My PA book still being sold, despite release from contract in Sept 2007

If a third party had a new copy they could still sell it through Amazon.

Write a polite letter to those particular Amazon branches asking them if they actually have it in stock.

Dave's right. You should contact the sellers and ask if they have any in stock. If they're in stock, then quite possibly they were purchased while the book was still with PA.

Some sellers continue listing anything with an ISBN. If someone were to put in an order, however, it most likely wouldn't be fulfilled. I've run into this issue before, and it's darned frustrating.

The only way to know for certain is to ask, or to try to order it.

If you do order a copy, be sure to do the following:

Keep a copy of the ordering invoice, the verification that the order was received (if they give one), and a copy of your credit card statement for that order.

If the book is actually delivered, you want to document your receipt of it. Use a camera to take a picture of the package. Take a picture of the box once opened and another picture of everything contained in it. If there's another box within the box, document it in the same way. Do not throw away anything. Keep even the packing. This is all evidence. Contact your lawyer, though he may want to supervise the documentation so you should probably contact him when the package arrives and hold off opening it.

Remember, you want to go after PA. They're the ones at fault for not shutting off the printing of your book.

Duped said:

Thanks for your replies; as usual I get no royalties for copies that are sold at a reduced rate.

What beats me is how there can be any copies still available when it is a print on demand book, which should mean exactly that. Amazon Japan are selling it new, or advertising it as such. AARGH!!! And Japan have a very healthy sales rank but I've seen no money flowing in.

And I thought I was free of PA as of last September, and I noticed they didn't send me a royalty statement last quarter either.

Amazon.co.uk have a copy in stock as well.

Barbara

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Interesting. At first, I thought it might just be old copies being resold which has nothing to do with Publish American per se. But if the book is selling healthily overseas and you never saw those sales when you did have a contract with them then I would get some kind of documentation and seek legal advice.

Fortunately, most authors who signed with PA have their copyrights registered. However, if you're one of the few who didn't register it and you believe PA is still selling your work, then you'll want to get it registered immediately. Then if you end up in court over PA's copyright violation, you can ask for punitive damages in addition to actual damages.

Duped said:

And Japan have a very healthy sales rank but I've seen no money flowing in.

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I hope someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think a rank is especially a reflection of sales. I think views may come into it.

A very old book of mine from a mainstream publisher rates much better than some recent PA releases. I'd bet these PA books have sold more new copies than mine this year. Mine is out of print.

I've read that sales rank has something to do with "buzz" around a book. That could explain why this particular book has jumped about 300,000 places in the last few months (I admit: I ego check once in a while). I've been asked to talk about my book at a convention next year, and the convention web site has linked to the Amazon page. That jump is probably from click-throughs. It sure isn't due to sales as the book has been out of print for a very long time.

That's my $.02 on Amazon rankings, and it's decidedly unscientific. Jim can provide some hard data, I suspect.