Quote:
Originally Posted by rhadin
University presses work differently than trade publishers. A real university press does not ask you to pay for costs except for permissions. Usually that is negotiable.
University presses rarely pay an advance; they simply cannot afford it. Few books published by university presses have a press run larger than 1,000 books, and most press runs are 500. Exceptions are the major UPs such as Oxford University Press and Princeton University Press.
pdurrant's suggestions are good but are trade publisher oriented and not in line with U.S. university presses. You need to keep in mind that most American UPs are subsidized by their universities, they are not money makers, and consequently the scope of negotiations is rather limited. Generally, agents do not handle UP publications because expected sales are so low.
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Thank you both, that's very helpful. The contract offer isn't from Princeton or Oxford, but the press is at a very respected university.
So, make sure she's not paying for things. What do you mean by "permissions?" Don't expect an advance. It's probably not worth it to look for an agent. Keep an eye on what rights the contract asks for. Make sure the royalties seem reasonable but don't expect much since it's a university press.
I probably should have made it clear in the original post. The "asking strangers on the internet" avenue is just one of the ways we're exploring advice. Unfortunately her lawyer doesn't know any lawyers who work with the publishing industry so it might take a little while to find one she trusts. It helps to get perspective from other people who are more familiar with this kind of thing, since we're still at the stage of "Holy cow, there's a contract offer, someone's actually interested, what do we do now?"
