Any ideas on how to turn hobby into full time work?

[HarryT]

The validity of that is dubious, to say the least. You can, of course, charge whatever you like for something that's in the public domain but, unless you add significant new content to it (eg an introduction, notes, etc), the buyer is free to do with it whatsoever they wish.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The validity of that is dubious, to say the least. You can, of course, charge whatever you like for something that's in the public domain but, unless you add significant new content to it (eg an introduction, notes, etc), the buyer is free to do with it whatsoever they wish.

I personally don't feel there is anything wrong with charging for public domain materials, so long as the product is what the customer expects and the quality they expect upon purchase.

But there are even paper book publishers out there who basically turn Project Gutenberg eTexts into printed books without even a single proofreading to catch the most blatant mistakes. That, to me, vaguely borders on fraud. Nobody who pays money out for a classic title expects a typo-riddled, barely formatted mess.

On the other hand, take that same text, fix it up, make it look nice, and I think it is a legitimate product. You are, of course, not paying just for the content... but rather for the specific way the content has been prepared... "dressed" in a sense. If there are free editions just as good, the money may not be worth it; but there is, I think, no lack of good faith on the part of the publisher/editor in such a case.

What I always find ethically dubious though is any attempt to lock down Public Domain content through legally trickery. In fixing up a public domain text, if you are adding value that is worth adding, 9 times out of 10 you are removing errors and thereby making your reissue more faithful to the original (i.e.: the opposite of more distinguished or unique).

The addition of an introduction, footnotes, or annotations can be good... but it does not give the editor/publisher any right to lock-up the text or even to muddy its legal status. If you add copyrighted material to public domain content, either renounce your rights, or make it damn clear what (of the precious little you added) is yours so that individuals are free to extract the public domain content from your reissue, if they so desire.

With rare titles, staying honest could even make the difference between your reissue falling by the wayside (forever forgotten) or becoming a historically significant source for subsequent reissues that are (thanks to your efforts) more correct and/or of higher quality than most others have been before. That--without any undue sentimentality--is a service of sorts to humanity... a service that, frankly, in the case of public domain texts a publisher/editor seeking to profit from the public domain pretty much owes.

And given the quantity over quality focus of most high profile digitization efforts, this really is an area where a guy/gal with a $100 scanner in his loft apartment could produce/preserve something that may well leave them with a historical footnote even their great-great-grandchildren could be aware and proud of.

- Ahi

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ahi

I personally don't feel there is anything wrong with charging for public domain materials, so long as the product is what the customer expects and the quality they expect upon purchase.

There's nothing wrong with it at all - I think you may have misunderstood me. The thing that is "wrong" is trying to restrict what the buyer can subsequently do with the material, which remains in the public domain, even though "paid for".

[ahi]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There's nothing wrong with it at all - I think you may have misunderstood me. The thing that is "wrong" is trying to restrict what the buyer can subsequently do with the material, which remains in the public domain, even though "paid for".

We are in agreement then.

I'm happy enough to pretend that I misunderstood you, as opposed to having used an innocuous and agreeable comment of yours to launch into a moralising tirade.

I almost never do that!

- Ahi

[HarryT]

That works for me .

[katysax]

If what you enjoy is converting text to electronic formats and manipulating the formats, you should look into working in the legal field in the areas of Electronic Discovery and Document Retention.

I am an attorney and I am currently working on a certification in Computer Forensics. I have also been working on certifications in electronic discovery. This is a huge area where the demand is growing. One big piece of it is conversion of paper documents into electronic documents, but moreso it involves then finding ways to search all that information, analyze and organize to make it usable for trials. A lot of the skills and the types of file manipulation that is done is very much like converting books into ebooks and converting ebooks from one format to another. If you like document management, the legal field has plenty of room for you.

[alilxmas]

Well i can see it paying off if you have something to invest in a rare book, but it at an auction, scan it and then resell it at the same auction at a later date when your done with it, you might even make a little profit and hopefully not a loss ...

I also work for a law firm and I do not see the end of paper & law. I swear I think that most of the firmsif not all , are in agreement to insist everything printed, so they can each charge their own clients for the cost, asnd make profit...