• Guest please check The Index before starting a thread.

Silver Publishing

Mercy Celeste

Registered
Joined
Aug 12, 2011
Messages
12
Reaction score
1
Out of curiosity, do the contracts at Silver have audit clauses? Every reputable publisher should have a clause in their contract that allows the authors to independently hire an auditor to review the finances of that publisher regarding their titles. So... if there's an audit clause, why don't a bunch of you unhappy authors pool your resources and hire an auditor from a firm to address all this?

If there's no audit clause... then I don't know what to say other than that really really sucks.

If there is an audit clause, though, a little bit of research that I just looked up:

The owner of Silver Publishing (Lodewyk) lives in Michigan (that info is listed on Silver's website, given as the business address at the bottom of the page). Grose Pointe Farms, Michigan. There's your starting point.

From there, I went to the Michigan Secretary of State website and looked up Silver Publishing in their entity search. Every business has to register within the state in which they do business. So, no matter where Lodewyk is from, because he is doing business in Michigan, it has to be listed there. The type of business is registered as a "Foreign Limited Liability Company" (aka LLC). This doesn't mean that the company itself is out of the United States jurisdiction when it comes to taking legal action. It does mean that the company was formed in a state that was not Michigan.

Lower on that same screen, it tells the jurisdiction of origin for the company. In the case of Silver Publishing, it was originally registered in Delaware. Delaware, y'all... not Africa.

This led me to Delaware's Secretary of State website, which I searched the entity list again. The original formation for Silver Publishing was listed there as DOMESTIC. That means that the business is, indeed, within United States jurisdiction. It was also officially founded on January 24th, 2011, so it's not like Silver's been around forever.

These are all public records that I was able to access with... truly... minimal effort. And I'm not even an author with Silver.

If you want to go into a class action suit against Silver Publishing, you can. You can file it in either Delaware, where the business was originally established (and still has an active LLC), or in Michigan (where the current LLC is located).

Publishers like this will continue to do stuff like this until authors stop letting them and fight back.

Go for it! Play hardball!

--Kara--

Just wanted to get that information out there for everyone.

BINGO! Yes they have audit clauses, at least all three of my contracts do. But with the owner playing fast and loose with contracts he won't even respond to an email requesting one. I spoke with a lawyer friend at the beginning and was told that with the registration of the company in SA that there wasn't much I could do. All of my contracts have subject to SA law and tax codes on them...I never knew to look anywhere else. Thank you.
 

michael_b

So many ideas, never enough time.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
Messages
705
Reaction score
54
Location
Colorado, or Anime Tokyo, take your pick
Website
www.michaelbarnette.com
I'm published with Silver Publishing. I have a series--my first--under contract there.

I was put on a partial payment plan for royalties. Although others were given a chance to get their rights back, he was not in breach of my contracts at that time, so in effect, I was left with no choice but to stick it out. I offered to let him keep my royalties accrued through date of reversion, in return for the rights back to my series. His response was to ask for editing fees, then he'd release them. Bear in mind, he was in breach at the time, by virtue of the 'partial repayment plan forced on us. At no time did I sign a new contract, agreeing to give him an extension on paying my royalties.

The proper certified letters have been sent and the publisher has signed for the notification. I have received no acknowledgment of my letter from the publisher.
I now must wait out the ninety days to see if he elects to return my rights or catch up my royalties.

In the ebb and flow of discussion, I see many of you have posted the things we 'ought' to do, as Silver authors. I'd like to address these posts in one blanket statement. All the contract chatter has little to do with what is happening at Silver Publishing, for me.

Author royalties appear to have been used at some point to pay for business expenses. I don't think this is in dispute. The dispute arose after the admission. He elected to keep the doors open. He chose not to stop planned expansion. He told us he hired a consulting firm. He told us this incident could be weathered. He's good at telling us stuff. He tells us lots of stuff.

True, or false? How will we ever know? The figures we have are his figures. He's called his own veracity into question, yet offers no independent verification his figures are accurate.

