A third of French authors say relations with publishers have 'got worse'

Nearly a third of French authors say relations with their publishers have worsened over the past three years, and more than half are in favour of creating a mediation commission to help solve disputes.

These were two findings from the 10th barometer of author-publisher relations, which was carried out for the collection agency Scam and the authors society Société des Gens de Lettres (SGDL) and published exclusively by Livres Hebdo on 8th April.

Almost 1,800 authors responded to the internet questionnaire posted between 10th and 24th February, double 2023’s respondent total. They said contracts were still complicated, royalties were too low and payments were too late. The satisfaction rate remains higher at the contract and creation stage than at the promotion and accounting stage.

Separately, the latest biennial survey of French reading habits, carried out by the polling agency Ipsos for the governmental National Book Centre (Centre National du Livre, CNL), paints a stark picture.

“All the indicators are flashing red,” the CNL said. The representative sample of 1,000 people of 15 years and older questioned on the telephone between last 21st January and 4th February showed that screen-based leisure pursuits are increasingly popular, to the detriment of books, especially among the under 35s.

Sixty-three per cent of respondents said they had read at least five books in the previous 12 months, four % less than in 2023. They read fewer books on paper but a greater number of electronic and audio versions. The survey also showed that purchases in general bookshops dropped seven per cent in the last two years, because other merchandise was not stocked.