Ralph Louis Vitale, Jr. - Page 6




                                         -6-                                          
          (except during the months of February, May, and December) meeting           
          with prostitutes at the brothels.                                           
               Using the material that he gathered during these meetings              
          (hereinafter sometimes referred to as interviews), petitioner               
          produced a manuscript called "Searchlight, Nevada" which he                 
          submitted for publication.  On October 13, 1993, petitioner                 
          entered into an agreement for its publication with Northwest                
          Publishing, Inc. (Northwest).5  In pertinent part, the agreement            
          provided that,                                                              
                    (1) Petitioner was to pay Northwest $4,375 to publish             
               10,000 copies of his book;6                                            




               5Before submitting his manuscript to Northwest Publishing,             
          Inc. (Northwest), petitioner consulted "Writer's Market '93" a              
          publication describing various publishers.  In it, Northwest is             
          described as a book publisher that,                                         
               Publishes hardcover, trade paperback and mass market                   
               originals and reprints.  Publishes 40-50 titles/year.                  
               Receives 700-800 queries and 500 * * * [manuscripts]/                  
               year.  85% of * * * [manuscripts] from first-time                      
               authors, 95% from unagented writers.  Pays 10-15%                      
               royalty on retail price.  Publishes book 4 months                      
               after acceptance of * * * [manuscript].                                
               6In a letter to petitioner confirming receipt of this pay-             
          ment, Rick Devey, the marketing director of Northwest, described            
          it as a "joint-venture payment".  In another letter to peti-                
          tioner, Jim Perkins, Northwest's operations officer, explained              
          that "the payment you made of $4,375 (your share of the joint               
          venture) represents approximately one fourth of the total cost of           
          producing and marketing ten thousand copies of your book".                  







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