract, so that an amicable solution could be arrived, and not go through a court process. Nothing came of those negotiations other than Potomac’s statement that further payments would be made in a timely manner.
In March, 2010, we received, on time, the statement and royalty for The Book, printed version. We received no statement and no royalty for the Kindle version.
In April, 2010, Potomac noted two items: (1) they were in the process of booking the Kindle sales into their system, and that when that was completed, they would report and pay on Kindle royalties but (2) that any Kindle sales would be paid at the standard royalty fee of 15%, rather than at the 50% rate for the electronic books.
We believe the contract couldn’t be clearer that it should be 50%. We asked them for either an official letter claiming the 15% for the Kindles, or payment at the 50% rate by April 30, 2010.
We did not receive any confirmation from Potomac that they agree with our position of the royalty rate, nor have we received any payment for the Kindles.
In July, 2010, in a repeat of July 2009, we received a statement of account. This statement was a duplicate of what was received in April 2010, and still contained no accounting of any kind for the Kindle sales.
On July 27, 2010, we advised Potomac that these statements of fact will appear on our website in seven calendar days.
On Aug 6, Potomac agreed that we are to receive 50% on the Kindle sales, and that payment would be forthcoming.
No payment has been received. Starting in late August, we tried several times to reach Potomac to come to any kind of resolution. We have not heard from them.
In late September, we once again advised them that these statements of fact will appear on our website in ten calendar days. We have not heard from Potomac.
Today, Oct 13, 2010, we posted these statements of fact.