Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg
What is reasonable?
The answer can't be simple.
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Again with the false assumptions. I never suggested a solution would be simple. But the concept certainly is. Even if you paid the author an advance to write the book, it's not their fault that you (the publisher) never gave the book an opportunity to earn that advance back by publishing it. The money you're out is a completely self-inflicted wound.
And as far as "reasonable" goes, that one IS simple. If you've decided you're not going to publish the book, how much can the rights be worth to you? How is holding the author's never-to-be-published-by-you work hostage ever going to give you ANY return on your investment if you don't sell them? So in this case, "reasonable" is
something, as opposed to the big, fat "nothing" you get by continuing to hold it hostage.
Accept an offer for the rights to a book you have made it clear you're not going to publish, or lose the rights after a fairly short period of time. It's not rocket science. To do otherwise is pointless vindictiveness.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg
Has that ever happened?
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No clue. How is it relevant? I'm talking about
changing the status quo. Not researching past practices. Those practices are the problem.