Re: copyright expiration as a spur to creativity

On 98-08-03, Rob Jones <rjones[_at_]robjob.com> wrote:
>
> Margins are extremely thin in the publishing industry and publishers
> run based upon the bottom line. If there is enough demand for a book,
> they put it back in print. If there isn't, then they don't. If they
> isn't enough demand for publisher A to justify putting it in print,
> then its very very difficult to find another publisher who be able
> to print it.

Maybe some books sell even if no effort is made, and others won't sell no matter how much effort is made. Most are in the middle, where the publisher's willingness to work with the author can make a significant difference. My last publisher asked for a list of journals that ought to get review copies, then never sent them out. And never told me they hadn't sent them out--I would have taken care of it myself. When I tried to speak to the person or department that was in charge of sending out the review copies, nobody seemed to know who that was, because the place was big and utterly disorganized.

I look for publishers willing to work with their authors, not the ones that treat publishing like a crapshoot, or that might be too disorganized to be able to cooperate.

Pat Sloane
<patsloane[_at_]aol.com> Received on Tue Aug 04 1998 - 01:15:20 GMT