russincheshire.bsky.social
Columnist for Byline Times, author of "The Decade In Tory", "Four Chancellors and a Funeral", and "Tories: The End of an Error".
Software monkey and slave to an idiot dog.
Cheshire, UK
https://unbound.com/books?collection=russell-jones
1,228 posts
62,098 followers
421 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter
comment in response to
post
My opinion isn't important either, but I've always thought you're kind of marvellous.
comment in response to
post
comment in response to
post
I mean ... I wouldn't lack material, would I?
comment in response to
post
Thank you, but you've clearly never seen me attempt to change a duvet cover.
comment in response to
post
I did my best!
comment in response to
post
What I'm told is that the commercial agreement we had with Unbound rolls over the Boundless if Boundless tells you they intend to honour it. Which they did, when they wrote to us and told us they'd pay past royalties. So the law applies.
comment in response to
post
This time it's just shy of £7k. Last time it was £8k. Who can afford to lose £15k of income in 6 months without any reason, and then be expected to go out - at my own expense - and promote my publisher all over the country?
Fuck em, frankly.
comment in response to
post
... when they might. I'm completely dependent on this income, and it's simply vanished like a fart in the wind. I'm out of patience. I frankly don't care if my interest charges bankrupt them. I've got nothing (literally nothing) to lose. And they have it coming.
comment in response to
post
Well, three times in the last 18 months Unbound (later Boundless) failed to pay me £thousands in royalties, leaving me unable to pay my mortgage for months at a time. Boundless promised in writing to pay it all today. They didn't, and give no indication of ...
comment in response to
post
I make it a point to annoy at least 1 regular reader per week. I consider my work done.
And as my publisher just announced they're not paying my royalties for the last 2 books, I think I've covered the "not getting paid" bit too. See you down the food bank, Komrade!
comment in response to
post
Typo, I meant CLEANING stadiums
comment in response to
post
In case anybody is reading this, Alistair Barrie is a sensationally good standup, and it's a constant mystery to me why he isn't filling stadiums.
comment in response to
post
Thanks mate. It's beyond my comprehension that a company's assets can be bought for peppercorn, sold at their original (profitable) price, and still not generate enough income to pay the authors.
comment in response to
post
Horrific. A lot of posts on here with similar tales. It utterly befuddles me how companies can restart without addressing their creditors. Yet you can buy a money machine like Man Utd & turn it into a debt factory. Disaster capitalism.
Happy to do an Unbound benefit if anyone wants to organise it.
comment in response to
post
(I've been as factual about this as I can given the information I have, but if I'm wrong about any of it, I'm happy to retract. However, everything I've said is based on published news reports and direct contact with Boundless. So I assume I'm correct).
comment in response to
post
Thank you to people offering to contribute to a Go Fund Me, and in all honesty, it might come to that. But right now I'd really prefer not to.
I'm just really fucking angry. It's not just me. It's 100s of authors. Years of work.
Inept or dishonest. You decide.
comment in response to
post
Last time this happened (in March), they promised to give plenty of warning if it happened again, so I could make arrangements if I wasn't getting paid.
I was due to be paid at 9am today. They told me I wouldn't be paid at 8am.
comment in response to
post
Somehow, despite paying almost nothing for a bust company and it's valuable rights, and almost nothing for the stock, and then selling thousands of copies of my books, they still haven't made enough money to pay the author a penny.
And ANOTHER £7,000 fails to appear.
comment in response to
post
Then Boundless sent further statements outlining subsequent sales of those books (which they got for basically nothing, remember), and how much authors had earned.
Both payments were due today. Neither turned up
So ...
comment in response to
post
For those who care:
Unbound (my original publisher) went into administration in March, owing me about £8k.
Boundless (basically the same managers) "bought" Unbound for almost nothing, including all its stock of books and publishing rights.
Boundless then sent promises to pay what Unbound owed.
comment in response to
post
Yep. Brilliant business model, isn't it
comment in response to
post
Nope, those were the LAST bunch of publishers who didn't pay me. I'm talking about another bunch now.
comment in response to
post
I've gone 3 days without before now - in fact that's happened twice this year alone.
Doesn't mean I can't laugh about it later. The only difference between tragedy and comedy is time.
comment in response to
post
Yep, it's due to be published by Byline Books, and they're aiming for a publication just before the Byline Festival (11-13 July, Keele Uni). I'll be appearing there doing a combination interview / talk / launch event.
Thanks for being patient!
comment in response to
post
I've had insomnia for 35 years. Or it might only be 5, it's hard to tell after a while. Anyway, my point is, it's ok to laugh at your own woes
comment in response to
post
I understand that 5 minutes before the election, she defected to Labour in an entirely selfless act of public service.
comment in response to
post
As soon as I'm prime minister, I promise I'll encourage you to criticise me. But only if you promise to be prime minister later on. Those are your rules, apparently.
comment in response to
post
So the only people who can make any comment about politicians are ... other politicians? I'm absolutely sure that's the best solution for a vigorous and effective democracy.
comment in response to
post
Option B