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Subject:Question about technical book publishers? From:"Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 3 Oct 2003 08:50:56 -0400
Robert B. Kennedy reports: <<For those who've published conventional books
of a technical nature: can you explain to me whether material you submit for
evaluation has been respected for its copyright or not?>>
Haven't heard of anyone encountering problems with a reputable publisher.
You receive copyright as soon as the writing is "fixed in tangible form",
and have all the legal protections afforded by copyright. If you register
the copyright first, you can go further than that and claim statutory
damages.
<<I've got a "hot" topic and a few publishers want to look at more
information. One wants 2 sample chapters. Could such a submission strike you
as risky?>>
If they're mainstream publishers, it's perfectly safe. Most publishers want
sample chapters; in fiction writing, it's the first three of the book. There
are certainly scam artists out there, but in this case, you're encountering
standard operating procedure.
--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
(try ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca if you get no response)
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
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