My publisher is out of business but Amazon is still selling the ebook, and sending THEM the money!

My publisher is out of business but Amazon is still selling the ebook, and sending THEM the money!

Angela,

My book (title removed), was published in 2005 by Rainbow Books Inc. It is still selling on Amazon. I cannot find anyone who worked for Rainbow and I have not received any checks from them for years. I can understand how I’m owed nothing for used books, but what about the e-books that they still sell? Any information you can give me will be appreciated.


 

I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice. Please contact an attorney with your specific legal questions. That said…

I could not find an active website for Rainbow Books Inc. through Google. However, I did find their website listed in a book online.

It is:

Last week, it appeared that a Chinese company had taken it over. This week, the page simply says, “This site can’t be reached.” So, it’s pretty clear they have gone out of business. Since they violated their contract with you, and since they are unreachable, my advice is to go ahead and publish your book elsewhere.

To remove the Amazon listing for the Rainbow Books Inc. edition, I recommend immediately filing a copyright infringement complaint with Amazon. If they are still selling the ebook on Amazon, Amazon is sending them YOUR money.

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: Read THIS ARTICLE before you do that.


Angela Hoy lives on a mountain in North Georgia. She is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the President and CEO of BookLocker.com and AbuzzPress, and the author of 24 books.

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2 Responses to "My publisher is out of business but Amazon is still selling the ebook, and sending THEM the money!"

  1. Donna D  February 5, 2022 at 6:29 pm

    That can be a mess for a prolonged period. I went through the same for over three years with Amazon and the Attorney General of that State, nothing was done, and never received the money they owe me. I made it easy for myself, I reprinted the books with BookLocker.com, contacted Amazon to remove the old one and add the new one. Like my boyfriend told me, bury it, and move on. I did and my life is easier to deal with.

  2. Amanda Steel  February 4, 2022 at 11:56 pm

    I had a similar problem a few years ago, and Amazon were not very helpful. If you can find out the distributor your publisher used, you might get more help from them in removing it.