a changing landscape for Canadian writers

On the eve of leaving for Montreal to attend the 35th anniversary conference and annual general meeting of the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC), I realized I must fulfil my promise to you to provide more details from the recent TWUC conference I attended late last month in Toronto.

I think the most emotional and significant political moment during the conference was during the debate concerning the Access Copyright motion. Here is the exact wording of the motion that was passed:

The original motion had not been quite as friendly, but with an amendment to “direct an investigation” it was passed, and I can live with it as I know the intentions are good.

I have a long affiliation with Access Copyright (AC), joining as a creator affiliate in 1998, and then coming onto the AC board in 2003 as a creator rep nominated by PWAC. I served on the AC board for six years, learned a lot and feel I made a valuable contribution on many initiatives during that time.

The Access Copyright repertoire payment to creators has been greatly reduced.

I know that AC has not always been looked upon favourably by some creator groups. But I feel that rather significant changes have been made to make the system better. And I’m certain further changes will follow. A little pressure from those with vested interest can be good if done in good faith.

TWUC’s motion (which has also been endorsed by the Canadian League of Poets) has launched the birth of an adhoc committee which will be led by Christopher Moore, a newly-elected advocate on the TWUC board, a past national chair of TWUC and former AC board member. Chris is very passionate about this issue, has studied rights reprography collectives around the globe, and is sure to do a good job in investigating the issue.

He has started a new blog that I suggest all Canadian writers and authors subscribe to. You may not agree with everything he says, but he will get you thinking and help you better understand the issues.

With so much having changed in the publishing industry, the continually evolving digital landscape and the erosion of a writer’s ability to make a decent living from his/her work, copyright protection and fair compensation are issues that should be at the top of every writer’s list of concerns.

How has the changing landscape affected your ability to make a living as a writer? Have you given up on the copyright fight and just put your content out there for anyone and everyone to use, or do you protect it at all costs? Many of us have lost or avoided a long list of clients because of their inflexible rights-grabbing contracts. How has your workload changed or evolved  to keep you afloat?

I’m now off to Montreal to see how PWAC will respond to this and other issues. I am running for national vice-president of this association that is so very dear to my heart. Change is needed to keep PWAC relevant, help it grow and redefine its mandate. I hope to be part of that change.