Foxy Brown & Lil Kim Don't Deliver on Books

Being incarcerated may be a pretty good excuse, but Simon & Schuster apparently doesn't care what led to Lil Kim and Foxy Brown's writers block.

The New York-based publisher sued the rappers Thursday, intending to get its money back after paying out generous advances for books that the ladies never completed.

According to the dual lawsuits filed in New York State Supreme Court, Simon & Schuster gave Kim, whose real name is Kimberly Jones, $40,000 in 2003 for a novel that was supposed to be finished the following year. Brown was then paid $75,000 in 2005 to pen her autobiography, which was tentatively titled Broken Silence.

"Both accepted the money, and both books never were delivered," S&S spokesman Adam Rothberg told Bloomberg.com.

Since then, however, both hip-hop stars have spent time behind bars for various offenses—Brown for violating her probation multiple times after finally being sentenced for a 2004 fight in a Manhattan nail shop, and Kim for perjury and conspiracy after lying to a grand jury about her friend's involvement in a 2001 shooting.

Brown, whose real name is Inga Marchand, was released in April after serving eight months of a yearlong sentence. Kim's been a free bird since July 2006, when she flew the coop after spending 10 months behind bars.

But even with all that life experience under their belts, neither MC has done enough prosaic musing to satisfy Simon & Schuster, which also published 50 Cent's autobiography and books penned by members of his G-Unit crew.

-- Natalie Finn from E! Online

07/28/08 Mon 7:31 am

Authors Guild Warns on S&S e-Book Royalty Proposal

Simon & Schuster out to take money out of the pockets of their writers again.

The Authors Guild has sent out an advisory to its members suggesting that they carefully review a letter from Simon & Schuster that looks to add an amendment to their contracts that will set the standard royalty for e-books at 15% of the catalog retail price for e-books. The Authors Guild alert makes three points about the proposal: members should discuss the amendment with their attorney or agent; warns that, depending on a member’s particular contract with S&S, the amendment may grant S&S rights that otherwise would be retained by the author; and notes that members should be aware that the amendment may affect their ability to obtain a reversion of rights.

The alert further advises that members should “keep your powder dry,” when negotiating e-book royalty rates, suggesting that members try to retain the right to renegotiate e-book royalties. “The Authors Guild expects that the 15% of the retail list price will be the low-water mark for e-book royalties,” the Guild speculated. “As the e-book market develops, authors with clout will doubtlessly insist on a more reasonable share of e-book revenues, and the industry will have to adapt.”

S&S spokesperson Adam Rothberg said the amendment was sent to a "long list" of authors whose books have not yet been adapted to e-books, with most of the letters going directly to agents. He said the overall goal is to sell more e-books in a rapidly growing market, "and we want to work with our agents and author friends to do that." But that in order to move forward, S&S believes it is important to determine what the royalty rate should be, Rothberg added. Noting that it is still "early days" in the e-book industry, Rothberg said S&S remains willing to talk to authors and agents about any questions they have about the e-book market.

This is the second time the Guild has challenged a proposed change in contract language by S&S. Last year, the organization protested the publisher’s plan to alter the conditions for when authors could get back their rights. The two sides eventually worked out a compromise.

by Jim Milliot w/ PW 07/18/08

07/20/08
12:40 am

Restructuring at Simon & Schuster Digital

-- Publishers Weekly, 5/15/2008 2:01:00 PM

Ellie Hirschhorn, who took over as chief digital officer at Simon & Schuster in February, has announced a restructuring of S&S Digital with some new hires and promotions, while also announcing that Kate Tentler, senior v-p of the group, will be leaving at the end of June.

Adrian Norman has been named v-p of marketing and new products. Norman, who arrives from the Disney-ABC Television Group where he was executive director of digital media, will supervise the in-house group. Steve Morgan has come on board as v-p of engineering. Morgan was chief technology officer at Oxygen Media. Sue Fleming has been promoted to v-p, executive director of content and programming. Radhika Nayak has been promoted to v-p, director of product management. And Doug Stambaugh, who was hired in September from AOL, will remain executive director, business development and operations. Stambaugh will have responsibility for Simon & Schuster’s e-book publishing efforts, identifying new revenue streams, and developing partnerships with third party distribution, content and technology partners.

Hirschhorn said the new structure "will better position us to expand Simon & Schuster’s presence in the digital realm" and that the building of the house's digital warehouse "continues apace" with the announcement of "major digital initiatives” forthcoming. Hirschhorn added that Tentler "has been at the forefront of all our endeavors in this arena,” and thanked her for "everything she has done."

5/24/08 10:18am

Simon & Schuster CEO Jack Romanos at his retirement party

Jack Romanos w/ Les Moonves

At the retirement party for S&S CEO Jack Romanos, notables in attendance included Steve Riggio, John Ingram, Jane Friedman, Barbara Marcus, Larry Kirshbaum, Robert Gottlieb, Mel Berger and Irwyn Applebaum. Photos © Lisa Berg