Author Alasdair White
In simple terms, authors own all the rights (Intellectual Property Rights or Copyright) to their published and unpublished work and they generally receive their income from royalties that are paid by those to whom the author has issued a licence for use of certain rights (the publisher). So far, so good!
In a perfect world, the author will have found a publisher (not the easiest thing to do, I might add!) who will take a licence to publish the book in exchange for the royalties to be paid. The publisher will then market the book and booksellers will then sell the book to willing buyers who will take it home and read it (I did say “in a perfect world”). The sale of the book generates the royalties and the author should, in theory, get paid. But this is not a perfect world!
The reality is that writers need readers … Read the rest of this entry »
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Author Alasdair White
This story suggests that there is a significant lack of understanding of how to get out of the mess we’re in – which is, on the one hand, very surprising given the amount of verbiage expended on the subject and the hours spent arguing about it among those who claim to be experts (remember: an ex is a has been and a ‘pert is a drip under pressure!), while on the other hand, it is a typical politically-driven response as it allows the politicians to claim they are ‘doing what is necessary for the public’. (When, if ever, have politicians been interested in what is best for the public?) … Read the rest of this entry »
Author Alasdair White
One can hardly fail to be aware of the current crisis in the world of finance and you don’t have to look hard to find the media (and the politicians) laying the blame squarely at the feet of the banks. It’s the fault of the banks, they scream; if the banks acted in a more responsible manner, etc – but, of course, banks are NOT to blame because banks are inanimate and have no capacity to act on their own. I even thought I’d seen such a respectable newspaper as The Economist make the same mistake – but they hadn’t (fortunately!!).
If we want to allocate blame (and who doesn’t) then we need to look at root causes and the fault lies with PEOPLE. Now, people are capable of … Read the rest of this entry »