To be clear, I feel I'm being coerced into becoming a co-conspirator in his attempt to recoup and distribute the amount of the original...loan(?) he floated himself from funds he had (has) a fiduciary responsibility to safeguard. I can see no other way to state the facts. this is my opinion, and I do not offer it lightly.

Had he taken the money out of his hands, had he had an independent audit done so that we could have confidence we knew the extent of the 'problem', then perhaps I could see leaving the doors open to new authors.

He did none of those things. The money is still in the hands of the very person who mismanaged it.

Instead, we have authors coercing silence from other authors, with one question leading the verbal barrage: "And how much money does he owe you, again?"

The implication is plain. I read it as only the top five he owes have the right to speak out and protect the public. I expect to be tarred and feathered and held responsible if he cannot meet his next partial payment of an ever-changing 'plan'. I accept I will be the new reason these authors cannot keep their cars, their homes, their kid's vacation plans, what have you. God forbid, we drop the blame where it belongs. God forbid we stop whitewashing what has gone on at SP. Because then..and I quote, "No one gets any money."

I'm stuck. My series is dead in the water. I will not give him the next two books, and there are those who would like to make me feel I am therefore part of the problem.

To them, I say this: "Refresh your memory on the definition of the term co-conspirator."

To the rest, I say "Writer beware."

Brava Eden.

Thanks for finally speaking out.
 

michael_b

So many ideas, never enough time.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
Messages
705
Reaction score
54
Location
Colorado, or Anime Tokyo, take your pick
Website
www.michaelbarnette.com
No it isn't. No one is going to 'blacklist' anyone, no one is going to tar and feather anyone.

Speaking as someone who got tarred and feathered for a post I made here, I can say there are some authors in the SP group more than willing to do so. Or have you missed both of the instances where I was shouted down, and outright betrayed by a 'fellow author' over a non-Silver issue?
 

Mercy Celeste

Registered
Joined
Aug 12, 2011
Messages
12
Reaction score
1
Speaking as someone who got tarred and feathered for a post I made here, I can say there are some authors in the SP group more than willing to do so. Or have you missed both of the instances where I was shouted down, and outright betrayed by a 'fellow author' over a non-Silver issue?
Tarred and Feathered. But not blacklisted. They tried. They failed. I washed the tar off.
 

michael_b

So many ideas, never enough time.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
Messages
705
Reaction score
54
Location
Colorado, or Anime Tokyo, take your pick
Website
www.michaelbarnette.com
Out of curiosity, do the contracts at Silver have audit clauses?

snipped for brevity

Just wanted to get that information out there for everyone.

The information you posted regarding Silver's registries was discovered by me yesterday. I made the information available to the authors in our closed discussion group.

What the authors do with the information is up to them. I know what I'm going to be using it for come February if I do not receive 100% of my owed royalties.
 

Captcha

Banned
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Messages
4,456
Reaction score
637
Out of curiosity, do the contracts at Silver have audit clauses? Every reputable publisher should have a clause in their contract that allows the authors to independently hire an auditor to review the finances of that publisher regarding their titles. So... if there's an audit clause, why don't a bunch of you unhappy authors pool your resources and hire an auditor from a firm to address all this?

If there's no audit clause... then I don't know what to say other than that really really sucks.

If there is an audit clause, though, a little bit of research that I just looked up:

The owner of Silver Publishing (Lodewyk) lives in Michigan (that info is listed on Silver's website, given as the business address at the bottom of the page). Grose Pointe Farms, Michigan. There's your starting point.

From there, I went to the Michigan Secretary of State website and looked up Silver Publishing in their entity search. Every business has to register within the state in which they do business. So, no matter where Lodewyk is from, because he is doing business in Michigan, it has to be listed there. The type of business is registered as a "Foreign Limited Liability Company" (aka LLC). This doesn't mean that the company itself is out of the United States jurisdiction when it comes to taking legal action. It does mean that the company was formed in a state that was not Michigan.

Lower on that same screen, it tells the jurisdiction of origin for the company. In the case of Silver Publishing, it was originally registered in Delaware. Delaware, y'all... not Africa.

