Re: [9fans] Principles of Operating Systems

[blstuart@bellsouth.net]

> On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 9:01 PM,  <blstuart@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>>
>> As I said, I'm only the author, so I don't have all the numbers
>> to these things, but after being a little closer to the process,
>> I understand a little better where the cost comes from.  At the
>> same time, as the dad of a girl headed for college next year,
>> I would rather see textbooks be lower priced.
>
> Interesting! Now, since we are on this (completely off-) topic: do
> these $10 sales generate any kind of royalties for you?

To be honest, I'm not sure.  It all depends on where the dealers
got them from.  Unfortunately, there's one way some copies
get into the discount market that no one in the industry likes.
When the free desk copies are sent to faculty, not all faculty
keep them.  Now, most of us will put the books we don't
need out for students, but there are book buyers who go around
from campus to campus buying these free copies from the
faculty.  Of course, they buy them for very little and then put
them into the discount network.  In those cases, there aren't
any royalties.  Of course, I'm as much a bargain hunter as
anyone else, so I've been known to buy from the least expensive
vendor as well.  If on the other hand they had at some point
been purchased from the publisher, then in principle, I do
get some.  How much depends on a whole list of the things
that includes the phase of the moon and the closing price
of Dutch East India stock.  It turns out there's about a factor
of 5 difference on the same book just depending on the channel
it goes through.  And that doesn't even count international
printings or translations.  So the bottom line is maybe, maybe
not.

BLS