Ralph Louis Vitale, Jr. - Page 19




                                        -19-                                          
          hour charges he negotiated, and his method of payment.  While               
          petitioner may not have kept a separate checking account or a               
          well-organized set of books, he did attempt to keep an accurate             
          account of the expenses he incurred to research his books.13  The           
          record also indicates that, after signing a contract for the                
          publication of "Searchlight, Nevada", petitioner made concerted             
          efforts to promote his book.  He took steps to gain maximum                 
          personal benefit from Northwest by working closely with its                 
          public relations department to ensure that his book was widely              
          advertised and readily available in bookstores.  Petitioner then            
          supplemented Northwest's efforts by adopting various methods of             
          his own, while, at the same time, remaining active as an author             
          by writing other manuscripts.  Furthermore, when Northwest filed            
          for bankruptcy protection, petitioner did not abandon his writing           
          activity; rather, he sought the return of his rights in                     
          "Searchlight, Nevada", and began an extensive search for a new              
          publisher.  He had rewritten and revised his manuscript, in an              
          effort to make it more salable to the public, and thus, more                
          attractive to prospective publishers.  As an alternative                    
          marketing technique, petitioner also made attempts to engage a              
          literary agent.  In sum, although petitioner could have been more           


               13A comparison of petitioner's journal entries to the                  
          contents of "Searchlight, Nevada" reveals that, indeed, the book            
          is based almost entirely on real people and events.                         





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