All the rest of the noise and turmoil is bullshit and a tempest in a teapot, since part of the settlement will be you can opt-out of Google's publish on demand system if your works would count as 'orphaned works' and if your books are still published, then Google doesn't get the rights to sell you anything, without your explicit permission.
An orphaned work is one that is still in copyright whose author cannot be found. By definition, a bona fide orphaned work can't be claimed since the author can't be found. An orphaned work is also almost certainly out of print.
If you have an in-copyright but out of print book that was scanned by Google, you really need to either opt-out of the settlement and pursue Google for the copyright infringement on your own, or you need to claim your book(s). I should note that most publishing contracts contain a Reversion of Rights clause by which the rights licensed to the publisher revert to the author after a book is out of print for some period of time. The reversion clause is rarely straightforward and it would be possible for an author to have signed a contract without such a clause.
An author with OOP books can claim those books and also elect to withdraw them from Google Books.
The point about Google ending up with effective control of their digitized copies of orphaned works is much knottier. It does, in my opinion, represent a windfall for Google since they are able to exclusively, it would seem, exploit those books. Supposedly, some of those profits are supposed to be redistributed to authors who opted in.
Sadly, the Author's Guild (of which I am a member) doesn't seem to have a very good understanding of technology. I suspect Google took full advantage of that in the settlement.
It can't. You are still the copyright owner, and your work is not orphaned. Keep in mind that Out of Print does not necessarily mean your rights have reverted to you. Your publisher may still hold those rights. You'll need to refer to your contract to find out when your rights have been deemed to have reverted to you. You may need to formally request those rights back from your publisher. If you had an agent when you sold your book, you might want to give him or her a call.
You need to claim your out of copyright book(s) via the Google Settlement page. Then Google has to 1) Pay you and 2) give you a cut of any advertising revenue, or you can decide to remove your book from Google Books.
My experience has been that the settlement claim process has a pretty crappy search. It did not return my OOP books until I went to Google Books to search for them (and discovered they had incorrect meta data about the books), but that process will give you enough information to locate and claim your books, in print and out of print.
Basically, if you're a copyright owner and your books are in Google books, you need to opt-out or go claim your books.
Literary Agent Janet Reid has a rather scathing rebuttal to Chu's article which Reid (who has actually read the settlement, something Chu did not do) feels is spectacularly uninformed and incorrect. I tend to agree with Reid. (FYI, I am an author whose in copyright books were scanned by Google. I am a member of the class.)
Well, I AM a book author and I can tell you writers do average about $5,000 per year. Stephen King and Dean Koontz are hardly the average author, by the way.
Half of all the money I earn goes right back to the government for taxes. Authors are also expected to do their own promotion. Only the really prominent authors get significant push from their publishers. The rest of us are strictly DIY. There goes the rest of the advance money.
The vast majority of published novels do not earn out their advance. There are several publishers who now offer first time advances of $1000. Authors wait 9 months to year to see their book in a store and then wait 6 months to more than a year to see the first royalty statement (which famously makes little to no sense).
And actually, most authors are in another line of work. I think it's something less than 5% of authors who are able to support themselves on their fiction. The rest of us have day jobs.
I haven't decided what to think about book piracy. I know my books have been pirated, but I don't know if those represent sales lost to me. I do know that I was mighty P.O'd when Google decided it could scan and post books that were still in print and selling, without asking question one to the person who held the copyright. To my knowledge, they weren't offering to share the ad revenue with the authors.
The better analogy is not to books ordered by a bookstore-- that's clearly not at all the same thing-- but to ARCs (Advance Reading Copies). An ARC is the almost-final copy of the book with almost-final cover art (usually, but sometimes not) and cheapo binding. They go out to reviewers with a big note printed on the front that says "Not For Resale." Not only are ARCs given to reviewers, but they're sometimes given away to readers. ARCS of my August title were given away at Comic Con in NY this year. Publishers often send a nominal number of ARCs to the author who typically distributes them as he or she sees fit. I give mine to (ta-da!) bookstores.
Most of the authors I know (but not all of them) get upset when ARCs show up on eBay, and they do land there often. I'm not sure why someone would rather pay for an ARC which is uncorrected and may have errors, when they could wait and get the final version used. Shrug.
I'm finally at a point with my writing that my publishers are doing ARCs for my books. I don't really care if they end up on eBay. And now, since it seems to me ARCs would directly fall under this ruling, it's just as well that I don't care.
I'm still in my fairly high-paid tech job in a High-COL area, but I have a plan for transitioning out. As it happens I love to write and I'm good enough at that I have published 6 books (fiction) (By the way, this isn't a road to riches path) I am under contract for 4 more books so it looks like a writing career is not out of the question. I also like teaching, and teaching writing keeps me in touch with and thinking hard about good writing. To teach writing at the college level requires an MA and publications. I have the publications and now the MA is done this semester. This year my writing income (net) is about 25% of my day job salary. I am paying down my debt, and will be looking next at teaching positions (adjunct faculty probably) with an eye toward the day when my writing income and a part-time teaching position will provide enough for me to get by. For a little context: I am the single parent of a 12 year old. It hasn't been easy to go to school, work full time, write and parent, but time management and no TV helps.
You've had good advice. What do you love? What does it take to do that? Then discuss it with loved ones and start doing what it takes. Life really is too short to end up not doing what you love. Good luck.
