SoA Sounds

Contracts are legally binding agreements, recognisable at law and enforceable through the courts. They can be made orally or in writing, and on clear and express terms or implied by conduct. But what makes a contract and how best to navigate what this means in the context of a commission or publishing deal? What steps should be taken to protect your interests and what rights are available to you? How can you use 'clarifiers' 'sweeteners' and 'softeners' to ensure you are getting the best possible deal? Join SoA Advisory Clinic hosts Johanna Clarke and Theo Jones as they explore all of this and more in this important and timely episode, to follow the earlier bonus special 'Can't Pay Won't Pay' originally recorded as part of the SOA@Home Festival.

Show notes:

• Not an SoA member? Join today with discount code PODCAST20 to get 20% off your first year's membership.
• C.R.E.A.T.O.R | The Society of Authors
• Industry Insider - Can't Pay; Won't Pay on Vimeo

Chasing payment can be a stressful experience. SoA Advisory Clinic presenters Johanna Clarke and Theo Jones introduce a recording of an event delivered as part of the Spring / Summer 2023 SoA@Home festival.

Chief Executive Nicola Solomon chairs a discussion with Consultant Contracts Advisor Kate Pool and solicitor Samuel O'Toole from law firm Briffa on issues relating to contractual disputes and particularly non-payment.

They offer precautionary advice and guidance on strategy and procedural detail in the event you need to chase your debt through the courts.

Show notes

• Not an SoA member? Join today with discount code PODCAST20 to get 20% off your first year's membership.
• Industry Insider - Can't Pay; Won't Pay
• Samuel O'Toole | Briffa Legal
• Get information about a company - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Make a court claim for money: What a court claim is - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Intellectual Property Enterprise Court: a guide to small claims - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

True life experience can provide a rich resource for writers considering the subject and content of their next book. You may have discovered a hitherto unremarked life story that would lend itself well to memoir or be considering how to incorporate situations or experiences from real life into your next work of fiction. But what of the legal issues that may apply to you when handling information and material relating to living people? How do you ensure you have what you need when undertaking your research with your chosen subject? How do you ensure you don't risk infringing upon a person's privacy rights or falling foul of defamation laws. This episode will cover the three key areas to be aware of when writing about living people: copyright, privacy and defamation. It will also explore how defamation laws are open to abuse by powerful individuals or organisations to stifle freedom of expression in the public interest.

Show notes

• Not an SoA member? Join today with discount code PODCAST20 to get 20% off your first year's membership.
• The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho: "An absolutely thrilling, throat-catching wonder of a historical novel" STEPHEN F a book by PATERSON JOSEPH. (bookshop.org)
• Afternoon Tea with Paterson Joseph
• Watch Succession – on NOW (nowtv.com)
• Professional Development - Writing about Real Life
• judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Banks-v-Cadwalladr-judgment-280223.pdf
• www.antislapp.uk
• Human Rights Act 1998 (legislation.gov.uk)
• House of Lords - Campbell (Apellant) v. MGN Limited (Respondents) (parliament.uk)
• VON HANNOVER v. GERMANY (coe.int)
• The Guardian's Editorial Code | About | The Guardian
• Copinger and Skone James on Copyright - Paperback | Intellectual Property | Sweet & Maxwell (sweetandmaxwell.co.uk)
• The Society of Authors (vimeo.com)
• Events - The Society of Authors

Tune in for a recording of a special live event from December 2022 when the SoA's Johanna Clarke spoke to Justin Audibert (Artistic Director, Unicorn Theatre), April de Angelis (playwright) and Piers Torday (author and playwright) about book to theatre adaptations. They discuss the process of commissioning and adapting, the role of the original author, updating older works, and ensuring the story resonates with your audience. Join these brilliant and experienced creatives as they exchange insights, anecdotes, and advice on all things page to stage, premised with a short introduction from contracts advisors Johanna Clarke and Theo Jones on licensing these rights.

Show notes:

• Not an SoA member? Join today with discount code PODCAST20 to get 20% off your first year's membership.
• Wilton's (wiltons.org.uk)
• Theatre Green Book |
• UK Theatre/Writers' Guild Agreement - UK Theatre
• Home - Piers Torday
• Paul Torday Memorial Prize - The Society of Authors
• Justin Audibert - The Artists Partnership
• April De Angelis - Casarotto Ramsay & Associates
• My Brilliant Friend a book by Elena Ferrante and Ann Goldstein. (bookshop.org)
• Pig-Heart Boy a book by Malorie Blackman. (bookshop.org)
• There May Be a Castle a book by Piers Torday. (bookshop.org)
• Tree to Me - The Society of Authors
• The Wild Before a book by Piers Torday. (bookshop.org)
• The Reluctant Vampire - The Reluctant Vampire (The Reluctant Vampire, Book 1): Library of Lost Books edition – HarperCollins Publishers UK
• Convenience Store Woman a book by Sayaka Murata and Ginny Tapley Takemori (bookshop.org)
• The Winshaw Legacy: Or, What a Carve Up! a book by Jonathan Coe (bookshop.org)
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin a book by Mark Twain. (bookshop.org)
• The Dark is Rising: The Dark is Rising Sequence a book by Susan Cooper. (bookshop.org)

Do you write books or scripts that revolve around a particular character (or characters) and their world(s)? You may be wondering to what extent copyright law protects you and your rights in those original and distinctive characters. Join Johanna Clarke and Theo Jones as they discuss the impact of a recent ruling from IPEC which extends copyright to cover this highly important and lucrative area – across books, stage and screen – to a level not previously ascertained.

