the publishing process....

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PeeDee

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Writes a book. Ha ha!

Step 3. Fiction Author Gets Drunk, winds up with book, prays it actually belongs to him.
 
Manderley

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66. Writers get demoralized by this list and hides WIP in the bottow desk drawer never to look at it again.
 
Tirjasdyn

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Have to wonder about the end:

  1. 6 week window of opportunity.
  2. Perhaps author does mail order or sells books at seminars [if the right has been granted in the contract].
  3. The new editor moves to another city and leaves publishing.
  4. 5 years later, author revises the book or rights revert to author.
  5. Occasionally a small sale is made to another publisher, but it's hard to sell a book that has gone op (out of print).
  6. Author might consider updating and recycling contents of old book into a brand new book with a great new title.
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CheshireCat

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5 years later, author revises the book or rights revert to author.

Occasionally a small sale is made to another publisher, but it's hard to sell a book that has gone op (out of print).

Author might consider updating and recycling contents of old book into a brand new book with a great new title.
Click to expand...

Those last three points make absolutely no sense to me. An author might well revise an old book once rights have reverted to her/him and decide to get it back in print, but why revise an in-print book?

The second point makes it sound like that "small sale" to another publisher is made while the original publisher still holds the license. Does she mean the "small sale" is to a pub in another country?

And that final point is BS. I'm assuming, of course, that the author in question has spent the five years of this book's "life" writing other books, but even if that isn't the case, "recycling" the contents of an old book and putting it back out there with a shiny new package and new title is flat-out deceptive.

And it pisses off readers, big time. There are so many authors with a substantial number of backlist titles that stay in print indefinitely that readers at least deserve the courtesy of the same title and an original copyright date -- even if the book is repackaged or reissued and looks like a brand-new title.

The number one rule of a successful writing career, if you ask me, is: Don't piss off your readers.
 
CheshireCat

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spacejock2 said:
"but why revise an in-print book?"

That's common in non-fiction. Just look through computer programming books for example.
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Non-fiction is a completely different situation.

But I'm pretty sure we're talking about novels here. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

 
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