6.3.1 Scenarios

An author has to shop for a publisher. He never found one, and thus end of story.
Suppose he did find a publisher. He can conduct preliminary negotiations before letting his work go.
Suppose he got some result. For instance, in case the work is accepted, the author will be paid such and such. If the sum is considerable - we get a happy ending in the very beginning.
If the publisher wants exclusive rights (effectively, for that period of time only, before the work is published, because after that any other publisher can use it) he may pay more to buy the author's loyalty.
If the publisher does not want exclusive rights, the author may bring the manuscript to another one and get paid by both. He has to have more than one copy in this case.
What happens after the publishing? This depends on the acceptance of the work by the public. Generally the author gets more and more exposure as far as other publishers use his work. And they do it, while it brings any money. They all promote him.
Does second-hand publishing bring any incentive to the author? If a publisher wants to be branded he may pay the author so that the publisher will be the author's announced sponsor. Furthermore, the next work will be sold for a greater price, if the first one got famous. In the latter case, publishers will compete for the ability to get the next one first hand. Being the first in this environment means being a brand.
What if the very first publisher robs the author: does not give any written promise, take the work and publish it under some other name? This does change situation, but not much. If the first stolen work brings considerable money, the second one will not be stolen, but bought, because other publishers will intervene in order to get it. Thanks to anarchy, that is to say, thanks to the no-exclusive-rights situation, it will become known sooner or later, who is the real author with all corresponding consequences for the author, the publisher-thief and the entire artist and publishing communities.
As soon as this variant brings bad reputation to the thief, he must take it into account. Also, the author may turn to a court and sue the publisher under civil law. This will be a matter of proof and money, but still is possible. For example, the author could have another copy of the work and a witness he had it before bringing the work to a publisher. Such measure may effectively secure the work from stealing.
Now, suppose the first work does not bring money, which means the author hasn't got any popularity. In this case the entire story starts over with the next work.