For years, my book contracts included clauses about who owned what if the book went “out of print,” Today, books don’t go out of print in any meaningful way. They live on forever, available on demand. Books are eternal and that has consequences for you.
The Marketing Consequences of Eternal Books
In the old days we promoted a book once, soon after the release. The goal was to make your book so popular that it would become a best seller, remain in print, and become part of the publisher’s backlist.
Today, your book is going to stay in print. Every book is on the backlist. So plan to promote your book again and again and again.
The Authorship Consequences of Eternal Books
In the old days, “out of print” was where books went to die. If you wrote a crappy book, that was a blessing.
Today your book is going to stay in print. That should give you even more incentive to write a great book. When people come upon your book in the distant future, you want them to say, “Wow!” and not “Oh, dear!”