Clarification of Answer by
journalist-ga
on
21 Jul 2002 08:07 PDT
Greetings again, and thank you for honoring me with a five-star rating
on my research for your query. I am delighted the information was of
assistance and am happy to assist you further.
Regarding contracts between authors and publishers, they vary
according to what the publisher wants to initially offer the author.
For instance, if you were gathering stories to make a short fiction
collection, the contract might contain provisions for a small royalty
payment but an author might also only be paid a one-time honorarium
with no royalties to follow. The "Chicken Soup" books (at last check)
offered an author $300 per story - period. It was a one-time payment
for first North American rights. First NA rights granted by an author
say to the publisher "You are getting the first crack at this story -
I guarantee it hasn't been published anywhere else."
Another collection, the Chocolate series edited by Kay Allenbaugh,
pays $100 as an honararium - in this, the author agrees 1) it's a
fresh unpublished story and 2) I won't sell it to Chicken Soup or a
similar collection but I have the right to publish it in a collection
of my own stories at anytime with no reverse compensation. The
Chocolate contract is a very simple one-page document. So, for short
story collections, the contracts can be relatively simple. [To
clarify, I didn't find the above info online - as a freelance writer,
I have had dealings with both in the past so the info comes from
personal experience.]
For a book contract, here is a sample (this is online courtesy of
Donham books which states "Please note: For the purposes of protecting
our intellectual property on the internet, this contract is NOT full
and complete. Any contract issued can be construed as a sample
contract only. Other clauses can be added or deleted according to the
individual needs of the author, in consultation with the Editor at
Domhan Books/individual parties' legal representatives."):
TRADE AUTHOR AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made this ___ day of ___, 20__ , between ___
("Author"), a resident at ___ and Domhan Books, with a place of
business at 9511 SHORE ROAD, SUITE 514 BROOKLYN, NY 11209 USA
("Publisher").
Publisher and Author hereby agree as follows:
THE GRANT AND THE TERRITORY
1. Author grants to Publisher for the term of three years (including
any renewal or extensions thereof) the right to print, publish, sell,
and display (herein "publish") or to cause to be published a work of
[non]fiction titled ___ (the "Work") worldwide.
COPYRIGHT
Author shall register copyright in the Work in the United States of
America and in other countries as may be covered by this Agreement in
his/her own name. Author shall, upon Publisher's request, do all acts
necessary to effect and protect the copyright and renewals or
extensions thereof.
THE WORK
3. Author shall deliver to Publisher a complete manuscript of the
Work, reasonably acceptable in form and content to Publisher and
suitable for use by the printer ("Complete Manuscript"), consisting of
approximately _____ words or their equivalent, on paper and on
diskette containing the text of the Work conforming to the technical
specifications set forth by the Publisher.
PERMISSIONS
4. If permission from others is required for publication of any
material contained in the Work or for exercise of any of the rights
conferred by this Agreement, Author shall obtain and deliver such
permission to Publisher at Author's own expense, in a form acceptable
to Publisher, on or before the date of manufacture of copies of the
Work. Unless otherwise agreed to by Publisher in writing, or where
evidently inapplicable (as, for example, the license of artwork with
respect to the exercise of audio rights) such permissions shall cover
all territories, markets and editions covered by this Agreement.
Publisher shall have the right to obtain any such permissions which
Author fails to furnish and to charge the reasonable cost thereof to
Author.
AUTHOR'S CHANGES
PUBLICATION
6. (a) Publisher shall publish and commence distribution of the Work
at its own expense not later than one year after acceptance of the
Complete Manuscript (including related materials) in conformity with
the specifications of the Pulblisher. Publisher may publish the Work
under any imprint of Publisher.
WARRANTIES AND INDEMNITIES
7. (a) Author warrants and represents that:
Author is the sole author and proprietor of the Work.
Author has the full power and authority to make this Agreement and to
grant the rights granted hereunder, and has not previously assigned,
transferred or otherwise encumbered the same.
The Work is not in the public domain.
The Work does not infringe any statutory or common law copyright.
The Work does not invade the right of privacy of any third party, or
contain any matter that is libelous or otherwise in contravention of
the right of any third party; and, if the Work is not a Work of
fiction, all statements in the Work asserted as facts are true or
based upon reasonable research for accuracy.
The Work contains no matter which is obscene or matter the publication
or sale whereof otherwise violates any federal or state statute or
regulation, nor is it in any other manner unlawful.
The Work contains no recipe, formula, or instruction injurious to the
user.
PUBLISHER'S CONTROL OF PUBLICATION
8. (a) Final decision as to format, copy editing style, illustration,
style of printing and binding, title, cover presentation, trade name,
trademark, logo, imprint or other identification, date of publication,
retail price and all other matters of sale, distribution, advertising
and promotion of the Work, shall be determined by Publisher, in fair
consultation with Author. It is understood that certain features of
the book, such as trim size and CMYK process, are stipulated by the
contract Publisher holds with its printer and distributor, and as such
cannot be considered negotiable.
OUT OF PRINT TERMINATION
9. (a) Publisher shall maintain a reasonable print inventory of the
Work, and will pay the requisite annual fees for maintenance of the
Work in a readily-accessible print on demand database for a minimum of
three years from publication.
