Quote:
Originally Posted by PHugger
This claim is likely just more proof of it's illegitimacy. They can claim anything they want - even if it's not true. It bothers me that so many honest people get taken in, thinking that it's legitimate and unknowingly become pirates. Most authors don't retain the the publishing and distribution rights when they 'sell' a book. Sending them money directly and bypassing the publishers, as you claim, would be illegal. Once an author decides to sell a book to a publisher he can't then go and sell it someplace else too. Publishing deals are exclusive. Maybe one of our resident authors could comment on this aspect of publishing deals.
This is easy to prove - pick a new book, a best seller. Contact the publisher and see if they have any arrangement with them for distribution of their book.
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Publishing deals
can be exclusive, but that's not always the case (for instance, LitRes mostly gets non-exclusive e-rights). Also, until recently electronic rights [in Russia] were not really mentioned in contracts, so most authors retain them.
As for proof, there was a PRESS RELEASE from a major detective writer about her books "coming back to Internet" (she forced most libraries to take her books down few years ago). Here's a
bad translation. LitRes sells books from Sergei Lukyanenko - a bestselling Sci-Fi author and writer of recent major blockbuster "Night Watch". Believe me, anyone trying to sell his books behind his back would hear from him VERY soon.
There are numerous best-selling authors present on LitRes right now. They're fully legit in what they sell.