A recent survey launched by The Bookseller on advances and royalties revealed that 52% of respondents had experienced payment issues with their publishers.

The survey found that among those who experienced issues with payment, ‘around 18% experienced problems with both advances and royalties, 17% only with advances [and] with around the same number experiencing problems only with royalties’.

The SoA calls for:

• Publishers to uphold the values provided in the Industry Professional Values Statement that ‘Authors, publishing professionals, agents and booksellers are colleagues and collaborators in business and we expect a high standard of professional behaviour from one another’. Authors, like any business collaborator, should be paid in a timely manner.
• Transparency and open communication. If publishers are having cashflow issues, they must be upfront and transparent about this, so that authors can consider their options. Emails from authors or agents should not be ignored as this only leads to the situation escalating and greater distress for the author.
• Regular and detailed accounting statements to be sent to authors by default. Authors should not have to request to see sales figures of their work, this should be provided in each statement. Accounting statements need to include – as standard – detailed information regarding royalty payments and other sources of remuneration, including the number of copies printed, copies sold (whether physical or digital), copies still in stock, any licensing agreements, etc.
• Contracts providing clear and unequivocal definitions of key terms and clear accounting provisions, as per our CREATOR campaign for fair contract terms.
• Mechanisms to ensure the author is not penalised if there is a delay with edits or publication (e.g. ‘advance will be paid on first publication or 12 months after signature of the contract, whichever is earlier’).
• Publishers to establish a clear procedure for authors to follow in the event that they are not paid in line with their contracts, or to at least provide a named contact within the company for payment-related issues.
• Publishers to act in accordance with their legal obligations. Authors have a legal right to be paid within 30 days of invoicing, unless specifically agreed otherwise. Communications from authors or agents about late payments should be treated promptly and with professionalism and consideration. The right of authors to add interest on late payments (without prejudice to their other rights under their contracts) should be accepted and honoured.
• Authors and their agents to chase any late payment with the added compensation and interest prescribed for in the law.

Authors are the backbone of our creative industries, but their situation is increasingly precarious, with shrinking and fragmentation of advances, funding cuts to the arts, the drastic decline of authors’ median earnings, and the threats to creators’ livelihoods and careers posed by generative artificial intelligence (AI), all compounded by the cost-of-living crisis. A 2022 ALCS survey on Authors’ Income showed that median author earnings were £7,000 a year, which is a 60% drop since 2006; and our survey on artificial intelligence earlier this year revealed that a quarter of illustrators (26%) and over a third of translators (36%) have already lost work because of generative AI.

The issue of late payment has been a concern since the SoA’s inception and, whether it is 1884 or 2024, late payment can have catastrophic consequences, impacting the ability of authors to pay for the basic necessities of life such as household bills – experiences all too common and well evidenced by the accounts reported in The Bookseller. This is also evidenced by authors’ increased reliance on hardship grants such as the SoA Authors’ Contingency Fund, their use of loans or savings, and of foodbanks to survive – this precarity harms authors’ wellbeing and mental health and is in turn exacerbated by the stress of having to chase late payments.

The Bookseller’s findings mirror our own experience and the feedback we receive from members. Although the law provides ways for authors to chase payment, and to add compensation and interest to monies owed, in our experience these are little-known and are often not used by authors.

The Bookseller article is a timely reminder of the importance of ensuring authors – and all creative professionals – are paid on time, and we encourage all authors and their agents to chase any late payment with the added compensation and interest prescribed for in the law.

Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin, Chair of the SoA’s Management Committee, said:

Prompt payment is a fundamental of good business practice. We understand that there are many reasons why a payment might get delayed, but it’s essential that there is clear communication if there are issues, ensuring that trust is maintained, and the author-publisher relationship remains intact. Authors are expected to deliver on time and it’s only fair that they can expect to get paid on time. In too many cases, authors fear requesting that a contractual obligation is honoured, eroding trust and causing huge stress.

Claire Wilson, President of the Association of Authors Agents, said:

The Association of Authors’ Agents takes the evidence and concerns raised by The Bookseller survey on late payments extremely seriously. While our members report that late payments are only a small minority of transactions, the impact on an individual author of not being paid on time can mean real financial hardship. Agents, whether or not they are members of our Association, should not hesitate to use the legal protections and remedies for UK sourced monies. Payments from overseas do not have the protections of the Late Payments Act and therefore agents must apply due diligence.

AAA member agencies adhere to a code of conduct that includes many safeguards for authors and their money including a requirement for agencies to pass on cleared funds for clients within 10 days and for agencies to maintain a separate bank account for client monies.

What can authors do if payments are delayed?

• Read our blog on chasing late payment. 
• Read our guide (free for SoA members) on chasing late payment.
• Get in touch with the SoA to seek bespoke advice: info@societyofauthors.org

If you are facing financial hardship, the SoA offers grants for writers in financial difficulties.