Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
Yes, it is. It is their decision before they sign the contract.
They can hand over the right to make those specific decisions for money, and the opportunity for more money, but that doesn't mean it wasn't their decision.
An author isn't required to go through a mainstream publisher; s/he can self-publish and maintain full control over when & how the books are produced. I'll grant that it's very, very hard to make a living that way. But saying they don't decide pricing & ebook details is like like saying "the decision on whether to work nights isn't up to the delivery driver."
Sure it is. If they don't like the conditions of that job, they can seek a different one. That said, I try not to grumble directly at authors about the details of their publishing contracts; the choice between "job with some aspects that suck" and "no job" is fairly obvious. However, some sympathy toward people stuck in a business contract that has aspects they don't like doesn't mean I believe they're not responsible for having signed the contract in the first place.
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That's a bit of splitting hairs, but yes, it is their decision to sign the contract. Some of what is happening now (when an ebook comes out for example) was not spelled out in the contract and the publisher controls that. But fine, I don't dispute that they could have just walked away from the contract. I think you have the gist of it in, "job with some aspects that suck."