University Press of America

August Dear [redacted] ***,We received your letter concerning complaint number [redacted] filed against University Press of America with your office, and as requested we are responding to this complaint.We have met the terms of the contract that the author signed with usWe have not in any way defaulted on the terms of the contract or strayed from industry practiceMost book contracts signed in the United States are for the life of the copyright of the bookThis author's book is still selling so we do not want to revert the rights to him while we still have unsold stock, nor are we obligated to do so under the terms of the contract or industry standardsWe did offer to revert rights to him if he agreed to purchase the unsold stock at a discounted price (a reasonable and fair offer, since reverting rights to him would deprive us of the ability to sell that stock), but he declined Our offer.Sincerely,Julie *K [redacted] Vice President/Publisher

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: I have read Julie K***'s response, which, as is typical, is laced with formal, legal jargon that fails to address the fundamental issues I raised in my initial complaint, which is that University Press of America has ceased to make the marketing of my book a priority, is no longer benefiting commercially from the book and is subsequently serving no beneficial purpose to me, the writerReturning full rights of the book to me would absolutely not affect this publisher adversely, would allow the publisher to focus on works that they consider more enterprising and would allow me the opportunity to seek other options regarding the textK***'s attempt at making a sweeping difference between "marketing" and "selling" is as humorous as it is deceptive, and another attempt on her part to avoid salient issues hereIf such a distinction exists, it is marginal at best, and not deserving of the type of disparity that K [redacted] has tried to profferThis is just another attempt on her part to use what she considers business (publishing?) expression to confuse issues hereK [redacted] again goes into some long explanation of the agreement I have signed with the publisher, whereas she should understand that contracts are subject to interpretation and in situations like mine a review of certain items may be necessary (especially after years) to do what is viable for both publisher and writerInterestingly, but to be expected with K***, she is very selective in her interpretations of the contract and carefully avoids commenting on the fact that University Press of America has never reported to me the number of my books sold, the profits made and the fact that in years I have not received a cent from this publisherIf, as she mentions, the publisher is involved in a more "passive" sale of my book, where is information to this effect – number of books sold and money realized? If this practice is not illegal, it should at least be morally wrong and certainly violates a partnership that is obligated to give timely financial updatesK [redacted] is wrong in her claims of standard industry practiceFirst, the rights to my late father's book have been reverted to me twice by publishers that deemed such a decision practical based on the circumstances at the timeSecond, her claim that a passive marketing of a book after 2-years is standard practice is simply falseNo such rule or philosophy exists in the publishing industry K [redacted] must be unfamiliar with the policies of other publishersI don't know what other experiences writers are having or have had with this publisher, but K***'s claim that this is a company with a longstanding history of being author-friendly is subject to proof and certainly suspect by meI have not received friendliness, understanding or cooperation from University Press of AmericaLet me refer to K***'s request that I contact her directly, which is quite condescending on her partYou are the self-proclaimed, author-friendly publisherWhy are you not making any effort to contact one of your authors? Why have I always been the one to initiate conversation or interaction if you care so much about me? Well, I am tired of doing thatYou have my contact information and can contact me if you truly want toMeanwhile, if need be, I will consider seeking other channels to address this matterRegards, [redacted]

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:The publisher, University Press of America, has carefully ignored certain salient points and has also distorted information to a certain extent 1) While they claim that they are still selling the book, the information given to me by the publisher through email, which I have saved and which I referred to in my initial complaint, is that they have ceased to aggressively pursue the sale of this book because it was published several years agoThe publisher's claim in this regard is therefore inaccurate2) In my last correspondence with the publisher, which I also have saved, the publisher claimed that they could attempt to facilitate the sale of the books in order to sell what they have left on their shelf and, that way, would consider reverting full rights to meThat the publisher is now referring to an offer to have me buy the books, which I rejected, is therefore unfair and a misrepresentation of informationI don't trade in books and it would therefore be of no value to me to buy the booksThe publisher, on the other hand, would be the prime beneficiary of such an agreement 3) If the publisher is rigid about our contract and maintains that they have unlimited rights to the book, why are they willing to give up this right only after they make money off of me (by selling the remaining books to me)? 3) University Press of America refuses to communicate with me regarding this text, and only does so when I make an effort to communicateTo date, for instance, this publisher has failed to provide comprehensive account of the number of books sold and money earnedFor this reason, and in spite of what the publisher claims, there is grounds for making a case of duplicity against them, if not a default on our contractLet me add that in years this publisher has not paid a cent to me even as they withhold information on money made from this book4) Again, I am appealing to this publisher to do what is right and reasonable at this point, rather than defer to legalistic language that serves no meaningful purposeUniversity Press of America is no longer making any concrete effort to sell this book (as stated in their correspondence with me)They are not profiting from holding on to the rights of the book and I am not profiting from their apathyFrom a commercial and rational standpoint, it is only fair that this publisher revert full rights of the book to me and concentrate on texts that they find more vial from a business standpointIt is therefore my hope that this matter is resolved peacefully at this level Regards, [redacted]