Quote:
Originally Posted by j.p.s
For older books sometimes just who owns the electronic publishing rights isn't clear.
Some authors or their estates are ebook phobic.
The book might only exist in printed form and the publisher doesn't want to experience the pain of OCR plus proofing.
Just another downside of excessive copyright duration.
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Yep. I think that many times, once the author dies, the estate simply isn't all that interested in keeping the books in print unless we are talking a major hit. Way back when Jim Baen was active on his web board, he mentioned that most books earn most of their money within the first or two year of publishing. Authors with a big backlist that keep writing, can get a steady flow of money from readers who discover the author, then buy the backlist. Jerry Pournelle once referred to his backlist books as his 401-K.
But once the author dies, for the vast majority of authors, there just isn't much incentive to get the book out in ebook form.