My post “For books you cannot find” probably hit some nerves, and I have since received messages from a few eminent authors, who were kind enough to share their publishing dilemmas. (If you’re reading this, thank you. You know who you are.)

What I understand from replies is that many of these books originated from Joint Industry Projects (or JIPs), and were a result of intense research and some serious funding. With many patrons in these JIPs, the copyright is like that of a shared property. Apparently, the authors alone have no complete rights to editing, updating and sale of these books—even as the original publisher has closed shop. So, inspite of having worked on updates, authors are unable to publish subsequent releases. This is a case of wonderful work gone horribly wrong in publishing terms.

In the end it is a slightly different gripe, but nevertheless a problem that seems to have no clear solution.

Related posts

Following list is auto-generated, based on this post's context as possibly related. You may, however, occasionally find some in this list unrelated, but nevertheless, we sincerely hope that you'll enjoy them too.

• For books you cannot find
• Sanjeev Kapoor spices up our food
• Worming books
• Books this season
• Google goodies
• Should I Mac?
• Book tags
• Supporting freedom
• Print your blogs into books
• A freshman’s dilemma