Tuesday 24 November 2009

November Poems 24

Nobody Says 'Give the Girl Some Money'

A week, a month, a year passes –
she fires off another e-mail to her publisher
'Hey! Remember me?
You still owe me a grand for the novel
and four hundred in royalties
from six months ago.
Any chance of payment?'

A reply comes back
'Oh no! We'll look into it
and ignore you for another month.
Hey! We know it's a breach of contract
just like the publicity we didn't do
and the review copies we didn't send out
but what are you going to do?
At least your book's in print.

And besides,
we all got out bonuses.
Did no-one ever tell you
Writers don't get rich?'

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Brilliant verse, Rachel, though a pisser about the situation.

verification word: monie (if you can believe that)

spacedlaw said...

That sucks big time.

Rachel Green said...

I could pull the contract but then it out of print.

BT said...

Excellent verse Rachel, you should email it to them. Gits.

Rachel Green said...

My fault for trusting them! Caveat emptor, and all that.

aims said...

Would a little threat of a lawyer surprise them into action?

How cruel.

Rachel Green said...

I couldn't afford a lawyer!