Charles Dickens is said to be the world's most prolific novelist, 
yet most of his works are relatively unknown to the general 
public, especially those he wrote under the pen name Boz. His 
most popular titles, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of 
Two Cities, Great Expectations, have been retold countless times 
in books, scripts, theatre plays and movies, and are all now in 
the public domain. These works have been so popular that they 
have been re-published by so many different publishers that they 
have never been out of print.

As a business owner looking to add new products to your 
inventory, whether that be online or offline, you can't go past 
public domain material. At a cost of 'nearly free,' you would be 
mad to give it a miss.

As with the above example, some stories are timeless classics, 
classics that will sell year after year, in many different 
formats and versions. This may be exactly the right type of 
product for your business. There are so many public domain works 
out there that you essentially will never run out of material to 
publish. And you will most likely find many manuscripts that will 
complement your existing products.

A good rule of thumb to follow is to check that the original 
manuscript was published before 1923 in the United States of 
America (other countries may have different copyright laws so you 
may need to check this with a copyright lawyer). You should 
always get a certificate of copyright clearance for each public 
domain document you are going to publish. This may save you many 
legal hassles later if anyone tries to dispute your right to re-
publish the work.

Public domain books and other materials can be found in many 
places, with the most likely being second-hand book stores. Some 
people enjoy this process the most; discovering that hidden gem 
amongst the thousands of tattered old Mills and Boon romance 
novels.

Though, with the advent of the Internet this process is becoming 
increasingly more accessible to everyone. There are now many web 
sites that publish public domain material that can be freely 
accessed, and even some membership sites that actually find the 
material for you.

If you make substantial changes to the material, that is, make 
enough changes that make the new version unrecognisable from the 
original, you may even claim the new copyright with yourself as 
the author.

As Dickens made popular the serialised novel, so too can you be 
publishing serial after serial of public domain material.  

Kristy Taylor is a syndicated freelance journalist with articles 
strewn across all forms of media. She has written and published 
numerous books, and is the executive editor of KT Publishing, 
which encompasses several web sites. Click here for her public 
domain story - http://digitaldollars.biz/3fp.html