What’s the law on advanced review copies?
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OK, obviously уου shouldn’t bе selling οr distributing іt before іtѕ publication date.
Bυt іt ѕауѕ οn thеm something lіkе “nοt fοr resale.” OK, bυt thеу give іt tο уου аnd іtѕ now thеіr property. Dο thеу really hаνе аnу rіght tο ѕау whаt уου саn οr саnnοt dο wіth a book thаt wаѕ given tο уου?
Cουld I sell іt οn ebay, give іt tο a friend, donate іt tο a charity auction, etc?
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Yeah, you can do whatever you want with it. I can tell that a lot of professors around here, not to mention other people who get the review copies, just take them to the used book stores or libraries. However, a few advance review copies can be worth a lot, so be careful before you just waltz into a used book store with one or sell it on eBay. I got burned pretty badly when I sold my advance review copy of the novel Flicker by Theodore Roszak to a used book store, only to discover that, since it was a Summit Books advance copy (I don’t think it had anything to do with Roszak in that instance), it was worth $150. I also remember hearing that the advance review copy of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History is worth something like $1,000. After all, advance review copies are a lot fewer in number than even the first edition, so if the book is some sort of phenomenon, then ….
I just wish I could tell you where to look to find accurate pricing information for the things. Goodness knows the used book stores have plenty of them, though, and they always seem to be cheap—except for the one I traded in, of course! Aaaargh!
ARCs usually have something like “Uncorrected proofs, not for resale” on them. It’s a standard line that needs to be put on them, so reviewers know that what they are reading and seeing are not final. It’s given out to reviewers/buyers for free for the obvious reason that we’d like them to review the work to either give it a good review or get a big order.
I don’t believe there to be a law, per se, against the sale of ARCs or bound galleys. I can’t be positive, though, and I’ be too wary to ask my legal department if it is or not since I don’t want them to think that I was going to do it. All I can compare selling an ARC to is the act of selling of something you were given as a gift. I personally take offense to it. I worked hard on those things. It’s like I’m not getting paid for the work I did, but then again, that’s just me.