Odd Question: Dead Author

I searched & didn't see anything like this, but pardon me if I overlooked this answered similarly before.

I'm an aspiring writer myself, and was very close to an aunt who wrote several books during her lifetime. She didn't try very hard to get any of them published (all were non-fiction), but shortly before she died she wrote a novel she was very excited about. However, not long after completing it, she passed away suddenly.

I inherited this completed manuscript, and think it would be interesting to see if it is publishable. I'm considering going through it as a technical writer (this was my degree) and evaluating it, perhaps updating/editing it. However, I would still want it published under her name, and I remember where she wanted the proceeds to go, which I would also honor (but this is of no concern to an agent or editor).

Would any self-respecting agent or publisher touch this with a 10-foot pole? Would I be better off to keep it on the back burner & rethink it if/when I have an agent or published book?

In regards to how good it is, I am the one who actually typed it from her handwritten notes (no kidding, and I still have her hen-scratched original manuscript), but that was 14 years ago when I was an early teen and I only barely remember the plot. I'm leaving it in the safe until I'm ready to read it as a critic, so that it will be more like new.

She passed away in 1993 and has no descendants to cause legal quagmires.


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Birol said:

Whether or not you can legally publish this, I don't know. If she had no descendants, who were her heirs? ... I do know that many agents are looking for a writer who will have more than one book published. It's a matter of Return on Investment, one of those cold hard, business things.

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The second part was my biggest concern -- that an agent/publisher would say, "why bother with a one-off?"

The first part -- her brothers were her heirs, and they are both deceased as well. But both would have given their consent & been happy to see it published for her. Her original idea was that if it was published, it would be divided amongst her nieces & nephews to help pay college expenses. All but 2 of us are already graduated. So my idea was that if anything every came of it, to divide it among the nieces & nephews --> send them a check with a copy of the book. Most of us who already did graduate are still paying college loans, so it would still work out about right.

Regardless, I would follow the line going out from her will, which I guess would leave her two sisters-in-law, both of whom would give written consent. But the thing to do is probably to consult an attorney & just ask.

Thanks!

Cathy C said:

Actually, this subject is addressed on the U.S. Copyright Office's FAQ page (so see--you're not the first to want to know! ) Here you go

Hope your aunt's stuff finds a home.

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Thank you, Cathy! After reading through this, I realized I need to talk to an attorney before I pursue it further.