This led me to Delaware's Secretary of State website, which I searched the entity list again. The original formation for Silver Publishing was listed there as DOMESTIC. That means that the business is, indeed, within United States jurisdiction. It was also officially founded on January 24th, 2011, so it's not like Silver's been around forever.

These are all public records that I was able to access with... truly... minimal effort. And I'm not even an author with Silver.

If you want to go into a class action suit against Silver Publishing, you can. You can file it in either Delaware, where the business was originally established (and still has an active LLC), or in Michigan (where the current LLC is located).

Publishers like this will continue to do stuff like this until authors stop letting them and fight back.

Go for it! Play hardball!

--Kara--

Just wanted to get that information out there for everyone.

Let's be careful about offering legal advice with so few facts available. Specifically, choosing between class action or individual law suits is something that needs a lot of thought, and the rules in relation to class actions are complicated and specific enough that the option may not even be available.

Let's also remember that law suits don't solve everything. Even if the authors are able to receive a judgment against the publisher, if there's no money there's no joy. The authors could be on the hook for legal fees that they can't get compensated for.

I'm not saying that legal action is a bad idea, but it's something that needs to be carefully considered, not charged into.
 

benluby

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 22, 2012
Messages
713
Reaction score
62
Location
Georgia!!
Let's be careful about offering legal advice with so few facts available. Specifically, choosing between class action or individual law suits is something that needs a lot of thought, and the rules in relation to class actions are complicated and specific enough that the option may not even be available.

Let's also remember that law suits don't solve everything. Even if the authors are able to receive a judgment against the publisher, if there's no money there's no joy. The authors could be on the hook for legal fees that they can't get compensated for.

I'm not saying that legal action is a bad idea, but it's something that needs to be carefully considered, not charged into.

I think good basic advice was offered, and a lawyer definitely needs to be consulted, but Silver's claim of being foreign LLC is dubious at best, and a blatant lie at worse, based on info expressed.
And the biggest thing is, if he's in breach of contract, NOT suing at this point means he keeps their rights to THEIR efforts and works that he has under contract, and the sales are his.
Just for their rights back it should make one think long and hard, because every sale that is made is their work lining his pockets.
 

madmumbler

Self-declared Queen of Dark Snark
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 27, 2008
Messages
144
Reaction score
17
Location
in my own little world
Website
www.tymberdalton.com
Which is why, until I see some resolution on the rights and payment issues, I'm holding off buying. The bad side of this is that those books may be tied up in limbo and unavailable for years.

I have to agree with you there. I won't, either.

I hope with the new information discovered about the corporation that some of the authors now have a fighting chance to get their rights back, at least.

Doesn't the IRS have an 800 number to report suspected fraud? Can't tell me he's puling this stuff and doesn't scrimp on his taxes. Might be another way to get him shut down. Again, that's something the authors should get a lawyer involved in to find out what their rights are.

If the guy misrepresented the business' location in the contracts, maybe there's recourse there to have them declared null and void? Again, questions to think about to ask an attorney.

Or hell, find out if there's a local TV station with an investigative reporter who might want to get hold of this story.
 

benluby

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 22, 2012
Messages
713
Reaction score
62
Location
Georgia!!
I have to agree with you there. I won't, either.

I hope with the new information discovered about the corporation that some of the authors now have a fighting chance to get their rights back, at least.

Doesn't the IRS have an 800 number to report suspected fraud? Can't tell me he's puling this stuff and doesn't scrimp on his taxes. Might be another way to get him shut down. Again, that's something the authors should get a lawyer involved in to find out what their rights are.

If the guy misrepresented the business' location in the contracts, maybe there's recourse there to have them declared null and void? Again, questions to think about to ask an attorney.

Or hell, find out if there's a local TV station with an investigative reporter who might want to get hold of this story.

Whether he has IRS issues or not I would hesitate to call them unless you are nearly positive he's duped his taxes, and another issue you have to take into consideration is, if he DOES owe them money, you're automatically moved to the back of the bus on collecting anything he owes you, as well as a good chance it could delay you getting your rights back.
 

