After today my writing time is going to be spasmodic, as college has finished and the house will not be as quiet as it is normally on a week-day when everyone is out.
I'm getting ready for the last day of the Lowdham Book Festival too- every event on Saturday is free to attend, so if you're nearby and can spare an hour or two I know you'll find something to interest you.
I'll be on the Nottingham Writers' Club stall, and then at midday at The Fringe at the Ship, before returning to the table to promote the club and members work...
Last week's cyberspace book launch of the One Word Anthology was a great success, so a big thank you to everyone who popped into the launch page on Facebook- much fun was had by all... :-)
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Now to the serious stuff...
Many writers were unhappy about the proposed move of control of the Public Lending Rights service (probably) to the British Library when it was proposed in 2010. Sadly even with an overwhelming majority against the move in the 2012 consultation, the intention to make this change has continued.
Yesterday (26th) the scrutiny committee of Culture, Media and Sports declared its findings:
" The CMS committee, chaired by Conservative MP John Whittingdale, concluded that: "It was resoundingly clear from the public consultation that there was overwhelming opposition to the Government's proposal to abolish the Registrar of Public Lending Right and to transfer its functions to another public body. We continue to believe that the British Library is not a suitable host organisation for the PLR function given its many responsibilities and the risk that these could take priority over the PLR function." " (The Bookseller - here.)
Unfortunately the Government can ignore the opinion of the committee and carry on with it's plans. Money can be saved by this change, so change they will. :(
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Another related PLR issue is e-books. Authors do not receive PLR on library e-book loans, so they are losing income.
And the Society of Authors (SoA) has found that authors may not be receiving the correct payments from their publishers for e-book library loans by treating them as if they were sales rather than licences...
If you go the item in the SoA's News and Events section, you can read about it in more detail- here.
Digital is giving writers so many opportunities, but it's also giving them a lot of 'virtual' headaches in trying to ensure they get the money they have a right to...
3 comments:
I had a great time at the OWA book launch, thank you Carol, and I hope the Book Festival goes well. My days of having the rhythm of my life dictated by school and college terms are long gone - in a way I miss them. so make the most of your boys. They are young for far too brief a time.
I sympathise with the lack of time coming up, Carol - even though mine are well grown-up, I remember it well!
Glad to hear you enjoyed the One Word Anthology online book launch- it was great fun, but very tiring. :-)
Glad to say I can get a bit of time to myself now July has arrived, Rosemary.
But unlike school term times, college finishes a month earlier, so it's grab time to write, or catch up on my reading, as and when. :-)
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