There has been a flurry of press publicity about American agent Andrew Wylie's launch of Odyssey Editions, which will publish e-book versions of a number of his clients’ backlist classics in association with Amazon.
Some are questioning whether it is appropriate for an agent (whose principal role is just that: to act as agent for his clients) to become directly involved in publishing. Others are critical of the two-year deal being exclusive to Amazon (the vast majority of e-book deals are non-exclusive to ensure readers can access the work in any e-format they wish). But many also argue that if good enough terms were being offered by publishers, Andrew Wylie’s move (offering much higher royalties) would not have happened. In any event, Andrew Wylie’s decisive stand may well have major long-term implications for the profession.
The Wylie initiative is mainly concerned with books by well-known authors, published years ago when contracts did not cover publication in digital form. When negotiating with authors and agents today, most publishers insist that they must have the right to control publication in both book and ebook versions. The publishers’ position is not unreasonable, provided the ebook royalties and other terms are acceptable. At present they are not. Our overriding concern is to ensure that publishers offer fair and more flexible terms when negotiating new contracts, given that the economics and potential of digital publishing are far from clear. Our recommendations on e-book terms appear separately here.