Kara_Lyndon

Registered
Joined
Jan 26, 2011
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
(Since it's tax time, I want to put a quick note here... Authors who are published through Silver: When you get your 1099 forms, definitely check them over to make sure you're being taxed ONLY for what you've actually been paid, not for any phantom royalties you were supposed to earn but haven't been paid yet. Just sayin! If Silver claims royalties they were supposed to pay but haven't actually paid, that's all sorts of bad news.)

Hey, everyone.

Just wanted to check in again to say that I totally agree that you don't have to feel obligated to take actual legal action in the way of filing suit against Silver's owner.

All I'm really saying is that if there's an audit clause in the contracts, those authors do have the option of auditing him. It's something they have the legal right to do, so that's what I mean about taking 'legal' action. Legal as opposed to illegal. ;) My wording was totally vague there, so I apologize for that miscommunication. (It was late at night. XD)

I just didn't want people thinking that they have absolutely no way out and can't take any steps because of where the company is located. Finding out where the company is located is helpful if people do want to file suit against him. Since Silver is registered in the USA, they can file suit. When it comes to actual legal action, all I'm saying is that it's possible. Any details beyond that are totally beyond me. The authors would have to consult lawyers. All I meant is that they can if they want.

When it comes to the audit clause, location of the company doesn't matter. Exercising the audit clause is a possibility for those who have the desire to do that, no matter where the author is or the company is. :)

In my experience, contracts state if you can hire an auditor from an independent firm. An independent audit wouldn't be through the IRS, I think. Not my area of expertise here, but if there's a way to independently audit to see what's what, it's a possible step forward that's legally written and agreed to in the contract. :)

I'm not trying for legal advice so much as just contract advice. If it's in the contract that the authors can get an audit, then I say go for it.

In the end, getting an audit would give you either evidence that you'd need in order to file suit, or it would reveal that nothing's amiss and there's no true reason to sue in the first place. Although... if I'm honest, I don't believe the latter is the case there. So... an audit would give you ammunition. It would give you information.

So by pooling resources, I mean authors pooling their money into an audit from an independent source, not necessarily into a class action suit.

Hope that clears up what I meant from my other comment. :)

--Kara--
 

Filigree

Mildly Disturbing
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 16, 2010
Messages
16,441
Reaction score
1,529
Location
between rising apes and falling angels
Website
www.cranehanabooks.com
If the Silver authors can force an independent audit, it might clarify how much debt the company holds, where its revenue streams are going, and how much mismanagement might have taken place. It could give a stronger picture of whether Silver can be saved with increasing sales, or if it is circling the drain. And if the owner refuses the audit, that can be used later in a lawsuit.

All this from a publisher that only started in 2011, and has more than one author earning at least $3000 a quarter? That's a terrible fall, very far and fast. I can see why it might have been overextended - with that kind of growth, it might have seemed recession-proof, and a good cash cow for other ventures. I can't see the mainstream and YA branches having that kind of pull, unless they can get a NY Times-level blockbuster quickly.

I'm sorry to see this. I'm sorry for the Silver authors already scrambling for rights, for payments, and to protect the status quo. But I don't think new authors should be going anywhere near Silver, until the situation resolves one way or the other.

If Silver authors who know better are encouraging new folks to sign up without talking about it - and I don't know if that is true - then the former could possibly be held legally liable as accomplices if a lawsuit happens.
 

smlgr8

Eternal Lurker
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
317
Reaction score
50
Location
Southern California
That's not actually true that it only started in 2011. I had a short holiday story release with them in 2010, so they were around at least since then. I got my rights back. I know the story here above is they began in 2011 but that is simply not true. Even this thread began in 2010.

In addition this publisher does not do 1099s as he uses the foreign company thing to say he isn't required to.
 
Last edited:

Filigree

Mildly Disturbing
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 16, 2010
Messages
16,441
Reaction score
1,529
Location
between rising apes and falling angels
Website
www.cranehanabooks.com
That is a deal breaker for me. I have several foreign companies that send me royalties and sales every so often. If it's over a certain amount, they send me whatever corresponds to a 1099. The IRS is not going after them, if anyone messes up - I'll the one left explaining to the suits.

