File Under: Agents, Necessity of

Ken Foster asks, "Is piracy the sincerest form of flattery?", but based on the circumstances, it sounds like a more appropriate question would be, "Is it piracy when your own publisher puts out your work in e-book format when you're positive they don't actually hold the electronic rights?" Because PerfectBound, the creators of the downloadable versions of The KGB Bar Reader and The Kind I'm Likely to Get, is the e-book wing of HarperCollins, which published both those books as Quill paperbacks in the '90s.

Foster's wondering who he should contact about maybe getting a deserved coin or two from this, although he thinks to himself, "People in publishing likely think I should be happy to have the distribution at all, even if I am the only one not making money on it." I'm hoping that's not the case--even those of us who support wide online distribution believe it should be the author's choice... especially if there's money involved, as there is here. Here's hoping Foster finds someone who can help him sort through the facts in this matter and maybe collect on his fair share. (Not to mention that of the 28 other writers in the KGB anthology...)