Signing with a publisher/How to read a contract

[natasha_fawn]

Hi folks,

I'm asking for advice for my mother, who recently finished writing a biography of my father (aka "The Book."). Last summer she sent out proposals to University presses, and has had favorable responses from two. The first asked for some revisions, which she sent, and has since offered a contract. (The contract specifies a hardcover version and an electronic version, including a certain number of images.) While she was doing the revisions for the first, a second asked for revisions.

She's at a bit of a loss as to how to proceed. Neither of us are familiar with book contracts: What to look for, what to expect, what's reasonable and what isn't, how much negotiation can she do? (Her lawyer can explain the legaleze but doesn't generally work with this kind of thing.) Then there's the question of leaving the first publisher hanging while waiting for a response from the second.

I realize that most(?) people here are self-published, but I'm hoping at least a few of you will have some insight and advice for us. Are there resources that you have found helpful? Is the process likely to be different since these are University presses? We're ecstatic that publishers are interested in The Book, but a little intimidated at this point, so any advice is welcome.

Thanks!

[James_Wilde]

If she has a contract to consider, it sounds to me like it's time to approach an agent in the publishing business rather than her local lawyer. No agent will turn her down now.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by natasha_fawn

Hi folks,

I'm asking for advice for my mother, who recently finished writing a biography of my father (aka "The Book."). Last summer she sent out proposals to University presses, and has had favorable responses from two. The first asked for some revisions, which she sent, and has since offered a contract. (The contract specifies a hardcover version and an electronic version, including a certain number of images.) While she was doing the revisions for the first, a second asked for revisions.

She's at a bit of a loss as to how to proceed. Neither of us are familiar with book contracts: What to look for, what to expect, what's reasonable and what isn't, how much negotiation can she do? (Her lawyer can explain the legaleze but doesn't generally work with this kind of thing.) Then there's the question of leaving the first publisher hanging while waiting for a response from the second.

I realize that most(?) people here are self-published, but I'm hoping at least a few of you will have some insight and advice for us. Are there resources that you have found helpful? Is the process likely to be different since these are University presses? We're ecstatic that publishers are interested in The Book, but a little intimidated at this point, so any advice is welcome.

Thanks!

You should really ask a professional in this area who will look out for your interests, either an agent or a lawyer specialising in the publishing industry.

If you're really interested in comments from a random stranger on the internet, I'll give you my thoughts.

1) You shouldn't be paying anything to the publisher. This may seem obvious, but a surprising number of people vanity publish without quite realising it. (This doesn't seem to be the case here.)
2) The contract should specify for how long the publisher has the rights to the book, and exactly what rights they have, and how you get the rights back. Exclusive rights for a certain territory for the print editions is usual. I'd hold out for non-exclusive world-wide ebook rights if I were you, or else grant them exclusive world-wide English rights. (Exclusive territorial ebook rights don't really make any sense.)
3) Advance. You should probably expect a small advance. This might be all you get from the publisher if the book doesn't sell well.
4) Royalties. For the paper books, these should be on the Suggested Retail price, and for hardbacks should be 10%-15%, for paperbacks 6-8%. For ebooks, I'd suggest a minimum of 25% of Suggested Retail Price, preferably 50%. Or perhaps 50% of gross income from the ebook sales.
5) Sales to other publishers and translations. The contract might give the publishers rights to sell the book to other publishers in other territories and/or translation rights. You should be getting at least 50% of any income from these sales.

Does this help?

[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.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by rhadin

University presses work differently than trade publishers.

A very good point.

[natasha_fawn]

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.

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?"

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by natasha_fawn

What do you mean by "permissions?"

If any copyright material is substantially quoted in the book, permission will need to be obtained for using it. If money is needed to obtain the permission (i.e. the original author (or his agent) wants to be paid for the use of the work), I think University Presses may require the author to pay.

[natasha_fawn]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

If any copyright material is substantially quoted in the book, permission will need to be obtained for using it. If money is needed to obtain the permission (i.e. the original author (or his agent) wants to be paid for the use of the work), I think University Presses may require the author to pay.

Oh boy, now I feel silly, I really should have figured that out. Thanks.

[sassanik]

EPIC has some good information what a contract should look like and what some of the red flags are.


http://www.epicauthors.com/redflags.html


Amy