Free money for UK authors!
I made about £500 (roughly $700 US) this month without lifting a finger - all thanks to being registered with the PLR (Public Lending Right) office and ALCS (the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society).
The PLR office distributes money to authors based on the number of times their books are borrowed from public libraries in the UK. This year they are paying 5.57 pence per library loan.
ALCS pays money to authors for a range of things, most notably when their books are photocopied. They also distribute fees paid by other countries in respect of library lending, photocopying and so in in the countries concerned.
This year I'm getting about £400 from PLR and a further £100 (estimated figure) from ALCS. This is money in addition to the royalties I get from book sales, and though it's not a huge sum, it comes in very handy at this (expensive) time of year.
If you're a UK author with at least one published book to your name, you should sign up with both these organisations immediately to get what is due to you. The PLR website is at www.plr.uk.com, while the ALCS site is at www.alcs.co.uk.
Non-UK nationals cannot claim from either of these bodies, but many other countries (though not the USA as far as I know) have similar schemes in place to compensate writers for library lending and so on.
The PLR office distributes money to authors based on the number of times their books are borrowed from public libraries in the UK. This year they are paying 5.57 pence per library loan.
ALCS pays money to authors for a range of things, most notably when their books are photocopied. They also distribute fees paid by other countries in respect of library lending, photocopying and so in in the countries concerned.
This year I'm getting about £400 from PLR and a further £100 (estimated figure) from ALCS. This is money in addition to the royalties I get from book sales, and though it's not a huge sum, it comes in very handy at this (expensive) time of year.
If you're a UK author with at least one published book to your name, you should sign up with both these organisations immediately to get what is due to you. The PLR website is at www.plr.uk.com, while the ALCS site is at www.alcs.co.uk.
Non-UK nationals cannot claim from either of these bodies, but many other countries (though not the USA as far as I know) have similar schemes in place to compensate writers for library lending and so on.
Nick at 9:30 AM 
2 Comments:
I agree with you Nick, these are important sources of income. Also, if anyone takes their own pictures to illustrate books or magazine articles, they should check out www.dacs.org.uk. Register with them and then you can advise them of all the photos that you've had published, and receive a share of the reproduction fee income that they receive. I had over £200 this year, and it all helps!
Useful info, Simon. I must get my camera out again! Many thanks.
Nick
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