: Re: Why doesn't everyone publish public domain books? Are there any restrictions in publishing of material with expired copyrights? For example, Oliver Twist is a famous story by Charles Dickens, and

@Dunderdale623

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On the contrary.

The copyright/royalties costs are relatively minor comparing to per-unit cost, marketing cost, distribution costs (per shop/point of sales), retailer's cut, taxes - generally the author rarely sees more than 20% of the retail price, often less than 10%, at least in traditional distribution.

And the books, being old, are available from the library for free, are often found in personal libraries and second-hand sale (and sites like Project Gutenberg), meaning the demand is quite low. Trying to break even on these costs with such a competition may be difficult. Why would I buy a hardback Olivier Twist for , when I can have the e-book version for free, legally and without need to walk to the store?

With new, copyrighted books, in exchange for the royalties the publisher gets exclusivity: nobody can sell the same book cheaper, nobody can legally put it on the web for free, the libraries still have to purchase it (and then, during the "reaping the profits" period of a year, there will be maybe 10 or so buyers "lost" per a library copy - and if the book was good these may still buy a personal copy!) - essentially, copyright protects the interest of the publisher more than the interest of the author!

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