In an unusual acknowledgment, Hazelden, the Minnesota recovery foundation with an extensive book line, has admitted that since 1998 it has been overpaying about 20 authors "a substantial" amount in royalties. The house plans to deduct the overpayments from future checks.

"This was a mistake and the authors are due an apology," said Peter Bell, executive v-p of publishing and educational services for Hazelden. "But I feel we have a responsibility, legally and morally, to try and recover the money. If we had found we underpaid them, we would have had an ethical responsibility to make it up. The door swings both ways."

The error came about because of miscalculations in how authors who had their books bundled—sold in groups of two or more—were credited. "Royalty payments are an unbelievably complex issue—you have price changes, you have different discounts. It's not just a matter of doing the math," Bell said. The house discovered the error when a midlevel employee noticed some inconsistencies.

Payments will be deducted from future statements until the publisher is fully reimbursed. If the house is still owed money, Bell said, the house will swallow the loss rather than seek other methods, like taking from royalty checks from other titles by that author. Bell, who is a Hazelden author himself and also owes the organization money, said most of the affected authors have been "unbelievably gracious." One author, however, expressed concern over a perceived lack of communication from the house, as well as a royalty check that came several months late. "I rely on this money for my livelihood," the author said.

Bell said he had held off on fully communicating until he could determine the exact figures. He has just sent out a letter to each author detailing the particular mistakes and explaining how they will be rectified. "You can only say oops once. We wanted to make sure we got it right."