contracts

[Weird Jim]

I was going to post this under one of the publishing categories, but because it can stradle them I thought it might go better on the Main Board.

I was browsing my writing site bookmarks and clicked on a forum. Just to see what they were discussing I checked a board. I can’t remember what the title was. It could have been general discussion. A poster with a publication offer was querying if a novel published as a Harlequin ebook would count much to publication credits.

Two things came to mind. The offer was for a 40% royalty on the net. Now a long time ago I read that royalties on the net could be manipulated with charges for this, and charges for that and so on.

Another poster without mentioning the net or gross royalty business suggested that it was possible to negotiate the contract and it wasn’t necessary to either sign or walk away.

Here are the questions. Would 10% of the gross bring a better return than 40% of the net?

If a person does not have an agent (and this poster who received the offer has not been able to get an agent even with the offer), what sort of thing would be looked for in a contract before signing?

These are just two curiosity questions that came to mind as I read that thread on the other site that I thought could be of interest to the members here.

I seem to recall that Alec Guinness was reported to have made a fabulous sum by getting a small percentage of the gross for hispart in Star Wars.

[J.A. Marlow]

40% of net to 10% of gross of list price would completely depend on how “net” is defined in the contract. If it’s not defined, then watch out, as they can pretty much charge anything against it. If one must go to net, then have in the contract a strict meaning of the term and what can be applied to it (also known as Hollywood Accounting). I’ve heard of many writers negotiating what ‘net’ means and signing happy with the end result. I’ve also heard of others that walked when the publisher refused to budge or sometimes even refused to define ‘net’ at all. (As for Alec Guiness, he negotiated a deal for a percentage of the gross royalties. No ‘net’ involved in that deal on his side.)

As for contract terms, that’s an entirely different can of worms. They are getting so complicated that you need a lawyer on your side as publishers are sneaking in things even in the warranties at the end where they shouldn’t be. Really, a writer presented with a contract cannot interpret it all on their own unless they have an Intellectual Property legal background. They need not be expensive, either. Many are now doing flat-fees for certain types of help or contract reading. Laura Resnick keeps a list of IP lawyers she knows in some personal capacity and feels comfortable recommending (there are others, of course). Not just any lawyer can interpret publishing contracts, so it’s important to find one in that specialty. http://sff.net/people/laresnick/About%20Writing/Writers%20Resource.htm#Lawyers

For some of the clauses to watch out for, there are two big resources I know off the top of my head. The first is the Passive Voice (IP lawyer David Vandagriff who’s professional website is here) who has gone into detail on some of the contract gotchas to watch out for. It’s fun, and scary, to see him dissect certain contract clauses and what they could possibly mean in the future. Such as Here, Here, Here, and Here (that is only a few. Look for others).

The other is Kristine Kathryn Rusch who has a regular Thursday blog post about the business of writing. She’s talked about some of the issues she’s found in publishing contracts in the past, but this summer she specifically went through a list of the big contract clauses that are a deal breaker (this is a part of her The Business Rusch series of posts). Only the top 5, so there are other problem clauses to watch out for. I suggest reading the comments for more insight from other published writers.

I’m sure others will chime in with advice and resources.

J.A. Marlow
The String Weavers, Salmon Run, Redpoint One series.

Writer alter-ego of Dreamers Cove

[Weird Jim]

Thanks for the detailed response. It’s almost as if it’s better to set up on one’s own. At least then you’d be able to sue yourself. 😆

[Wandering Author]

J.A. Marlow wrote:

Not just any lawyer can interpret publishing contracts, so it’s important to find one in that specialty.

This cannot be emphasised enough. Too many people assume, because they know a lawyer and trust them and they are generally competent, that they can be helpful when it comes to intellectual property and publishing issues. Which is not true. Paying an ordinary lawyer to give you advice on anything related to IP and publishing is a lot like slipping a few hundred to your friend the plumber and asking him to have a look at the Space Shuttle to make sure it’s good to go before a launch.

[Author]

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