That is a good question for a lawyer. Or I'll say, yea, perfectly fine, and take a cut.

that is why public domain exists

>I admit, I find it hard to wrap my mind around the idea.

when does something enter the Public Domain? author must be dead for 70 years.

​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain_in_the_United_States

The claim that "pre-1928 works are in the public domain" is correct only for published works; unpublished works are under federal copyright for at least the life of the author plus 70 years.

​

>Do I need to attribute it to them or if I rewrite it?

it might be a common courtesy.. or "standard practice".. but it's their great, great grandchildren or the estate who were responsible for maintaining/extending copyright (if they wanted to) they had 70 years to get it done.

​

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's last Sherlock Holmes book to enter public domain in 2023

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2022/12/30/public-domain-2023-works-include-sherlock-holmes-alfred-hitchcock/10970440002/

​

Sherlock Holmes joins a first Oscar winner and the 'ice cream' song in the public domain

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/public-domain-2023-sherlock-films-books-songs-cec/index.html

So the book was a collection of Greek myths I tied together and added dinosaurs and buffalo cause thats what the kids liked. A lot of it is the same as in the original text. Would that still be fine or is that plagiarism or some sort?

​

And by difficult wrapping my head around, I guess the issue is more taking an expired copyright book or media and being to resell it. IDK lol.

I think it’s a bit more complicated than just the copyright on the written work (particularly if the work is “public domain” because of a Creative Commons license) so it’s best to consult a lawyer. I believe Project Gutenberg does have a page of policies outlining how material can be used and under what conditions attribution is required. Adaptation for personal use is generally far less onerous than adaptation for personal use. But most of your questions can’t be answered without knowing more details about the specific work and what your plans are for the work which is why you’d need to hire yourself a lawyer who can give you a more definitive answer than anyone on the internet can provide.

Hi! Your post is more appropriate for a writing sub. Check out /r/writing, please check their rules before posting. Good luck!