Out-of-print books and beware of any publisher's contract.

I don't know if this affects anyone here because it concerns books out of print. I was unaware of it until searching Amazon for a few things. Anyway, iUniverse has a program for members of certain organizations that will put their books back in print for free. I recall that the Authors Guild is one of the organizations, but there are a couple of others.

A friend of mine who has had a dozen or more books out by mainline trade publishers took a different approach. With most of his books out of print, he found a regional publisher, Gray & Company, who put them all back on the market.

Random House is now trying to work a scam that enables them to retain rights even if a book sells only a single copy in a year. Simon & Schuster tried it a year ago but met so much resistance they gave up the idea. If it works for Random House, look for more publishers to do the same.

Before you sign a contract, beware. Publishing lives by the law of the jungle and writers are the prey.

Thanks for this Dick. I am loathe to see it, but it certainly helps to keep on top of what's going on out there.

Thanks Dick for the heads-up.

Trust has become a foreign word. I'm wondering if schools now include courses in "buyer beware" and "not to trust anyone?"
I'm glad that I had the good fortune to grow up in a time when a handshake was a contract and it was honored.

Yes, I grew up in that era as well, Abe. It's sad to see how wary we must become just to survive.

Thank you Dick. Good information. We must all be very careful what we sign.

But isn't that against the copyright laws or is it back t the day of one law for us and another for them.

Has anyone seen just how this scam works. If the book is selling one copy a year at Random House, then that seems to mean that the publisher has not taken it out of print while retaining rights.

I was given to understand that the typical contract problem here was publishers keeping the book in limbo once it goes out of print by refusing to return rights to the author so he could bring it back in print somewhere else.

Is the problem with Random House's plan the fact that the writer thinks that even tho the book is still in print, the publisher is doing nothing to support it, and so the writer would rather bring the book out with some buzz somewhere else? Or what?

Malcolm

I don't know if it is the sleep deprivation or what, but what am I missing?

A publisher decides what stays in print or not, right? If they take it out of print, doesn't the author have the right to go to another publisher after the contract date is up (say you have a 5 year contract with a publisher)? I thought the rights always stayed with the author or are you talking about the exclusive rights of the publisher to "put the book out there"?

That's where contracts vary, Sue. Some publishers retain all rights, including electronic, and that's what most of the fuss is about. That's why a lawyer familiar with book contracts is invaluable to a writer.

Thanks, Dick. You are talking about all rights except copyright, correct? The author retains copyright no matter what, correct?

The publishers retain the rights indefinitely and not just for the term of the contract?

Sue,

Used to be, a fair number of books were copyrighted in the publisher's name. Fewer authors are going that route these days.

However, I'm missing something here, too. The original post said the scam was publishers keeping books in print even if they only sell one copy a year. Sorry, but I don't see how that's a scam since that's what authors normally want to have happen. Keeping the book in print in spite of low sales.

The worst thing is what you're referring to where a publisher takes a book out of print but has a contract that keeps that book from being released to the author to publish at iUniverse or somewhere else.

Malcolm

Basically that's what Random House wants to do because it gives them the electonic rights, a big thing today, forever.

So they only hold the rights until the end of the contract, not indefinitely, as it stands now? And they want it changed that once they get their hands on it to publish it is exclusive forever?

Yes, they only hold rights until the end of the contract, but if it states in the contract that it is still valid during all periods that the book sells, they can keep the rights indefinitly. That is why it is important to make sure your contract has a term limit somewhere in it (such as five years). Also, it is important to make sure that the contract covers the various media rights associated with the work: electronic, audio, print, reproductions, etc.