Аннотация: I am afraid that you will steal my book! A sketch about the Literary World.
I am afraid that you will steal my book! A sketch about the Literary World.
In the miniature 'A throw with a hook. A carrot for a sheep. A reflections on the modern Literary World' (April 29, 2020), we commented on one of the letters that came to us by e-mail.
The question was discussung in the received letter: 'Why should I pay money for publishing my book?'.
A few days ago a new letter came from the same figures.
The subject of the new letter is: 'I am afraid that you will steal my book.'
An interesting topic, too ...
We have already spoken out on this subject in miniatures:
'Questions about an Internet-Platforms for Publications and about a "Traditional" Publishing Houses' (May 4, 2018 - May 5, 2018),
'The Monologue about the Petya's Father is Good at Arithmetic' (May 22, 2018),
'The Internet Success Sketch' (September 1, 2019),
'The Sketch about the project of creation of a modern colloquial and political radio station' (July 4, 2019),
'The Sketch about a wonderful Book Festival' (June 9, 2019),
'The Sketch how Vanya Zhukov became a modern Russian writer' (March 17, 2019). Moreover, we also raised the issue of literary prizes ...
'Many aspiring writers think that if they send their manuscript to the publisher, the publisher will steal it.' - I read in a letter received a few days ago.
If the topic comes up again and again, then I can to express my attitude ...
Before we go to the topic, let 's deal with the concepts.
A publishing house - in the conventional sense - is a participant in joint actions in the national book market. This is an organization that assumes part of the risks, responsibilities and potential benefits in connection with the sale of the book.
If, for example, the publisher paid an advance to the author of the book, then (in the absence of crypto-algorithms in his activity) the publisher is interested in creating a good cover (and not a some nastiness), in a more or less good advertising, in some kind of control over the movement of the book through the book trading network...
People who do not bear any financial risks, who are not embedded in the process of sharing costs and jointly generating income (when promoting a book) perform a certain verbal trick, calling themselves a "publishing house" ... Of course, they are not a publishing house at all (if we take into account the traditional, the usual meaning of the word). How to name such a persons? Many can guess ...
From a brief analysis of the concept of "publishing house" we turn to the topic - to the issue of the theft of a literary work.
The persons, the authors of the letter, present their ideas. "But, still, imagine that the publisher decided to steal the manuscript. The author sent the own book by e-mail, the publisher refused, but later the publisher released the book, but with the name of another person. Let 's look at the situation on the part of the publisher? First, in modern times so many who want to be published without a fee that bookstores are provided with goods for thousands of years to come; Secondly, it is not very desirable to risk reputation; Third, if the true author files a lawsuit and proves that the work belongs to him, the publishing house has prospects of a great financial losses. The question is, is this really necessary? "
Let's start with the thesis that the bookstore is provided with goods for thousands of years to come.
A familiar song. If bookstores are provided with goods for thousands of years to come, what do you do in the "book sphere"? What are you looking for in her? Do you organize the sale of a snow to consumers in a snowy winters?
In the miniature 'The Fairy Tale about Mark Twain, the publisher' (April 17, 2018), we set out one of the points of view on the situation: 'it is crucial that works by these authors have got stuck in your publishing networks. And the income from these works, albeit and the insignificant income, was dripping in your pockets. '
Some figures from the book sphere are trying to put into effect the "law of large numbers." Suppose that from each specific author, from each particular book an insignificant income will be received, but there will be a lot of authors, lot of such books. - So, a mechanism of a "large numbers" will provide a noticeable money, as result.
But it's not a fact that from all books there will be insignificant income. From some books the income will be very noticeable ...
The following thesis. "Secondly, it is not very desirable to risk reputation." I will express my personal opinion on this matter: a literary midges have no (positive) reputation.
The third argument. 'Third, if the true author files a lawsuit and proves that the work belongs to him, the publishing house has prospects of a great financial losses. The question is, is this really necessary?'
In the era of digitalization, there is nothing easier than obtaining information about any critical changes in the fate of a person. If the social and economic situation worsens (especially in cases of deteriorating health or death), a person loses the ability to go to court and to support the movement of his claim through the courts.
And not every healthy and prosperous person will decide to spent the time and energy on litigation with the so-called publishing house.
