A Breakdown in Communication

You know, you'd think I'd know how to communicate. After all, I'm a writer and I've held high level executive positions in Corporate America. For goodness sakes, I was a corporate TRAINER before I started writing the documentation for TRAINING. My entire job for the last two years has been nothing but how to communicate effectively.

But sometimes, things are just so far out there for me...so incredibly stupid...that I can't wrap my mind around it fast enough to communicate on the spot. Take the other night for instance. I had received a copy of my first book RUMBLE ON THE BAYOU as released by a Dutch publisher. Pretty cool, right? And of course, I wanted to share the cover with people, but figured I'd never get a great scan of the cover with my regular person scanner I had at home. So a trip to a professional was in order.

So after work one night, I drive to Kinkos and hop inside with my book, and here is the conversation:

Me: Hi. I'd like to get a high quality scan of this book cover.
Kinkos Baby Hitler: I can't do that.
Me: (dumbfounded) Why not?
KBH: Because the publisher owns the rights to that cover.
Me: But it's MY book. I'm sure the publisher wouldn't mind.
KBH: You'd have to have their permission.
Me: (still enormously confused) So you're telling me I can't get a copy of the cover of my own book?
KBH: Nope.
Me: Fine. I'll just go to Staples where they have no problem with things like this.
KBH: Well, if they want to break the law over there, that's their business.

So I stalk out of the store and get into my car, wondering how the heck this went wrong so quickly. What do you mean I can't get a copy of the cover of my book. Then it occurred to me...did he think by saying it was MY book that I meant I had bought it over at B&N and now wanted a copy? Surely, not. But doubt set in so I walked back inside, license ready and started again:

Me: I think there's been a misunderstanding. When I say this is MY book, I mean it. I wrote it. See the name on the front, see the copyright - see my license. No publisher in their right mind is going to have a problem with my advertising my own work.
KBH: (Looks at book cover and at license, then at me) Well, that's a whole different story. But then how many times does that happen?
Me: I don't know. How many times do people come in here wanting to make a copy of someone else's book.
KBH: All the time.

Excuse me??????? Can someone please explain this to me, because that's clearly where I got lost in the process. Why would someone want a copy of another person's book cover? I mean, I could see another author maybe wanting a copy of a friend author if they were putting together joint advertising or something, but then your author friend would already have a jpeg of her covers. So........now the mystery author in me is burning with curiosity. Anyone have any idea what nefarious reasons people are copying others book covers?????

By the way - check out my hard-won jpeg.



Deadly (somewhat Dumbfounded) DeLeon