Show notes:

• Not an SoA member? Join today with discount code PODCAST20 to get 20% off your first year's membership.
• This is Not a Pity Memoir by Abi Morgan | Hachette UK
• Watch Daisy Jones & the Six - Season 1 | Prime Video (amazon.co.uk)
• Children's Laureate of Wales wins Imison Award - The Society of Authors
• BBC Radio 4 - Drama, The Making of a Monster
• BBC Radio 4 - Drama, End of Transmission
• Authors lose appeal over Da Vinci Code plagiarism | UK news | The Guardian
• Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. | Case Brief for Law School | LexisNexis
• Shazam Production Ltd v Only Fools The Dining Experience Ltd & Ors. - Find case law (nationalarchives.gov.uk)
• Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Copinger and Skone James on Copyright - Paperback | Intellectual Property | Sweet & Maxwell (sweetandmaxwell.co.uk)
• Exceptions to copyright - Guidance for creators and copyright owners (publishing.service.gov.uk)
• Colin the Caterpillar | Food News, Inspiration & Recipes | M&S (marksandspencer.com)
• Aldi Stores UK on Twitter: "Where else would we announce it? #CuthBack https://t.co/DWOJzBceoL" / Twitter
• Search for a trade mark - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The SoA's new campaign, Tree to Me, adds your voice to existing efforts to make publishing more sustainable and encourages your publisher to act now – in the materials it uses and the energy it consumes, in its investments and emissions targets, and more – and to raise awareness among your readers as they improve their practices. Children's author and chair of the Society of Authors' sustainability steering committee, Piers Torday, joins Johanna and Theo for this bonus episode to discuss the campaign in more detail.

Show notes:

• Not an SoA member? Join today with discount code PODCAST20 to get 20% off your first year's membership.
• Tree to Me - The Society of Authors
• Society of Authors creates new campaign to help writers hold publishers to account on sustainability | Society of Authors | The Guardian
• Meals and deals: five biggest trends from London book fair 2023 | London book fair | The Guardian
• Home - Piers Torday
• The Wild Before - Piers Torday
• The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells | Waterstones
• The Wind in the Willows Wilton's by award winning author Piers Torday - Wilton's (wiltons.org.uk)
• Theatre Green Book |

Need some tips on negotiating? Not sure what publishers are looking for or what a good deal looks like? Struggling to feel empowered? Join Johanna and Theo as they talk to authors Vaseem Khan and Margaret Skea at Author HQ at the London Book Fair as they share their experiences and advice on getting the best deal possible. They assess the different types of publishing, thinking strategically about the themes, characters and submissions of your books, as well as negotiating on money and contracts. Also tune in at the beginning to hear Johanna and Theo's feedback on this year's fair.

Show notes:

• Not an SoA member? Join today with discount code PODCAST20 to get 20% off your first year's membership.
• Industry Insider - Making the Most of London Book Fair on Vimeo
• The London Book Fair - Session Details - How to Get a Badass Deal? - 18th Apr
• London Book Fair 2023 - The Society of Authors
• Meals and deals: five biggest trends from London book fair 2023 | London book fair | The Guardian
• Tree to Me - The Society of Authors
• Vaseem Khan | Website of Vaseem Khan, author of the Baby Ganesh Agency series and Midnight at Malabar House
• Home - Margaret Skea, Author
• What type of deal is that? - The Society of Authors
• Is it a steal? - The Society of Authors

Have you been asked to pay someone to publish your work? The Society of Authors and the Writers' Guild of Great Britain's 2022 report exposed widespread bad practice among companies that charge writers for publication, so what's so bad about them?

Join SoA Contracts Advisors Theo Jones and Johanna Clarke as they uncover the world of hybrid publishing and talk through the pros and cons of the various types of publishing deals available to writers. There is no absolute right or wrong way to publish a book, but authors should always think carefully before they sign on that dotted line...

Show notes:

Recommendations: Johanna –Kit de Waal's Without Warning and Only Sometimes and Mindy Kaling's Never Have I Ever on Netflix, Theo – The Capture BBC series 2

• Not an SoA member? Join today with discount code PODCAST20 to get 20% off your first year's membership.
• What type of deal is that? – The Society of Authors
• Is it a steal? – The Society of Authors
• The Radiance of Banality – Part One – Erotic Review (ermagazine.com)
• The Radiance of Banality – Part Two – Erotic Review (ermagazine.com)

The Audiobook market is growing exponentially. For authors this presents new opportunities: unlocking rights; discovering new readers (listeners, if you like!); and benefiting from fresh revenue streams. But as a self-published author (or a traditionally published author who has retained audio rights), how do you go about producing your work in audio format? What are the various options out there and how do you build a strategy that works for you?

Join SoA Contracts Advisors Theo Jones and Johanna Clarke as they discuss the current audio landscape, how the production process works and the agreements you'll require. As well as some tips on retaining creative control of your books and how best to market them in the world of audio.

Show notes:

Recommendations: Johanna – The Yellow Kitchen by Margaux Vialleron and Men by Raven Smith, Theo – Industry BBC series 2

• Not an SoA member? Join today with discount code PODCAST20 to get 20% off your first year's membership.
• Professional Development - The Business of Self-Publishing an Audiobook on Vimeo
• Professional Development - Narrating your own Book on Vimeo
• Professional Development – Your Podcast: Taking It from Good to Great (Part I) on Vimeo

Join Society of Authors' Contracts Advisors, Theo Jones and Johanna Clarke, for this limited series in which they discuss the key industry topics, issues and challenges affecting authors today. This podcast intends to guide and empower authors of all types, whether you are a member of the society or not, and is bought to you by the SoA Advisory Team who are always on hand to help members with any contractual or industry queries/concerns.

The first episode will be available soon, so hit subscribe to be notified.

Not an SoA member? Join today with discount code PODCAST20 to get 20% off your first year's membership.