The Google Books Settlement

[I. J. Parker]

I hope someone here understands this deal. I have read the information passed on to me by my agent's office and am worried about signing off on it.
First off, Google Books have annexed two of my books and I'm involved in this settlement deal.
Secondly, my agency suggests I accept the settlement arrived at by Author's Guild. This would give Google Books the right to publish my books when they go out of print, and pay me a small amount of money.
My instinct is to refuse. My reasons: out-of-print books should have their rights returned to me. How do I sell those rights when Google Books has published an electronic version?

I'm anxiously awaiting some expert advice. Thanks, guys.

[I. J. Parker]

Well, I've already put the brakes on Google's use of my books, so it's a moot point. Don't forget that GoogleBooks is not a device to promote reading, research, and authors. It's strictly a money-making endeavor by Google who charges for use and sells advertising. Any promotion is incidental to those aims.

[Tom Barclay]

Cripes!

I hope you can use this sour mash to distill some figurative bourbon. It's sounding like a script for 'Leverage.'

BTW, you're on the shelves in the B&N at 405 and Beach in Westminster (or is it Huntington Beach?), CA.

[I. J. Parker]

How nice! Thanks, Tom. B&N has not generally been supportive.

[Dana Stabenow]

Update to my previous post:

I went to the Google Settlement page (https://www.google.com/a/gbss.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=gbss&...) and claimed my books. My agent checked into it for me and I read a few articles on it (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123819841868261921.html and http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/technology/internet/04books.html?...).

I have come to see the Google thing as an alternative means of publicity, promotion and publishing for my work. Further, writers will be paid royalties when their work is used, not much, admittedly, but something. A check, no matter how minuscule, is an acknowledgment of the payee's rights to the property. It sets a legal precedent. It brands your work with your name in whatever format it appears.

The settlement form is easy to fill out, register with a password, search your ISBN, and then three steps later you save and you're done. There are also levels you can set as to how your work is reproduced, how much of it, and where.

And you can also opt out entirely, you just have to do it before May 2009.