Business opportunity worth pursuing?

[pokeraussie]

Basically I've found out there is a hardcopy book in a niche I work in that seems to be out of print with no plans of republishing. On Amazon it says "Out of Print-Limited Availability" and other book websites no longer seem to stock this book.

If the author has no intentions of selling the book anymore, would there be an opportunity to contact them to purchase exclusive rights to sell the book? If so, would I have to deal with the book publisher or the author directly?

I have no idea how the licensing would work for an out of print book? If the book publisher is no longer printing the book for distribution, can they still have rights to the sales, or it would depend on the contract?

I would seriously like to pursue this opportunity further, but I really have no idea what direction to take, who to approach, etc.

[Michael Martinez]

Book rights are a murky situation. Some publishers write contracts that allow them to retain control over reprint rights if the book goes out of print for some period of time -- just to prevent people like you from picking up the option.

You should contact the author without letting the publisher know and ask him if the rights have reverted to him yet. Take it slow. If you know any literary agents, take them to lunch and get their advice.

The publisher might be reasonable about letting the book go if he doesn't see a profit in reprinting it -- but the moment he smells money the wheels in his head will start turning.

[pokeraussie]

Thanks Michael. Through some googling I've managed to find a personal email address of the author, at least I think it is. I've contacted them asking if they are the copyright holder. If they get back to me I will then let them know what I plan on doing with the book.