If you’re a HarperCollins author, I strongly suggest getting together with your agent and sending a very strong preemptive “FUCK THIS” their way. lithub.com/harpercollin... - ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

gabino.bsky.social • 100 days ago

If you’re a HarperCollins author, I strongly suggest getting together with your agent and sending a very strong preemptive “FUCK THIS” their way.
https://lithub.com/harpercollins-is-selling-their-authors-work-to-ai-tech/

Comments

alysonhasson.bsky.social•100 days ago

Idk how they can do that... I'm sure there are contract ways etc but it seems so gross and wrong

travisearl.bsky.social•100 days ago

To Harper’s

elizabeth-prosher.bsky.social•99 days ago

Yeah, read through the article. My biggest problem is that it’s a flat fee to have three years of access to your work. Three years of using your intellectual property to compile and make their own thing? Yuck. I hope no one takes that deal.

paperninja.bsky.social•98 days ago

... and they probably only need closer to three minutes to ingest your book, and it never comes out.
I've worked with Natural Language Processing projects that contained large data stores and it was easier to write filters than to de-digest articles.

Though three years may be to feed more than 1.

andrewpope.bsky.social•99 days ago

Jeez. This makes a mockery of the very concept of IP. In the words of Nancy Reagan, Just Say No.

joeflower.bsky.social•99 days ago

Horrific!

j-schiecke.bsky.social•100 days ago

What?! 🤯

alastorplz.bsky.social•100 days ago

I read the article and thought it was worth pointing out the language HarperCollins is using in their letter

Ie hundreds of authors have already signed up and how AI is here to stay

Very manipulative- feels like they're trying to manufacture resignation to AI gobbling up the hard work of authors

jillinmd.bsky.social•100 days ago

It has vibes of "Books are going out of style anyway so you might as well cooperate."

ccharlesknight.bsky.social•99 days ago

In addition to the “fuck this,” contracts are going to need explicit clauses for authors to state they do not consent to their work being used in that manner. Hopefully protections against unauthorized use will be consistently helpful.

elfherself.bsky.social•99 days ago

How long before "we can use your books to train AI" becomes a standard part of the new author contract?

mebradyauthor.bsky.social•99 days ago

Wtf?!

kalvinellis.bsky.social•100 days ago

What the fuck??

shulamit.bsky.social•99 days ago

Holy crap.

It does seem the authors have the option to say no. But it is deeply disturbing. Someone suggested I use AI to help edit my book. I won't, because then I'd be *giving* them my work. I don't think most people really understand that.

paigeewing.bsky.social•100 days ago

My last book was delayed by 3 months because my agent negotiated a total change to the contract to specifically prohibit any AI usage in the cover, usage for training, any of that. Worth the delay, but for folks that sold something a few years ago, that wasn't even on their minds.

kamu.bsky.social•99 days ago

I've been boycotting HarperCollins since their legal attack on the Internet Archive. Their behaviour keeps getting worse and worse.

monstersndrinks.bsky.social•99 days ago

That is messed up.

deadwintersnight.bsky.social•100 days ago

HarperCollins, you can do better than this.

probablyacryptid.elikwake.com•99 days ago

Not WHY I chose the indie lyfe (it was the exploitative contracts), but oh am I glad I did...

Yes, sincerely, contact your agents folks!

faithgardner.bsky.social•100 days ago

What the fuck? I’m a Harper author and I had no idea

bunikanovel.com•100 days ago

It's opt in. Even though that's no massive consolation, the posted messages and article don't specify what the books are being used for. They are non-fiction books, and there are many legitimate uses of those in AI training: citation structure, technical vocabulary, information organisation etc.

faithgardner.bsky.social•100 days ago

Thanks for explaining, I appreciate it. I really don’t know much about how it all works

bunikanovel.com•100 days ago

When "AI" and "authorship" are mentioned in the same article, the response of many is to think it means, "they are using AI to write fiction books and replace authors". There is no indication that that is the case at all in the article. Furthermore, it's an opt-in system for non-fiction books.

privatesecretdiary.com•99 days ago

Yes, thanks - appreciate the clarification before I launched into one with them and made a dick of myself...

bunikanovel.com•99 days ago

It's an understandably emotional topic for many writers. But the article and texts say little apart from the fact that it's opt-in for non-fiction. Emotions travel faster than facts, and though I completely sympathise with the concerns of many writers, I feel it's best to look at this practically.

paperninja.bsky.social•98 days ago

FYI - AI LLM burn through incredible amounts of electricity that we are moving backwards in green initiatives. There are no legitimate use of a technology. Citations, vocab, organizing can be done in more sustainable ways.

Also - I don't think "Santa's Husband" children's book is nonfiction.

roninmercllc.bsky.social•99 days ago

HC pulls yet another BS move...

thejasonoffutt.bsky.social•100 days ago

Absolute shit move.

dangrously.bsky.social•93 days ago

Aren't they owned by Murdoch?

michelecp.bsky.social•100 days ago

WTAF?

authorkimfindlay.bsky.social•98 days ago

I read a thread by Sarina Bowen that indicated a few positives from this. HC is acknowledging that they need consent and payment to do this. That helps the Author's Guild case against OpenAI. They are not assuming that the contracts they currently have include this permission.

authorkimfindlay.bsky.social•98 days ago

Apparenlty some small presses have already gone forward on that basis. And since they're one of the big five, that leads the way for others. Still wouldn't agree to it for my Harlequin titles, but it might help the landscape a bit.

edenawrites.bsky.social•97 days ago

Well, I'm pretty sure I'll go indie before HarperCollins. The whole point of a publishing company is that they help defend your work from theft.

lacrimamundi.bsky.social•98 days ago

I won't be buying any HarperCollins books published 2024 or later, and I will think thrice before buying any from previous years (only if I really, really have to [spoiler: I have a 6.5k TBR, I do not have to]) - until they either stop this bullshit or - hopefully - meet the fate they deserve. 🖕🤬🖕

bobdeis.bsky.social•99 days ago

WTF??!?!

bobdeis.bsky.social•99 days ago

WTF?!?!?

mochapennington.bsky.social•100 days ago

This is horrifying.