Indeed he is very busy.
>He knows that it is out of print, knows of no sources, and has no plans for
>a future edition. I didn't ask him about photocopies (I don't know anyone
>who has the book) but can't imagine he'd mind.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I can. For one thing he may NOT be independently wealthy. There are a lot
of us in this position:-) He may also have other projects that cost money
to produce. Again, this applies to many. Even if he had a nice salaried
position (which I doubt) when he researched the book I am quite sure that
he had to put in a lot of extra effort on his own time. His book is one of
the few English language books in this field that is extensively
researched.
The Alt-Photo field is too specialized to make a living off royalties
alone. This is why a lot of books are not written, let along published in
the first place. In nearly, if not all cases I know of, when an Alt-photo
book is sold it helps the author reduce the degree to which he/she
subsidized it in the first place. Don't confuse this with "making more
money". Most authors have skills that could bring in a lot more money if
their time was not "spent" (acccountants say "wasted") on researching and
writing specialized books.
If he gives away the copyright he may never be able to sell the book to
another publisher.
Please note that my comments are not a reprimand. Just a clarification
concerning the publishing of Alt-photo (and other specialized) books.
Luis Nadeau