The RSL is supporting an open letter that the Society of Authors has written to publishers to ask them to help improve authors’ earnings by addressing contractual terms.

The letter is part of an international collective call to action on creator contracts.

Addressed to members of the Publishers’ Association and the Independent Publishers Guild, the SoA ask publishers to take responsibility for their role in authors’ income by reviewing their contract terms and treatment of authors.

In the letter, Chief Executive Nicola Solomon explains:

Without serious contract reform the professional author will become an endangered species and publishers – as well as society at large – will be left with less and less quality content. Unless publishers treat their authors more equitably the decline in the number of full-time writers could have serious implications for the breadth and quality of content that drives the economic success and cultural reputation of our creative industries in the UK.

The letter asks publishers to follow the rule of C.R.E.A.T.O.R., seven key areas to make contracts fairer, including clarity, fair remuneration and reversion terms that allow authors to make the most of their work.

Read the full letter