ROYALTIES
10. (a) Publisher shall pay to Author royalties based upon the cash
received by Publisher from the sale or other exploitation of the Work,
net of freight, taxes, returns and credits ("Net Sales"), and less
such reserve for returns as is determined pursuant to Paragraph 13(c),
as follows:
(i) If published as a trade hardcover edition, _____ of Net Sales,
subject to the exceptions set forth in subparagraph (v) below;
(ii) If published as a library-bound edition, _____ of Net Sales,
subject to the exceptions set forth in subparagraph (v) below;
(iii) If published as a trade paperback edition, _____ of Net Sales,
subject to the exceptions set forth in subparagraph (v) below;
(iv) If published as a mass market paperback edition, _____ of Net
Sales, subject to the exceptions set forth in subparagraph (v) below;
(v) If published as a large print edition, , _____ of Net Sales,
subject to the exceptions set forth in subparagraph (v) below;
(vi)on copies sold in bulk to book clubs, _____ of Net Sales in excess
of the cost of print, paper, binding and freight borne by Publisher;
and
(vii) _____ of the net electronic book sales in all formats currently
in existence, and which have yet to be invented
(Net Sales from the sale or license of the rights enumerated below
shall be shared by Author and Publisher in the percentages indicated:
To Author To Publisher
(1) Digest, abridgement, condensation, _____ _____
anthology,
(2) First serialization _____ _____
(3) Book clubs or similar organizations _____ _____
(4) Reprint (including microfilm) edition _____ _____
(5) Second serialization and syndication _____ _____
(6) Use or adaptation of the Work or any
portion thereof, as a basis for:
photographic, video, audio,
digital or any other form or
method of performance _____ _____
LICENSE OF AFFILIATES
11.
PAYMENTS
12. (a) Publisher shall render semi-annual reports of the sale of the
Work during April and October of each year.
Author is granted the right to have Domhan Books’ accounts in relation
to their work audited at his/her own expense. If an error of more than
10% shall be found, then audit shall be at Domhan Books' expense.
AUTHOR PURCHASES
13. Should Author desire copies of the Work for personal use, they
shall be supplied at a ___ discount from the retail list price.
Shipping and handling will be included.
COMPETING WORK
14. Author shall grant Domhan Books the courtesy of a 'first look' at
his/her next full-length work.
SERVICE OF NOTICES
15. Any written notice hereunder to be effective shall be delivered by
hand, by facsimile (if a record of successful transmission is
electronically generated), by overnight courier service, or by
certified mail to the address of the other party first above set
forth. A copy of all notices to Publisher shall be directed to the
attention of the CEO of Publisher. Either party may change its address
by written notice to the other.
CONSTRUCTION/HEIRS
16. (a) This Agreement shall be construed, interpreted and governed
according to the laws of the State of New York applicable to
agreements made and to be fully performed therein, and the parties
agree that in any action or proceeding arising under or relating to
this Agreement, they shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the
federal and state courts sitting in or for the County of New York, New
York and the County of _____
(b) This Agreement shall be binding upon the heirs, successors,
personal representatives and the foregoing respective assigns of
Publisher and Author; and references to Publisher and Author shall
include such heirs, successors, personal representatives and such
assigns.
CAPTIONS
17. Captions are for reference only and shall not be deemed part of
this Agreement.
CURE
18. No act or failure to act by either party shall be deemed a
material breach of this Agreement unless that party shall fail to cure
the same within 30 (thirty) days after receipt of written notice
thereof from the other, setting forth specific details.
DAMAGE TO AUTHOR'S PROPERTY
19. Publisher shall not be responsible for loss or damage to any
property of Author in its possession or in the possession of its
contractors, or to anyone to whom delivery is made with Author's
consent. Author shall retain copies of the manuscript (and related
materials) for Author's own protection.
AMENDMENT
20. This Agreement shall not be subject to change, modification or
discharge in whole or in part except by a writing signed by Author and
by an officer of Publisher.
AUTHOR:
____________________________
Print Name___________________
Taxpayer I.D. No.: _____________
Citizen of ___________________
PUBLISHER:
____________________________
Print Name ___________________
Title___________________
############
As you can see, the above book contract could be modified to suit the
publisher in various ways. However, I would strongly urge you to have
your own legal representative in the matter to tailor a contract to
your specifications. Perhaps join a publishing group and query the
members for the law reps they use or where you could obtain other
contract samples.
I searched Amazon and found two books about writing contracts:
Negotiating a Book Contract: A Guide for Authors, Agents and Lawyers
by Mark Levine and Kirsch's Guide to the Book Contract: For Authors,
Publishers, Editors and Agents by Jonathan Kirsch. One of these may
prove very helpful and you may be able to view them at your local
library before purchasing them (link to Amazon page is below).
As far as royalties, I found a program called Acumen through a search.
It appears to be a software program for managing royalties. I would
say royalties might be somewhat negotiable depending on the author's
track record. Other rights might come into play in the original
contract as well such as television, movie, etc.
I hope this information proves of further assistance. Please note the
last link below as it is a checklist for a publishing agreement and
contains a listing of publisher groups near the bottom of that site.
It has been a pleasure researching this particular question as it
concerns information of interest to me, too ! : )
SEARCH TERMS AND LINKS
"book contract sample" search at Google
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=book+contract+sample
Donham Books Sample Contract
http://www.domhanbooks.com/contract.htm
Appalachian Trails Stories Sample Contract
http://www.trailstories.com/book/contract.html
Amazon link to contract books mentioned above
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/002-8068555-8908816
"book royalties information" on Google search
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=book+royalties+information
Acumen Book Royalties Management
http://www.acumenbook.com/Productinfo/coresystem/royalties/royalties.html
article on Royalty Calculations by IVAN HOFFMAN, B.A., J.D.
http://home.earthlink.net/~ivanlove/royalties.html
"first North American rights publishing"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=first+north+american+rights+publishing
Tansi vs. New York Times (a case concerning online royalties)
http://www.nwu.org/tvt/tvthome.htm
"book royalties" Google search
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=book+royalties
Book contracts, publisher agreements, and author royalties by Morris
Rosenthal
http://www.fonerbooks.com/contract.htm
"publishing royalties list"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=publishing+royalties+list
Trade book publishing agreement
http://copylaw.com/forms/pubchk.html
