Specifically, the guild analyzes whether the new law could create problems for book authors and book publishing contracts. They write, “We were assured by those working on the bill that trade book authors are not covered, and we do not see a basis for disagreeing, since the bill clearly states that AB5 applies only to ‘persons providing labor or services’ and authors provide neither ‘labor’ nor ‘services’ under standard book contracts.” However, if authors sign work-for-hire agreements or “contracts where the author has ongoing obligations and the publisher has greater editing ability or control over the content,” they could be subject to the new law. The Authors Guild reviews members’ contracts for free and offers comments.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
