Authors will earn royalties on secondhand books for first time

Currently authors do not earn any royalties from the sale of secondhand books but that is soon going to change thanks to a scheme started by Bookbarn International, who sell used books.

The booksellers were joined by World of Books Group, the UK’s largest retailer of used books, and the companies created AuthorSHARE, which is now supported by the Society of Authors (SoA) and the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).

Thanks to AuthorSHARE, authors receive payment every time one of their books is purchased from the World of Books and Bookbarn International websites, with payments capped at £1000.

All retailers participating with the scheme will share sales information with the ALCS and royalty payments will then be paid twice a year.

Joanne Harris (author of Chocolat) welcomes the scheme

Previously authors only received royalties from the sales of new books but as the sales of used books increased this scheme has been a welcome financial relief for many writers.

“As a writer as well as founder of Bookbarn, I was puzzled that authors, the very people who create the raw material of our business, were not benefiting,” said Pryor. “This is all about giving authors recognition for the value they create and we hope other retailers within this space will eventually join us in this innovative voluntary initiative.”

Chocolat author and chair of the SoA, Joanne Harris, welcomed the initiative.

“The value of a book goes beyond the value of the paper it is printed on, so it is great to see that original creators will see some benefit when their work finds a new reader. That the scheme has come from a partnership of private companies who simply believe that this is the right thing to do is very reassuring,” said Harris.

“This has been such a financially challenging time for so many authors. Now more than ever, the secondary incomes that come from library borrowing, copying, and now re-selling can all add up to help make a creative career a financially viable one.”