[doreenjoy]

A Publisher negotiates with the copyright holder (usually the author of a work) for the right to sell a work for a set period of time. The publisher adds value through editing, line editing, proofreading, adding cover art, and/or typesetting the work. This arrangement is between the copyright holder and the publisher.

The publisher has distributon agreements with selected vendors. The distributors provide payment to the publisher for copies sold, and the publisher then pays the copyright holder from whom the work was licensed. The contracts for this service are between the publisher and the distributor.

There can also be retail vendors, who accept books from the distributor (usually on consignment) and sell them direct to customers. Proceeds from those sales are reported to the distributor. The contracts in this area are betwen the vendor (e.g. Borders) and the distributor (e.g. Ingrams). Generally money is exchanged between vendor and distributor, between distributor and publisher, and between publisher and author.