Quote:
Originally Posted by sirbruce
Much of Tolkien's unpublished works consist of multiple fragments of a larger story, and/or multiple versions of the same story. Christopher typically has to:
1. Assemble all the relevant pieces.
2. Decide which parts of which version to use.
3. Integrate them together, sometimes writing his own connecting text.
4. Add copious notes about the other versions of a particular part and cross-referencing with Tolkien's work elsewhere.
He receives royalties anyway since he's part of the estate. His own versions do get new copyrights, but I don't *think* he gets individual royalties on those; I believe all of that goes back into the estate trust (of which he gets his share).
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So, from what you say, he's an editor of sorts, and partly biographer and critic? I can see how there's a compelling argument for him to take some recompense for that work, but I wonder how the rest of the copyright profits are shared out. How many are getting paid for nothing more than a fortunate bloodline?