Breach of Contract?

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Misa Buckley

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I apologise if this is in the wrong place but I've really been thrown out of the loop.

Say you publish directly with a publisher that is supposed to sell your work on their website. Then say said publisher removes it from their site, though it is still for sale on Amazon and Smashwords.

Does this negate the "publisher will make available" clause in the contract? Or not, because it's still available through other sites?
 

Cyia

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This is the sort of thing no one on a message board is going to be able to answer with any legal certainty (INAL). You don't know the validity of most posters' information or expertise, and you can end up working off of something that sounds positive, but isn't actually correct.

You need a lawyer who is familiar with not only contract law, but literary contracts.
 

firedrake

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You may also want to check if there's a thread in B&BC about the publisher in question and see if the issue's come up before. It's just clutching at straws but that's all I got.
 

Misa Buckley

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This is the sort of thing no one on a message board is going to be able to answer with any legal certainty (INAL). You don't know the validity of most posters' information or expertise, and you can end up working off of something that sounds positive, but isn't actually correct.

You need a lawyer who is familiar with not only contract law, but literary contracts.

This is what I was suspecting, to be honest. I also suspect the publisher is doing just enough to fulfil their contractual obligations.

Thanks anyway guys - looks like I'm going to have to seek RL help.
 

veinglory

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It pays to first politely point out their "error"--even if this is unlikely it gives them chance to explain or make right.
 

Richard White

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It pays to first politely point out their "error"--even if this is unlikely it gives them chance to explain or make right.

This is a good point.

It is possible that the publisher's web store/site had a glitch and your book may not be available due to an error, vice malice.

Contact the publisher and point out this issue.

If they refuse to make the correction, then at least, you'll know their intent.

Right now, given the scarcity of information in the OP, it's hard to say whether this was malice or computer error.
 

Sheryl Nantus

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I would think having it up on Amazon is a major plus - unfortunately first party sales, from the publisher's web page, seem to be dropping as more and more readers want their books from either Amazon or B&N.

I echo Richard's thoughts - contact the publisher and see if it's a glitch or if it's their standard SOP after a certain length of time. A lawyer might be able to parse that clause and all but best to see if it's just a communication glitch.
 
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