Movies such as The Little Mermaid, Snow White, and The Blue Lagoon started out as public domain works, long forgotten until a movie producer resurrected them, modernized them a bit, and made them into money-making hits. But, you don’t have to be Walt Disney or Randal Kleiser to capitalize on this treasure-trove. Even the “little guy” (or gal) can use public domain works in many ways to make money.
First, let’s discuss what a public domain work is. Any work, such as a piece of art, writing, music or an invention is said to be in the public domain when it is not protected by a patent or a copyright, and may be freely used by anyone. For the purposes of this article, we will limit the discussion to written works. This applies whether the work was never patented or put under copyright, or when the existing copyright has expired. There are no laws which restrict its use by the public at large, so it is “fair game”. Usually, these works are older pieces written in the 1930’s or before; however, there are some newer public domain works written as late as the mid-1990’s. Also, there are some works that cannot ever be protected by copyright, such as U.S. Government works, unadorned ideas and facts, extemporaneous speeches, and standard plots and stock characters.
Where do you go to find such works? One great online resource I have found is Many Books http://www.manybooks.net . This site is a source of free e-books available for download; the site’s owner asks for a small donation to help defray the cost of hosting. I would recommend that you pay close attention to the “how-to” books, as these titles seem to be the best sellers.
The next step is critical to your success. You must make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that the work is in fact public domain and not protected by any copyright. A law, the Sony Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA), was passed in 1998 that added 20 years to most copyright terms, with the result that no new works will enter the public domain until 2019. This law was sponsored by the late Sonny Bono, one half of the 1960’s singing duo Sonny and Cher, and a US Congressman from California, who was killed in a skiing accident shortly before the bill was signed into law. So, contact the copyright office and do a careful copyright search to protect yourself from a potential lawsuit.
Once you have found a work that you want to promote and are absolutely sure that it is in the public domain, what can you do with it?
Technically, you can use the work without changing anything. However, since most of these writing were published before 1923, you will probably want to do some re-writing to modernize the piece. Technology has advanced tremendously since 1923, so you will want to include such things as television, space travel, computers, and the internet in the writing. The English language itself has changed, with some of the phrases used in the original work appearing outmoded and even puzzling to your potential readers. Replace “horse and buggy” anecdotes with something more modern, such as stories about cars or public transportation. Also, keep in mind how the status of women has changed since these works were written. I find that many public domain business works from the 1920’s and before address themselves only to men, since at the time, a woman working outside the home was a rarity. We live in a new world, so update the language of your written piece to be more gender inclusive.
Many people take a public domain work and, at the very least, write a new forward. They list the original author as the writer and state “Forward by (their name)”. They may list themselves as an editor and state “Edited by (their name)”. They may take a work that is generic and applies to a broad spectrum of people, such as The Science of Getting Rich, written by Wallace D. Wattles in 1910, and tailor it to a more specific audience, creating such variations as The Science of Getting Rich for Doctors,The Science of Getting Rich for Realtors,The Science of Getting Rich for Women, etc.
Along with selling either the original or the new version that you have created, many internet pros give away the work for free. The thinking behind this is to create an email list, using viral marketing. Again, usually there are links to your website in the footers of the ebook pages, or printed on the hard copy.
Another great way to use public domain material is to change the format. Don’t limit yourself to bound books. Make an e-book, with links to your website in the footer of each page. You will need Adobe Acrobat Pro for this. Make sure that you electronically secure the pages- if not, someone can steal your work. Create a PowerPoint presentation. Record the written work as an audio CD, and market the CDs. There is a software program called Audacity available as a free download that will enable you to record sound with your computer, by reading the work aloud into a microphone that can be purchased for $20 at many electronics stores.
The products you can create and sell using the great public domain treasure chest of neglected information are limited only by your own ingenuity and imagination. Follow this blueprint, do your research carefully, and get started!
