Scammed Author

[JennyLynn51]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
North Carolina

If an author's book is sold by the original publisher to other publishers who also market the book, does the author have any rights to royalties from anyone. Also, can an author's book be used without the author's permission as a supplemental textbook in college and university classes? I am such an author who has received no royalties from anywhere. I can get no answers as to why my book is still being sold by many different book vendors online, including textbook vendors as well as foreign vendors, even after my contract with the original publisher was cancelled early by them. Unfortunately, in the beginning, I did not register my book with the Library of Congress. Does this mean I have no rights?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
North Carolina

If an author's book is sold by the original publisher to other publishers who also market the book, does the author have any rights to royalties from anyone. Also, can an author's book be used without the author's permission as a supplemental textbook in college and university classes? I am such an author who has received no royalties from anywhere. I can get no answers as to why my book is still being sold by many different book vendors online, including textbook vendors as well as foreign vendors, even after my contract with the original publisher was cancelled early by them. Unfortunately, in the beginning, I did not register my book with the Library of Congress. Does this mean I have no rights?

Whether you have any rights or not really depends on what sort of contract or contracts you have signed.

If you as author of the book directly transferred in a written and signed agreement all exclusive copyrights in the book to a publisher and the publisher compensated you in some way for this transfer (perhaps monetarily), then you would have no rights left in the work. If you work for, say, a university, and the contract you signed with the university gave the university all rights in any works you created as part of your employment (in a "work made for hire" clause, perhaps), then you would have no rights left in the work.

It depends on all facts as to whether you are entitled to any royalties. You might wish to review these facts and contracts with an IP or publishing law professional in your area.

 

[JennyLynn51]

Thank you quincy. I will attempt to locate a publishing law professional in NC. According to my contract, I would be paid royalties; then they told me my book hadn't sold. Later I found out that the publisher sold my book to on-demand publishers who have made the book available on many vendor sites for the past seven years, and it is still available. I never gave them permission, verbal or written, to sell my book to other publishers. They said they owned the cover, so they could, and if I wanted to I could change the cover and publish it again with another publisher, but this doesn't make sense to me. They also said they were going to cancel my contract with them a year early because it wasn't selling, but that they couldn't stop it from being sold online. I know it has sold because many sites have used copies for sale and I have even purchased one myself to see if any changes had been made. No changes were made. I guess if I am going to pursue this matter, I will have to find a good attorney. Thank you for taking time to answer my question. I really do appreciate it.

 

[quincy]

Thank you quincy. I will attempt to locate a publishing law professional in NC. According to my contract, I would be paid royalties; then they told me my book hadn't sold. Later I found out that the publisher sold my book to on-demand publishers who have made the book available on many vendor sites for the past seven years, and it is still available. I never gave them permission, verbal or written, to sell my book to other publishers. They said they owned the cover, so they could, and if I wanted to I could change the cover and publish it again with another publisher, but this doesn't make sense to me. They also said they were going to cancel my contract with them a year early because it wasn't selling, but that they couldn't stop it from being sold online. I know it has sold because many sites have used copies for sale and I have even purchased one myself to see if any changes had been made. No changes were made. I guess if I am going to pursue this matter, I will have to find a good attorney. Thank you for taking time to answer my question. I really do appreciate it.

Did you receive an advance against royalties from the publisher with whom you contracted (a lump sum payment when your manuscript was submitted, in anticipation of future earnings)?

Generally once a book starts to sell, the publisher must start paying royalties. If an advance was given, then any royalties would be applied against the advance until that amount is exceeded, so there could be a delay in payment of royalties. And there can be other reasons why royalties might not be paid (a couple of them I mentioned earlier).

Whatever the case, and certainly if you know that there have been sales of your book over the last seven years, the contract you signed and the publisher you signed with should be checked out by a publishing law professional in your area. I am glad you are planning on doing that.

While the traditional publishing houses tend to be honorable, there are a few newer publishers that operate mostly online that can be less so.

Thank you, by the way, for the thanks.

Good luck.

 

[JennyLynn51]

No, quincy, I did not receive advance royalties. I don't know of any way to find out how many copies of my book have sold since 2006, but I'm continually seeing used (as well as new) copies offered by various vendors. I actually managed to speak with a customer service rep for one company. I asked him how the company acquired my book. ( He said he would have someone contact me about it. Do you know how I can find a publishing law professional in my area? Thanks.

 

[JennyLynn51]

No, quincy, I did not receive advance royalties. I don't know of any way to find out how many copies of my book have sold since 2006, but I'm continually seeing used (as well as new) copies offered by various vendors. I actually managed to speak with a customer service rep for one company. I asked him how the company acquired my book. He said he would have someone contact me about it. Do you know how I can find a publishing law professional in my area? Thanks.

 

[quincy]

No, quincy, I did not receive advance royalties. I don't know of any way to find out how many copies of my book have sold since 2006, but I'm continually seeing used (as well as new) copies offered by various vendors. I actually managed to speak with a customer service rep for one company. I asked him how the company acquired my book. He said he would have someone contact me about it. Do you know how I can find a publishing law professional in my area? Thanks.

Okay.

Well, generally royalties are paid twice a year and included with the payment will be an itemized accounting of what has been sold (and some books might be provided free-of-charge to reviewers or book stores). Some contracts have what is called an "auditing clause" which allows an author the right to examine the publisher's records as they relate to the author's book.

But it really depends on what your contract says and, before anything else can be done, you will need to have your contract with the publisher professionally reviewed. All else will have to follow this review. The attorney you see will also look into the publishing company you contracted with, and can contact the company on your behalf for a review of the publisher's records (if necessary, these records can be subpoenaed).

Here is a link to the North Carolina Bar Association website, where you can locate lawyers in your area who specialize in publishing law: http://www.ncbar.org/

Good luck.