Greetings everyone,
As you might know, I am the author of the Tennessee Central Railway book that was published by TLC Publications in mid-2005. Back in 2000 I signed a contract with TLC outlining the royalties to be paid once the book was published. However, so far TLC has refused to pay any royalties. They have also refused to provide an accounting of how many books have been sold and/or distributed (as required by contract).
Since the book came out I have repeatedly contacted TLC via “snail mail” and phone to ask about the overdue payments (the company doesn’t have e-mail). For a year my messages weren’t returned. Finally, in late September 2006 I got in touch with the owner, who said he would be able to send something in “late November”.
I am trying to estimate how many books have been sold, and am asking members of this group for help. If you have bought the book, would you kindly tell me how many copies you purchased? Also, could you provide an estimate of how many copies you believe friends, fellow railfans, dealers, museums, hobby shops, etc., in your area have purchased? A rough estimate is fine.
**** PLEASE***** E-mail me directly, rather than through the group, unless you have comments you don’t mind sharing publicly.
Absolute, complete, 100%, no-bull* anonymity is guaranteed! Every e-mail will be deleted immediately after being received. I simply want to get an estimate of how many books were sold so I can form an estimate of how much money I may be owed. I assure everyone, there will be complete anonymity.
In addition to the unpaid royalties, I’ve also been trying unsuccessfully to have some photos returned, but without luck so far.
Please forgive me if this sounds like sour grapes. However, I spent approximately 2 years on this book and spent over $1000 obtaining photos for this book (yes, I paid anywhere from $2 to $10 for each print used in the book,