The Short Fuse Guide to Book Publishing Contracts

By Emily S. Keyes

Literary Agent Emily S. Keyes walks you through book publishing contracts, translating her years of experience as a contracts specialist for a Big 5 publisher to a level that’s easy to understand—even if you’ve never been published.

Learn:
* What the legalese really means for you
* How and how much you’re going to get paid
* Negotiating tips—whether or not you have an agent
* Clauses and details worth fighting for

Short Fuse Guides offer tips and tricks for writers, written by agents and covering different areas of the ever-changing publishing industry.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Short Fuse Publishing
• Release date: Nov 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311289513

Book preview

THE SHORT FUSE GUIDE TO BOOK PUBLISHING CONTRACTS

By Emily S. Keyes

The Short Fuse Guide to Book Publishing Contracts

Published 2014 by Short Fuse Publishing, a Fuse Literary imprint.

http://fuseliterary.com

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2014 Emily S. Keyes

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. All inquiries should be addressed to [e-mail].

Cover images Copyright © 2014 Fotolia Stock Images

Cover design by Laura Cummings

ISBN: 9781311289513

Disclaimer: This book is intended for educational purposes only with the sole intent of helping authors better understand certain documents they may be asked to sign. It is not written by a lawyer, nor should it be substituted for qualified legal advice. With regard to specific, personalized issues and negotiations, before action is taken, further counsel should be sought from a publishing attorney licensed to practice in your state.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THREE THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE NEGOTIATING

You Can Negotiate

Don’t Be Scared

This Is a Business

TERM, TERRITORY & FORMAT

Term (When)

Territory (Where)

Format (How)

PAYMENTS

Advance

Royalties

Statements and Auditing

MANUSCRIPT & PUBLICATION

Publication

SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS

OPTIONS AND COMPETING WORKS

Option

Competing Works

COPYRIGHT

TERMINATION

WARRANTIES & IDEMNITIES

THE FUTURE

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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INTRODUCTION

This guide is written primarily for authors who are entering an agreement with a publishing house without an agent or attorney helping them with the contract negotiations. It may also be helpful for those of you who do have an agent or attorney but just want to learn more about publishing agreements.

I was inspired to write the guide by the many authors who ask me questions about contract language once they learn I used to work in a contracts department of a major publisher. Since some book deals are too small to gain the interest of an agent, or don’t earn the author