Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres
Rather it was that not every author can self pub their backlist (or even new works). Some are bound by their traditional publishing contracts.
I was struck by the use of "bound" in that context.
(shrug)
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That is unfortunately true. The idea that authors can just "publish it themselves" isn't always as easy as it sounds. Especially when their current publisher owns the rights to their series—including future installments.
Fantasy author Paul Kearney ran into a situation where his planned four-book series "The Sea Beggars" was dropped in 2007 after two installments. Dropped, as in Bantam didn't want to publish it any more ... but neither would they release the rights to the author or even allow the rights to be sold. They just sat on it. The guy darn near quit writing because of it. But he stuck it out and is making a a bit of comeback with a new publisher and new books.
I'd still love to read the ending to that series, though. There's always talk that it
might see the light of day, but nothing ever comes of it.