Blogger: Rachel Kent
When you get a publishing contract to sign, it’s important to read it because it’s a legal, binding document between you and the publisher. Even if your agent has already read the contract and thinks it looks good, it’s not your agent agreeing to the terms; so you need to be aware of what you are signing. The other thing you should do is keep a copy of your contract(s) on hand so you can easily look at the terms to check if you have a legal right to do certain things–check with your agent if you aren’t sure, too. Here are three areas where many authors accidentally breach their contracts.
Author sales: Most contracts include a section that spells out how many free copies of the book an author is to receive. The contracts typically specify that these copies are not to be sold, but are to be used for promotional purposes only. An author should feel free to give these away to friends and family, send them out to blogger friends, etc. It’s very common for authors to take that box of books to sell at speaking events or book signings, but this is a breach of contract. Books that are going to be sold must be purchased through the publishing company with the special terms and discounts that are also spelled out in most contracts.
If you’ve accidentally done this, you can make it right by placing an order with your publishing house for the number of free books you sold and use them for promotion this time.
Return of rights vs Out of print: Another common way authors breach their contracts is through mistakenly thinking that a book going out of print means that the rights have reverted. Occasionally this is true, but the contract will specifically spell out what needs to occur before rights revert to an author. Authors sometimes receive a letter notifying them that the book has gone out of print, and they immediately self-publish the book through Amazon or a self-publishing company. This can create a huge mess for both author and agent.
Non-compete: A third, easy way for an author to accidentally breach his or her contract is to ignore a non-compete clause. Not all contracts have these, but they usually say something like “author will not publish another similar book that could interfere with the sales of this work without permission.” They vary quite a bit, but the contract is designed to protect the marketing force that the publisher and author are putting behind the book. If the author is dividing his or her marketing time between three similar books, the sales for each book will be compromised. Not to mention that readers tend to want to buy one new book from you at a time, not three at once. Readers will choose between the three books. Authors, in general, tend to get so excited about writing opportunities that non-compete clauses are mistakenly ignored.
Please see these examples as a friendly reminder to check your contract. There’s no way for you to memorize the entire thing, so be sure to use it as a reference guide as you move forward with your soon-to-be published book.
TWEETABLES
Watch out in these three areas so you don’t accidentally breach your pub contract. Via @rachellkent Click to tweet.
A friendly reminder from agent @rachellkent to use your publishing contract as a reference. Click to tweet.
Beware! Don’t accidentally breach your publishing contract. Via @rachellkent Click to tweet.
Thanks for sharing these areas of a contract that are easy to overlook. It’s such a good reminder of the importance of 1) knowing what the contract says and 2) knowing the best way to operate within it. And when I have questions, I’ll ask my someday-agent. 🙂
These contractual areas are not things I’ve had to consider yet, so it’s good to move forward with your message in mind. Thanks, Rachel!
Fascinating! I’m glad you spelled out the non-compete clause. I’m scheduled to speak to my local writer’s group this fall, and the pros and cons of self-publishing as a published author is one of the bullet points.
I’m book-marking this for future reference! Thanks!!
Rachelle, this is an EXCELLENT and important blog post. I thank you for it.
May I also add simply ensuring a writer really understands the contract? Contracts can be huge; the language is complex. When I signed with B&S, I even had our attorney review the comparatively simple contract you use—I think two pages? But I’ve also been involved in contracts that filled multiple three-inch binders, gave me headaches, and were HOPELESSLY convoluted.
For several hundred dollars, an individual can understand what he or she is signing; actually agree to or renegotiate the terms; and not be blindsided one day by a legal problem to which they’ll have absolutely no defense. “I didn’t understand” doesn’t hold up in civil litigation.
I don’t like spending money on legal, but I’d like the possible negative repercussions less.
Excellent point, Norma. Better to spend a little now rather than a whole lot later.
I love the posts about contracts. They make me think of my lawyer father who taught me, even when I was in elementary school, to read everything I sign. Great bottom line here, Rachel. Even with a legal-savvy agent, every author still needs to read every single word of their contract. No exceptions.
“…read everything I sign.” Some of the best advice from my father, too, Meghan. But his very best (remember this was the 60s/70s) was, “If you think like a man and act like a lady, you’ll have the best of both worlds.” He could NEVER have known just how right he was.
Wonderful, Norma!! (Worthy of two exclamation points!) I’m going to teach that to my daughters.
Great post, Rachel (as always). I have a question about those author copies. I understand they’re not to be sold, but I assume they can be used as giveaways for blog contests, charity events, etc. Right? Are they any different than the copies that are purchased from the publisher? With as much marketing as authors do these days, I imagine the promotional copies get given away pretty quickly.
Yes, giveaways and promotions are perfect uses for them. 🙂 They aren’t any different which is why it’s so easy to accidentally sell them.
This is all so interesting. I think I could have been a lawyer in another life. I’m kind of glad it’s not this life, though, because I think it’s only interesting because it might affect me. Other laws? Pretty boring.
I like looking at laws and contracts, but if it came to being in a trial, forget it!
My husband is a lawyer, so he’d be sure I didn’t sign a contract that huge without reading it first. 😛
Thanks for the insight into common breaches!
Great insight and information, Rachel! I NEVER sign anything before I read it. And when I get a contract, I’ll be handing it to my Canadian and American lawyer friends to look over.
Rachel, could you explain a bit more what has to be done for the rights to be returned on an out-of-print book? I’m one of those who assumed an out-of-print book meant the rights were now the author’s.
It’s hard to say because it depends so much on which publishing house, but usually the author needs to write a letter requesting the rights after the book has been OOP for a certain amount of time and then the publisher can either put the book back in print or revert rights–or something like that. Sometimes if the book isn’t selling many copies the author only has to write a letter and the publisher has to give the rights back, but it’s a different document for rights reversion than the out of print letter.
Interesting. Thanks, Rachel.
Excellent post, Rachel. Coming from an IT perspective, I can say that contracts are not to be feared, but they should be clear to the parties involved prior to any work done so that the maximum benefits can be achieved.
It’s a good thing to know where the boundaries are, know what can and cannot be done, know what’s agreed upon, and then go forth and be productive within those walls.
Bottomline: Read all the fine prints!
Great information to have, Rachel. When I looked at my first book contact, it was about as clear as swampy water because I hadn’t seen one before. I felt better having an attorney review it, but I didn’t have an attorney who worked specifically with book contracts. Thankfully everything has been fine.
This is great info. Thank you, Rachel!
Thanks for the heads-up information!
Always good to know what you’re signing. We witnessed what happened when a Fortune 500 company’s pool of lawyers didn’t pay attention to a little phrase that cost them millions!
Have a tea-lightful weekend!
This is a “light-weight” comment, but I’ve often wondered how many people actually READ before they click that little box that says “I agree to conditions and terms” for something they are doing in cyberspace. Goodness. Yikes.
Yep. And many online things can’t be undone, Stephanie. If you’ve given them permission to host your information they can keep it forever. Always important to be VERY careful with what you post online.
Thanks for these reminders. Another reason an agent is a good thing to have on your side–someone who can translate the legalese and consult with on protocol.
Thank you, Rachel, and good timing! I’ll make sure to note these areas as I look over my contracts.
Thanks, these are all very useful things to remember!
Ahh I’m so glad I found this blog a few months ago 😛
Very informative and helpful! Bless you, Rachel.
Rachel, these are great examples. I will keep them in mind for future reference. Thank you.
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I have advised the publisher I cannot go ahead for financial reasons and wish to terminate the contract. They are trying to talk me round.
Can I terminate the contract?