So it's easy to write the words 'if the true author files a lawsuit'. In fact, the corresponding risks are minimal.
So, we described the arguments by which the authors of the letter tried to dispute reality, the possibility of "theft of the book."
Let's move on to practical examples.
Suppose you wrote a book, "A Textbook of Literary Success". In this book, you analyzed the creative activity of several prominent personalities and identified several similar algorithms in their creative activities and in their biographies.
The topic itself is interesting ...
Where do you start?
You send proposals for publication to several publishers (from among those that are still seemingly alive).
From one non-core publishing house (it turns out that it is engaged in the production of encyclopedias) the next day the answer comes. The European-style assistant director reports that the book you have proposed does not match their profile. Everything is clear here. And it's even kind of nice to see that polite people exist yet at Rus'.
Larger, more well-known publishers behave quite differently.
Here the "zone of crypto-algorithms" is discovered. You will get no answer, absolutely.
As a beginner, you have a suspicion. A suspiciousness appears.
Why are they silent? To answer with the help of a few stamped phrases - is that a problem?
You are captured by suspicions. There is a plan that you, as an aspiring author, will completely lose interest in both the topic and the book, and they, having recycled the material, will release it under other names (having depicted themselves as independent thinkers)?
You write a reminder letters month after month. Again and again you insistently report that you sent them the manuscript and your proposal for its publication, that you still have not received no answer. You are expanding and expanding the number of email addresses for sending your reminder letters (a strange practice, but you have to resort to it).
Finally, after half a year, and maybe even a longer period, the situation becomes more and more scandalous, and you get an answer. It turns out a letter was sent to you, but the Internet has lost it ...
In any case, they, having answered your reminders, lost the opportunity to portray the case so that to them regardless of you came the idea to release the corresponding book of similar subject matter and similar content, that they in "independent order" invented such a book ... Now they have admitted that they have received both the manuscript and the proposal for publication... They cannot portray themselves as an "independent thinkers" ...
You are trying to use the services of an online platform. You yourself prepare the manuscript, choose a some very simple cover from among the free ones and place the book in the database of the corresponding platform. The idea is this - the reader sees the name of the book, pays 100 rubles (or something like that), receives either an electronic book or a paper copy. 100 rubles will be shared between you and the platform.
Naturally, an individual author is not able to scan the entire radio air. But he periodically listens to one or two radio stations.
Around the same time as the 'Textbook of Literary Success', the author posted on the Internet platform '16 essays about outstanding writers, travelers, thinkers'. He is waiting for arrival of a cash, of a means!
It's nice to know from an advertisement on one of the radio stations that after the publication of your collection, the collection '250 stories about famous travelers, writers and prominent people' was quickly prepared and published.
You note a strange correlation between the themes, wordings, titles, reasonings set forth in your works and what you hear on the air.
Copyright protects the text, not the ideas.
In other words, a theft does not consist in a publishing of your text (without any changes) under a surname of other person.
It consists in a using of your content by other people in a process of making their "creative" product.
What you can to see? Your works are located somewhere in the depth of the Internet platform. And on your account there is always not enough money to reach the minimum threshold - the threshold at which the Internet platform has an obligation to transfer at least some amount to you.
On the other hand, you are becoming more and more convinced that your works directly go to at least two radio stations (and maybe to many other organizations?), where they are actively used without any mention of your name.
In any case, more and more circumstances, more and more new strangest and frequent coincidences assert you on the assumption that there is a correlation between the results of your creative activity and a many circumstances occurring outside of you.
What can you prove? Nothing! All your conclusions are based on your subjective experience. Of course, if we are talking about figures with a colossal level of public trust, then their subjective experience is taken into account. But you are not such a figure, but a (beginner) author.
Naturally, a formal claims, appeals to any bodies can only direct a situation, a reality against you. You may to become a hero of the comedy by Alexander Griboyedov!
You simply deal with an environment where the use of an author's creative product - without mentioning the author's surname - has become a tradition, a norm of behavior, a peculiar rule of good taste ('what a skilled guys we are!').
'I'm afraid you will steal my book!'
May 6, 2020 10:15
Translation from Russian into English: May 6, 2020 22:48.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Я боюсь, что вы украдете мою книгу! Скетч о Литературном Мире'.