Being a newly semi-retired, new author of a series of four novels, (since 2023) I was shocked and frustrated at how poor the editing has been, by the publishing company I used. My novel has been for sale for a year and is now progressing to the screenwriting stage for a suspenseful TV romance/crime drama.
I am loving my new hobby, but the bad editing service I received has left me looking to other publishers who don’t change my words to alter the meaning of sentences.
In the meantime, I’d love to be able to warn other people about the pitfalls of a so-called professional editor, who clearly doesn’t understand conversational English and its dialects.
Being at the stage where I’ve shelled-out a small fortune to get my novel off the ground, I realise that under the terms of the contract I felt so lucky to have (at first), that this company have 50% of the TV adaptation rights. I just don’t want them to handle anything else to do with my book, after the dozens and dozens of corrections I had to make so the story was readable.
The worst part- is that I have written to the publisher numerous times about taking up a court case in small claims, for the professional editing service they failed to provide. They replied to say the contract is Business-to-Business and therefore will not be heard by small claims! I am NOT a business! I write because I love my story and my characters. I have spent thousands on developing and advertising the story, whereas zero sales have come from supposed marketing strategy by the publisher. I do not make money from my book - far from it. I paid them over $2,600 to produce my book (and the second one - thinking they’d learned how not to destroy my story - but it happened all over again!). It seems there is no governing body for book publishers, only journals or magazines/newspapers.
Now, I have emailed the publisher telling them I want them to withdraw from the contractual rights for television. I own the copyright. I do not want them involved at any further stage of the process.
Is there anyone out there, who can offer advice on how to proceed under UK law, to take this publisher to task in the courts, under consumer law? I don’t have a business and signed the contract in my name. I feel that I want to warn other people who are looking for a service that has proven inadequate and unprofessional?
Beverly
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I shared this on Bluesky and X. Hope it helps
Hi Beverly. I just signed my own publishing contract, and I made use of AI especially when they sent me revised terms, and the AI discovered they had slipped in a bunch of other little changes. As a start, I'd run it thru Claude or ChatGPt (or whatever you use) and ask it to look for the escape clauses and what needs to happen to trigger them. I'd suspect editorial unhappiness is not explicitly spelled out. However, perhaps a constructive conversation with your publisher about your dissatisfaction is a less fractious approach?
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Beverly Thompson Hi Beverly,
That sounds like a frustrating situation, especially when the work is so personal to you.
I would be particularly cautious about the television adaptation rights. Owning the copyright doesn't necessarily mean every right connected to the work remains exclusively yours if the contract granted the publisher specific adaptation or exploitation rights. Before trying to have those rights withdrawn, I’d have the agreement reviewed by a UK solicitor who specifically handles publishing and entertainment/IP contracts.
From the screenwriting side, I’d also avoid making any commitments to producers or other film professionals until you know exactly what rights you currently control. Getting that clarified now could save you a much bigger problem later if the TV project gains serious interest.
I hope you’re able to get the contract situation resolved and continue developing the story on your own terms. Best of luck with the screen adaptation.
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Hi Beverly Thompson - are you obligated to deliver them another book or could you go the self publishing route on the next one?
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Beverly, before giving them another manuscript or moving forward with the TV adaptation, I’d ask myself a few uncomfortable questions first: If they were paid to professionally edit your work, why did you have to spend so much time correcting their corrections? If their marketing strategy produced no sales, what exactly were they contributing? And most importantly, why would you want the same company involved in your television rights when you no longer trust them with the book itself?
I’d carefully review every clause before making your next move. Sometimes the question is not just whether you can leave a contract, but what exactly you agreed to give away when you signed it
Beverly Thompson.
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Hi @Beverly it's my experience that Book publishers do not have a centralized ombudsman. Contractual or copyright disputes between authors and publishers are typically resolved through mediation or the civil courts. That's as far as I know because contracts vary with vanity and hybrid publishers. I'm sorry I have no further information for you. I am so sorry this has been your experience with your book journey so far.
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Hi @Beverly, I actually think there’s a bigger issue here than the editing problems, and that’s what happens to your story once it moves from the novel into the screenwriting stage. And because you’re now looking at a TV adaptation, I’d be especially careful about separating the publishing side from the screenwriting side. A novel and a screenplay are very different forms, but the adaptation should still preserve the heart, characters, tone, and intent of what you created.