Slashdot Mirror
An orphaned work is one that is still in copyright whose author cannot be found. By definition, a bona fide orphaned work can't be claimed since the author can't be found. An orphaned work is also almost certainly out of print.
If you have an in-copyright but out of print book that was scanned by Google, you really need to either opt-out of the settlement and pursue Google for the copyright infringement on your own, or you need to claim your book(s). I should note that most publishing contracts contain a Reversion of Rights clause by which the rights licensed to the publisher revert to the author after a book is out of print for some period of time. The reversion clause is rarely straightforward and it would be possible for an author to have signed a contract without such a clause.
An author with OOP books can claim those books and also elect to withdraw them from Google Books.
The point about Google ending up with effective control of their digitized copies of orphaned works is much knottier. It does, in my opinion, represent a windfall for Google since they are able to exclusively, it would seem, exploit those books. Supposedly, some of those profits are supposed to be redistributed to authors who opted in.
Sadly, the Author's Guild (of which I am a member) doesn't seem to have a very good understanding of technology. I suspect Google took full advantage of that in the settlement.
It can't. You are still the copyright owner, and your work is not orphaned. Keep in mind that Out of Print does not necessarily mean your rights have reverted to you. Your publisher may still hold those rights. You'll need to refer to your contract to find out when your rights have been deemed to have reverted to you. You may need to formally request those rights back from your publisher. If you had an agent when you sold your book, you might want to give him or her a call. You need to claim your out of copyright book(s) via the Google Settlement page. Then Google has to 1) Pay you and 2) give you a cut of any advertising revenue, or you can decide to remove your book from Google Books. My experience has been that the settlement claim process has a pretty crappy search. It did not return my OOP books until I went to Google Books to search for them (and discovered they had incorrect meta data about the books), but that process will give you enough information to locate and claim your books, in print and out of print. Basically, if you're a copyright owner and your books are in Google books, you need to opt-out or go claim your books.
Literary Agent Janet Reid has a rather scathing rebuttal to Chu's article which Reid (who has actually read the settlement, something Chu did not do) feels is spectacularly uninformed and incorrect. I tend to agree with Reid. (FYI, I am an author whose in copyright books were scanned by Google. I am a member of the class.)
Well, I AM a book author and I can tell you writers do average about $5,000 per year. Stephen King and Dean Koontz are hardly the average author, by the way. Half of all the money I earn goes right back to the government for taxes. Authors are also expected to do their own promotion. Only the really prominent authors get significant push from their publishers. The rest of us are strictly DIY. There goes the rest of the advance money. The vast majority of published novels do not earn out their advance. There are several publishers who now offer first time advances of $1000. Authors wait 9 months to year to see their book in a store and then wait 6 months to more than a year to see the first royalty statement (which famously makes little to no sense). And actually, most authors are in another line of work. I think it's something less than 5% of authors who are able to support themselves on their fiction. The rest of us have day jobs. I haven't decided what to think about book piracy. I know my books have been pirated, but I don't know if those represent sales lost to me. I do know that I was mighty P.O'd when Google decided it could scan and post books that were still in print and selling, without asking question one to the person who held the copyright. To my knowledge, they weren't offering to share the ad revenue with the authors.
Maybe they finally clicked that you've already got a huge penis and legendary bedroom performance?
If so, could I have your number, southpaw? (A Female slashdotter)
The better analogy is not to books ordered by a bookstore-- that's clearly not at all the same thing-- but to ARCs (Advance Reading Copies). An ARC is the almost-final copy of the book with almost-final cover art (usually, but sometimes not) and cheapo binding. They go out to reviewers with a big note printed on the front that says "Not For Resale." Not only are ARCs given to reviewers, but they're sometimes given away to readers. ARCS of my August title were given away at Comic Con in NY this year. Publishers often send a nominal number of ARCs to the author who typically distributes them as he or she sees fit. I give mine to (ta-da!) bookstores. Most of the authors I know (but not all of them) get upset when ARCs show up on eBay, and they do land there often. I'm not sure why someone would rather pay for an ARC which is uncorrected and may have errors, when they could wait and get the final version used. Shrug. I'm finally at a point with my writing that my publishers are doing ARCs for my books. I don't really care if they end up on eBay. And now, since it seems to me ARCs would directly fall under this ruling, it's just as well that I don't care.
I'm still in my fairly high-paid tech job in a High-COL area, but I have a plan for transitioning out. As it happens I love to write and I'm good enough at that I have published 6 books (fiction) (By the way, this isn't a road to riches path) I am under contract for 4 more books so it looks like a writing career is not out of the question. I also like teaching, and teaching writing keeps me in touch with and thinking hard about good writing. To teach writing at the college level requires an MA and publications. I have the publications and now the MA is done this semester. This year my writing income (net) is about 25% of my day job salary. I am paying down my debt, and will be looking next at teaching positions (adjunct faculty probably) with an eye toward the day when my writing income and a part-time teaching position will provide enough for me to get by. For a little context: I am the single parent of a 12 year old. It hasn't been easy to go to school, work full time, write and parent, but time management and no TV helps. You've had good advice. What do you love? What does it take to do that? Then discuss it with loved ones and start doing what it takes. Life really is too short to end up not doing what you love. Good luck.