Monday, March 18, 2024

Understanding the Book Publishing Contract

image from Pexels


Many writers dream of signing on with a publisher. That first publishing contract can be so exciting – and SO confusing.

Here is a list of terms, items covered, and what a new author needs to know before signing a contract.

Copyright
The author usually retains rights and ownership to their work. Work for hire or academic works differ and the author may not retain the copyright.

Grant
The author grants the publisher the rights to publish the works.

Representations
The author pledges they are the sole proprietor of the work and is responsible for any violations of rights against the publisher by another party. The fine print varies, but it often falls to the author to defend against any violations.

Delivery
The author agrees to deliver all components of the manuscript including script, images, footnotes, etc. within a certain time frame.

Publication
The publisher agrees to publish the work within a time certain frame.

Subsidy rights
These are rights outside of the initial book and include first or second serial rights, translations, foreign markets, movie and TV rights, audio rights, merchandising, book club rights, etc. These are negotiated into the contract with the author receiving some rights to no rights. (The author receives a percentage or the publisher keeps all of the profits.) Subsidy rights can be negotiated for with an agent. Without one and dealing directly with a publisher, an author must decide what they are willing to give up.

Advance
This is paid up front before the book is published and is often an estimation of royalties based on what the publisher expects to sell in the first year. No royalties will be received by the author until the advance has been covered in full.

Royalties
The percentage for each format the author receives for each copy sold. The percentage will vary between print, eBook, audio, etc. Hard covers receive the highest, often 10% or more of net. (Not retail unless an agent negotiates a better deal.) Paperback and mass-market can drop to 7%. Electronic copies often net the best deal at 25-35%.

Overpayments
The publisher will deduct overpayments from future royalties or demand their return if exceeding a certain amount.

Author copies

The cost of books ordered directly from publisher by the author.

Statements and payments
How often royalties are paid by the publisher.

Reversion and termination
The rights of the publisher to terminate the book after X amount of years with a written notice to the author. The publisher also has the right to terminate before publication under some circumstances. Note that while the publisher retains the right to terminate, the author often DOES NOT. (Authors can request termination, but it is up to each individual publisher whether they will grant it or not.)

Bankruptcy
What happens if publisher closes shop.

Options on next work
The publisher gets first look at author’s next work, particularly in a series.

Marketing
The publisher will list what they will do and what is expected of the author.

There are many other details – arbitration, infringement, inheritance, etc. – but the list above gives you an idea what to expect with that first contract. Always look it over carefully and hire an entertainment or publishing law lawyer if possible.

Have you signed a publishing contract? Are there things you still don’t understand? We hope this has helped!

Monday, March 11, 2024

Republishing My Book

 

Thank you C. Lee McKenzie for inviting me to blog here. I am happy to share my republishing tale. For three years my book was out of print and not available for sale except in second hand. The prices for books were astronomical. I was devastated and here is my story of how I was able to get it back out there into the hands of readers.

Many of you have been published by a traditional publisher and may or may not have been in my position. My book, If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor, was published in 2011 by MuseItUp Publishing as an ebook and later as a paperback. Three years ago my publisher sent me back the manuscripts on Word docs and told me she was going out of business. I had the rights to the text but not to the cover. So I went looking for a publisher for my book.

If you look on Amazon to see the rating and the reviews you will see they are very favorable. I have twenty-nine good reviews through the years. However, no publisher would do it. So I had to go with KDP Amazon, which gave me a good deal and threw in a free cover. I couldn't resist that and paid a little bit to get it republished.

We spent almost a year getting it done due to the fact that we couldn't decide on a cover. The one I had was not mine and I didn't like the morose girl on it. So we went back and forth and finally found the one I liked. Happy to say the editing of this book by Nancy Bell and Penny Ehrenkranz was so good there didn't need to be any changes at all to the original story. We did make it international print so now it has a Table of Contents and things have been moved a little bit.

Now the book has been launched in person and online and it is available on not only Amazon but Barnes and Noble and other outlets including maybe your local bookstore. I am extremely happy that the book has risen from the ashes.

As the years went by I wrote two sequels to it and it is now the first book of The Mill Valley High series. If you notice in the 2nd edition there is the first chapter of the second book in the series: Who Is Jennifer Taylor? which is not published yet but will be soon. In the meantime, I included that in the book and it is also available on Kindle Vella for free. I may be putting more chapters on Kindle Vella so check it out.



The wonderful part about this is that If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor has been launched both online and in person. I know a publisher in India who launched my book for me even though we didn't have a physical book yet and it was launched locally by my local library, Perrot Library in Old Greenwich, CT. At that book launch I again had no copies of the book. They are being published on Ingram and so a delay in shipping created this problem. No worries. I read an excerpt from my phone. I didn't get to sign any books, though. My copies came the day afterward. I had to laugh. In addition, my book is available at the local bookstore, Athena Books if you live in the area. You can also get it online at Barnes and Noble or ask for it in their store.  
The ebook will be out very soon. Unlike the first time when it was published first in ebook, this time the ebook was done after the paperback. I am so happy it is back out there and hope that it will be read by the middle school audience. 
 
Until the next time hope you are reading and writing and publishing if that's what you want to do. All publishing is cool now.


Wednesday, March 6, 2024



JOIN US NOW!

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the March 6 posting of the IWSG are Kristina KellyMiffie Seideman, Jean Davis, and Liza @ Middle Passages!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG posts. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience, or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

March Question:

Have you "played" with AI to write those nasty synopses, or do you refuse to go that route? How do you feel about AI's impact on creative writing? 

The quick answer to this one is, no. But I entered the synopsis I’d written for my next book and ChatGPT kicked out a great analysis for each character. I think this will be useful when I do some posts about these characters. I wish I’d done it earlier so I could have referred to it while I was writing the book.

I haven’t played with it more than that. It bothers me that it’s so fast and without error. I’m not happy about being upstaged by something without a heart.

Stop in at my new digs on Substack




DON'T FORGET TO SAVE THIS DATE FOR #IWSGPit.

MARCH 27