How is it that no one has raised a stink about the 1099 issue before? Writers are freelance contractors. Good contractors know how to protect themselves, and that means Official Documentation.
 

smlgr8

Eternal Lurker
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
317
Reaction score
50
Location
Southern California
That is a deal breaker for me. I have several foreign companies that send me royalties and sales every so often. If it's over a certain amount, they send me whatever corresponds to a 1099. The IRS is not going after them, if anyone messes up - I'll the one left explaining to the suits.

How is it that no one has raised a stink about the 1099 issue before? Writers are freelance contractors. Good contractors know how to protect themselves, and that means Official Documentation.

You are expected to use your own records of royalties received for tax reporting purposes. I only had Silver as a "foreign" company then but I am not sure they are alone as an out of the US ePublisher in not issuing 1099s to their American authors.
 

DPRichard

Sockpuppet
Banned
Richard Paolinelli Sock
Joined
Jan 2, 2013
Messages
111
Reaction score
9
I know of an investigative reporter in Southern California who is interested in hearing from any Silver author involved in this. Send me a PM and I'll send you her contact info.
 

ShelleyRunyon

Registered
Joined
Dec 15, 2012
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Except my understanding is that he isn't a SA company, in which case, he needs to send 1099's out to anyone who made over $600. And he's required to report everything to the IRS. I understand that he is registered as a domestic company in the state of Delaware.
 

WishToRemain

Registered
Joined
Jan 18, 2013
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Just throwing in my two cents

I posted a bit about this on the "Tales from the Snark Side" blog, but I just wanted to clarify that not every author at Silver is there because they want to be. Because I'm not a huge seller with them, they've actually been able to keep up with my payments (as far as I can tell, at least).

I did ask for my rights back, and I received the same offer of buying out my contract. I sent him another e-mail asking why some authors were granted their rights back without anything being asked in returned when their contracts also weren't being breached. I told him I spoke personally with several authors and due to their stories as well as all of the public blog accounts I felt that Silver was a sinking ship and I no longer had faith in the company.

This time, he sent me a very long e-mail admonishing me for believing rumors instead of my own personal experience with the company. He called the statements made by dissatisfied authors "propaganda." He said no one but the employees of the company have access to the facts, so they're the only ones who could give me accurate accounts of the financial situation. Why didn't I come to them with my questions? They support me, why can't I support them? There is no proof to support these authors' claims. Etc.

Needless to say, my last e-mail (ever) to him wasn't as polite as it could have been.

But I don't have a legal leg to stand on. I'm in limbo. I don't see the point in making a lot of noise about it--legally, they're in the right--but I certainly don't support Silver. I think there are a lot of authors in my position who are getting grouped in with those misguided authors who have basically become fangirls/boys of the company. We're with them, but we're not with them.
 

ShelleyRunyon

Registered
Joined
Dec 15, 2012
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
The reason he reacted the way he did is because Silver is a sinking ship, and he realized by allowing people to walk off with their rights, he was losing the very books he needed to sell to keep making money. That's when he stopped giving rights back without strings attached. That's why he is being nasty to the others now. Because he is sinking, he has not much to sell and subs are down because the news about Silver is leaking.

I do not see how he can stay afloat for any length of time. I am grateful I only have one story left, and that one is not mine alone, but it won't be renewed when it comes up later this year. As for money owed? Who knows? Now he says I'm overpaid. Can I prove it? Of course not.
 

Mercy Celeste

Registered
Joined
Aug 12, 2011
Messages
12
Reaction score
1
Well, to update as of today I've received three monthly payments for third quarter of last year. I figure I'm short of half of what is owed for the third quarter by about five hundred dollars. So still around $2,000 outstanding for that quarter alone. No idea what I'm owed for fourth quarter which is now due to be paid. I have no other information. Or insight. Or whatever. At this point it'll be a couple of years before I'm paid off. I know that a couple of other former authors are receiving similar payments. I don't know what remaining authors are receiving.

editing in: I've received exactly a third of what's owed from third quarter. Nothing from fourth to my knowledge but with two thousand still outstanding from third does it even matter?
 
Last edited: